From the Advertiser-Tribune October 14, 2008

Age is Irrelevant for this athlete

Area residents may have seen Bill Anspach running or cycling around the Seneca County countryside or working out at the YMCA where he has worked as an instructor in the fitness center. Most people would never guess he is 69 years old. This Sunday, he is registered for the 10K Celebration Race at Hedges Boyer Park.

"I've always been active with softball, basketball and weightlifting. I didn't start endurance events until I was 39. Swimming, biking and running are endurance events," Anspach explained.

At Columbian High School, Anspach did not participate in sports. His best sport was baseball, but the school only offered football, basketball and track and field. He graduated in 1957, attended Heidelberg College for two years, served in the U.S. Air Force four years, and returned to finish college and graduate from Heidelberg in 1966.

"I played baseball at Heidelberg and I was the student manager for the football and basketball teams. It's sort of been a lifestyle thing," Anspach said.

He stopped running marathons at age 50. Anspach said he also has completed some half-iron man competitions. His favorite events are duathlons, which consist of running about 3 miles, biking 15-20 miles and running another three. Anspach said he also has done triathlons, but swimming is his weakest skill. He said he sticks to events he is more likely to win.

"I do like to compete ... but in the triathlons, in the swimming, I would be six or seven minutes down, and you can't make up that kind of time. Then they went to duathlons. Most of the events I do have about 500 total participants, and they'll pick up another 80 or 100 if they have a duathlon. That means there's that many who really aren't swimmers," Anspach said.

After he retired from 26 years of employment at National Machinery, Anspach worked as human resources director at Tiffin Paper Co. a short time before his brother invited Bill to become office administrator at his law firm, Anspach, Meeks and Ellenberger, in Toledo. Bill stayed five years and retired from there. Next, Bill took on two part-time jobs, one at the YMCA and a second at the Tiffin office of Paul Burtis and Jane Dell. Now he is leaving his Tiffin jobs to go back to work in Toledo on an interim basis.

Working at the YMCA was a help in staying in condition. Anspach said he gave fitness orientations three mornings a week in the wellness center.

He said the seniors feel more at ease with an instructor closer to their own age. The athlete also has a home workout area that includes a treadmill, Total Gym, rowing machine and weights. Anspach's light-weight racing bike doubles as a wind trainer by setting the rear wheel on a stand. He uses two heavier bicycles for training on the road. His weekly routine amounts to about 20 hours total.

"I bike about 100 miles a week. I run about 20 and I try to do a mile swim every week. I bike three days a week, run three days a week, swim and lift weights," Anspach said.

Anspach said he tries to support as many Ohio endurance events as possible, including the Celebration Race, the Heritage Festival bike race and Run Like the Dickens in Tiffin. He also goes to neighboring states, but tries to stay close to home. The late Fred Fabrizio, another mature athlete, was a familiar face at many events Anspach attended.

"Freddie and I were very good friends. We went to Heidelberg together. Fred gave me credit for getting him started in doing this stuff. We were the same age group. We were really good," Anspach said.

Tom Renninger and Steve Scheiber also are friends of Anspach. Scott Anspach, Bill's son, has followed his dad's example. He is a personal fitness trainer with his own business and facility in North Carloina. Daughter Kim is an educator in Tecumseh, Mich. Anspach said his wife, Becky, has been very supportive of his athletic competition. She usually goes along to Bill's races and "sits til it's over with." Bill said he tries to plan a shopping day for Becky in each trip.

"We did the Race for the Cure in Toledo. They had almost 18,000 people. She's a breast cancer survivor. It was 10 years in May. Then she had open heart surgery in September. She had a triple by-pass. She's still over at Washington School as an educational aide. She's been there 38 years, and she's back at work," Anspach said.

The January-February 2008 issue of "Triathlon" magazine lists Anspach among its top 100 U.S. amateur athletes. The list is broken into five-year age groups. Anspach said that's another reason for choosing the triathlon and duathlon events. He can compete with others his own age. Next year, he will be in the 70-74 age group in which the numbers are fewer. Being at the bottom of the age group also is an obvious advantage.

"Cycling is actually my best sport, but cycling doesn't break it down. If I were competing in cycling, I'd be going against 40-year-olds," Anspach said.

Duathlons and triathlons are governed by the U.S. Triathlon Association, which conducts national championship events every year. The short-course nationals have taken place for three years in Mason, Ohio. Anspach placed fifth nationally in 2007. The 2008 nationals took place in Richmond, Va., where they are to stay for the next two years. Although Anspach did not compete in Richmond last spring, he said he may try to go in April 2009, if he feels he has a reasonable chance of winning. The top three finishers at nationals qualify for the organization's world event.

"I'm not going to go to California if I don't think I'm going to be able to qualify for the top three," he said. "April is a little bad for northerners, because you don't get the time outdoors to get ready for that type of thing ... Some people don't understand why you want to do this. I enjoy it. I have fun with it, and I meet some nice people who understand why you do this."