Sound Mind Sound Body

FOUR ALUMNI SHARE THEIR SECRETS TO A HEALTHY BALANCED LIFE.

LEW HOLLANDER ’47

As the octogenarian of the group, Lew Hollander ’47 serves as a form of inspiration for the younger alums featured in this article. Hollander holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to complete the Ironman World Championship Triathlon.

He was 82 when he set the world record in the grueling triathlon which he’s entered 24 times. Now 86 years old, Hollander again entered the race and finished first in his age group for the 112-mile cycling event and the 2.4 mile swim.

“I started off doing long-distance horseback riding and endurance riding, and I also ran ultra-marathons (100 miles in a day). When I entered the Ironman [for the first time] in 1985, I was hooked,” Hollander said. In December 2015, Hollander competed in a half-Ironman race in Bahrain and one month later was back in the middle east to compete in the 70.3-mile event in Bahrain. “I am the Middle East champion in my age group,” he added.

While at the Academy, Hollander played baseball and football, sports that he also pursued in college. “I gained a lot at Cheshire Academy; it made my life,” Hollander noted. “The school gave me tools necessary to cope with life—these tools are hard to come by, and I credit the Academy with my successes in life.”

Hollander offers a few tips on how he stayed in shape more than 60 years after graduating from the Academy. “I call them Lew’s Laws: go hard, live long; use it or lose it; go anaerobic every day; eat well; make plans in advance; and have achievable goals.” He also suggests working to have stress-free relationships and staying socially active. “The mind cannot function without a sound body—and what good is a sound body without a mind?”

To get more healthy advice on the sport of life, visit Hollander’s website at www.lewhollander.com.

AL SIMMONS ’64

Five decades after graduating from the Academy, Al Simmons ’64 returned for his 50th reunion in better shape than when he was a teenager. He writes that his latest athletic benchmark came in November when he completed his first Ironman competition (perhaps following in Hollander’s footsteps?).

To prepare for the competition, Simmons participated in a half-Ironman which covers 70.3 miles. “I am actively competing in running events and stand-up paddleboard (SUP) races.” Simmons also takes to the skies to compete in sailplane competitions. In the spring, he finished 12th out of 60in the senior nationals held in Florida.

Simmons’ pursuit of athletic endurance surfaced about the time he reached middle age. At the reunion, his lifestyle change was notable after he won first place in the Fun Run alumni race in 2014. That was a small victory compared to his other race that year: the Boston Marathon, which he finished in 4 hours and 10 minutes.

“I wanted to enter my golden years being able to enjoy them, and to be a person who actively participated rather than someone who sat on the porch watching,” Simmons said. “Attaining a sound mind is definitely important,” he noted, “but without the sound body, you would not be around to enjoy a sound mind. I credit my success to being able to set goals and work toward them, because without a goal, it is too easy to get lazy.”

DANA PETERSON NILES ’82

Dana Peterson Niles ’82 said she started running when she was 12. As an Academy student, Niles said she, “had to ask my dorm mother, Miss Haigh, for permission to run on the track early in the morning.”

Niles didn’t find an abundance of athletic choices when she enrolled in the late 70s. In the first years after female students were once again admitted to the Academy, there were few sports teams to choose from. “I was able to practice with the volleyball team and compete on the diving team, but my most memorable experiences took place on the softball team. I loved being active with other girls, building friendships, and being a part of a team.”

Niles, 52, is the research program manager at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “I’m still running up to 3.5 miles a couple times a week,” she said, “and I hike almost everyday with my dog. There are rugged park trails near me.”

Her degree in exercise physiology gives Niles a strong understanding of how to exercise in a healthy way. “Athletes are very ill-informed about exercise. There is a way to do it without injury,” she said. “Having a mind-body connection allows you to have a fuller life experience, and be more in tune with your world,” Niles noted.

PETER SANDLER ’87

At the age of six, Peter Sandler ’87 was part of Boston’s Silver Mittens boxing program—a precursor to the Golden Gloves. When he was later diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, Sandler said he and his family knew that staying active would be a vital for his wellbeing.

While at the Academy, Sandler turned to athletics to keep him centered and maintain his health. He played soccer and was on the wrestling team. At Wesley College, Sandler continued his involvement with wrestling and began running to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He said he runs in marathon races which offer to match funds for the foundation. Those include the New York Marathon and the Brooklyn Half-marathon.

Sandler is a managing partner of Gotham Equities in New York City, a busy job. Despite that, the 47-year-old executive keeps his health and family in mind. “I don’t take time out from seeing my daughters each day; I try to train while they are sleeping, leaving the evenings free for them,” he said. He chooses to preserve his family time by arriving at work at 3:00 am. “Although this lifestyle is taxing, I don’t want to miss these precious years with my daughters,” Sandler said.

The practice of nourishing the body and caring for the mind are one and the same, Sandler added. “You have to be in the right state of mind to attain a strong body; I feel the two are most definitely linked; I credit Cheshire Academy for instilling this passion in me.”

For more information about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or ways to help please go to www.JDRF.org.