Turning Disappointment into Determination
Local Racewalker Chases Redemption at 2011 Senior Olympics
October 28, 2009
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Winston-Salem, N.C. - Betty Allgood's story has all the drama of a big budget Hollywood flick. Local racewalker trains for months to prepare for a banner year at the Senior Olympics. A crowd favorite, Allgood is on pace to win a gold medal for the first time and break a personal speed record she set two years prior when everything goes wrong. She crosses the finish line first in her division, but while waiting to mount the podium during the awards ceremony a short time later, she is disqualified due to a form error caused by a bent knee.
For Allgood, the story is all too true, but the 76-year-old Winston-Salem, N.C. native orchestrated a come-from-behind return to racewalking when she triumphed at North Carolina's Senior Games in September, one short month after her disappointing finish at the Senior Olympics.
When asked about the disqualifications, Allgood shrugs her shoulders and attributes them to "an off day."
"I think I was trying too hard," Allgood said. "I just couldn't get my body in sync. It was definitely a bittersweet learning experience."
After returning home from the Senior Olympics in August, Allgood had little time to lick her wounds. Instead, the retired nurse zeroed in on her form and let the speed take care of itself. A local, state and national racewalking champion for more than 10 years, Allgood believed that fine-tuning her form would also streamline her times.
And she wasn't disappointed by the results.
During September's Senior Games, a state qualifier for the 2011 Senior Olympics, Allgood blazed her way to a first-place finish in her 75 - 79 age division, and second overall in the field of all female racers, some as young as 55 years old.
Redemption was sweet, but not surprising for a woman who milked 25 dairy cows at the crack of dawn as a child before helping her husband and children build their dream house log by log. Her common-sense approach to personal health is an inspiration to her neighbors and the staff at Homestead Hills, a senior living community in Winston-Salem.
"Betty walks circles around most of us," Sandra Griswold, wellness coordinator at Homestead Hills said. "She's 76, and walks three miles a day, five days a week. It's hard to find many 30-year-olds who can keep up that pace."
Allgood's matter-of-fact training regime includes frequent walks, a few vitamins and plenty of time to enjoy life. She doesn't adhere to a specific diet or dissolve in guilt if she misses a practice session, but asserts that mental strength and competitive spirit are as important as physical training.
"During a race, my adrenaline is pumping and I'm totally focused on the competition," Allgood said. "My world becomes very small, and if I see a person in front of me, my goal is to pass them."
Although she has a few charity races lined up for the fall and winter, Allgood will set her sights on the local Senior Games in the Spring before heading to Houston, Texas for the 2011 Senior Olympics.
Only time will tell if the ghosts of this year's Senior Olympics will show up during the 2011 event, but one thing is clear. Betty Allgood will do everything in her power to bring home the gold . and a happy Hollywood ending to Winston-Salem.
