{"id":33067,"date":"2019-08-23T03:47:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T10:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=33067"},"modified":"2019-08-22T16:11:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T23:11:07","slug":"billinkoff-runs-in-record-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2019\/08\/23\/billinkoff-runs-in-record-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Billinkoff runs in record time"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Lou Billinkoff, fourth from the left, are, from left to right, his grandson Asher, grandson Jordan, wife Ruth, son Errol, grandson Mitchell, son Lorne and daughter-in-law Marilyn. (photo from Lou Billinkoff)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up in Winnipeg\u2019s North End, Lou Billinkoff, 96, was never into sports, though, in his 20s, he did enjoy going for a jog once in awhile. Today, he is one of the fastest short-distance runners in his age group.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to do some running but I never thought of it as competitive,\u201d Billinkoff told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI just ran for the pleasure of it when I was younger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billinkoff worked as an engineer with Winnipeg Hydro (now called Manitoba Hydro) for 40 years, designing power lines. When he was well into retirement, at the age of 89, he had a heart attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was recovering, the doctor suggested I take some rehab physical therapy at a centre they have here, a program specially suited for people recovering from heart attacks,\u201d said Billinkoff. \u201cPart of the program is to walk on a track. I did that for maybe a year and, when I recalled how much pleasure I got when I ran earlier in life, I thought I\u2019d just try it out and see what I still could do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first time Billinkoff tried, he could only run 40 metres but, more importantly, he liked it. Two days later, he ran 45 metres, and kept on adding distance with each try. Eventually, he was running well over 100 metres and loving it. So, he decided to set up a training program and reached the point at which he could run 100 metres 10 times in one session \u2013 a feat he refers to as \u201crunning a kilometre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did that for about two years,\u201d said Billinkoff. \u201cAfter that, I found it was getting too hard, so I went down to five times 100. Gradually, I found this too was getting too hard, so this past year or two, I\u2019ve been running 50 metres.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was running the 100 metres, my son, Errol, clocked me and said, \u2018You know, you\u2019re running in championship speed rankings?\u2019 This was a surprise to me. Errol suggested I get into competition. I wasn\u2019t really interested to pursue it, but Errol entered me into a competition here and, the first time I ran, I ran quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowadays, Billinkoff runs 50 metres three times per workout session at the Reh-Fit Centre, where he goes three times a week. While he ran outdoors when he was younger, he feels that, at his age, it is wiser to run at the centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing outside has limitations,\u201d he said. \u201cThe weather is not always good. You can fall and break your neck and nobody would see you. It\u2019s not a good idea to be running outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once Billinkoff hit the competitive circuit, he began sending his running times to Athletics Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way the rankings work is that age groups go in five-year periods,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo, when I started out, I was in the age group of 90-94. They call that the M90. Now that I\u2019m 96, for the last year and this year, I\u2019m in the M95 group, which is 95 to 99.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the M90 group, I had the fastest time in Canada, at 29.73 seconds. And, in the M95 group, in the 50-metre record, my time indoors was 14.58 seconds; a good speed. Later, I ran the outdoor in 15.68 seconds, and I had strong wind against me. It took me a second longer and I attribute that to the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n