media_artricles :: 2016

Granny Luces still going strong at 88

MANY HAVE overcome the surprise of arriving to marathons or long distance races in the last four decades and seeing a little grey-haired old lady dressed in national colours at the starting line.

Lynette 'Granny' Luces has been known by the name 'Granny' since a newspaper article on the eve of her marathon debut in 1983 at the age of 55. Up to this day she disagrees with the title of the headline "Granny vows to beat the youths" because she loves the youth.

Every day she is demonstrating that there has to be a correlation between being 'well' and having a razor sharp mind with a good memory. She was able to give birth dates for all her 11 children, recall her wedding night 64 years ago and the times of most of the races she participated.

She continued to showcase her vivid memory as she took us for a jog down memory lane explaining how it all began. "I started running at the age of nine years old when my mom asked me to go on errands and to return quickly so I decided to do it like a race." There was another contributing factor for her having to run at top speed over a long period time.

"I was fearful of licks so I tried to avoid it by being disciplined or run! I learn to run faster because I was out of sight when the session started." In her teenage era, the training method was simple but effective as she walked every day to and from school. "I went Marcano High School on the Croisee (in San Juan) and very often I didn't use to take the train so I walked from San Juan to St Joseph." In her adult life, The Humming Bird Gold awardee moved to Quarry Road with her family and she encouraged the youngsters to participate in physical activities on a daily basis.

She remembered the first time she was called 'Granny' while running. "One day I went to the standpipe for some water and I challenged the young boys there in a race up to the Village hill, of course they laughed at my offer but they decided to run me. In the end I had the last laugh because most of them fell while I continued running.

They were all shouting 'Go Granny'!" Some gave up on their dreams when the opportunity has gone while others believe that you have to make your own opportunity.

'Granny' was a believer of the latter because she registered for her first marathon as a 55-year-old but it was not as straightforward for the Queen Road runner. "I went to register for the race and after a discussion between Mr (Raffique) Shah and H Ramoutar they decided I needed a medical clearance to participate because of my age. So I went to my family doctor to get the medical and he said 'Granny' go and beat them. I fulfilled my dream by participating and eventually ran a time of four hours 29 minutes and 35 seconds." Never Too Late! 'Granny' the Rookie was selected to represent TT that same year in Ottawa, Canada where she won a gold medal and also claimed a silver medal.

She went on to "heat up the streets" in Brisbane in Australia, New York City, Los Angeles, Barbados, Grenada and Guyana.

"When I am running in the foreign countries I do not run as Granny, I run as Trinidad and Tobago. I always remember my country and I feel so happy to represent TT." The 88-year-old energiser ruled out any thoughts of her hanging up her running sneakers anytime soon by saying, "I`m already preparing for my next race so I am always wear my running shoes just in case the opportunity to run comes. I cannot stop running because when I run I feel as if I`m on top of the world and the only person living in Trinidad and everything nice and all my worries fly away." She hopes that her granddaughter Paulette Luces will carry the family tradition of road running.

The soft-spoken legend was full of advice for everyone as she urged the young children to listen to their parents and the key words in life are "Obey and Love." And, to the parents there are different ways to discipline a child.

She eventually confessed her secret to running. "When I begin to run I don't look at the crowd, I look at the road. However, I love to hear them chanting 'Go Granny'!"

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