70-year-old finds fountain of youth

SANDPOINT — A septuagenarian competing in his 15th Ironman is not supposed to be setting personal bests.

But don’t tell that to Sandpoint’s Roger Bosley, 70, who clocked a 15:42 to win his age group at the recent Ironman Coeur d’Alene. That someone his age can even finish the 2.2-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26-mile endurance race is remarkable, but to get faster with age defies explanation.

So how is it possible that Bosley clocked his fastest time ever in his most recent Ironman?

“I attribute that to the fact I’m retired now and have unlimited time to train, and I’ve been lucky enough to be healthy,” said Bosley, who moved to Sandpoint in 2002 after retiring as an OB/GYN in Indiana. “It’s been a goal to do Ironman when I’m 70, so this is probably the highlight of all that stuff.”

All that stuff includes 15 Ironmans, 50 marathons, seven 100 mile ultra-marathons and nine 50 mile ultra-marathons. If you add all of the endurance races together, it would stretch more than 4,500 miles, or about the distance from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast of Africa.

To say Bosley has found the fountain of youth wouldn’t be a stretch, as he still enjoys skiing, snowboarding, kayaking and mountain biking, when he isn’t riding his bike up Schweitzer.

“He’s a total fun hound,” described personal trainer James Eberle, noting Bosley was at her pilates class two days after the Ironman. “He’s super positive. All winter long, even though he was training for Ironman, he went boarding and skiing.”

Bosley has raced all over the world, from Antarctica to Athens, but one race sticks out in particular. Shortly after 9/11, Bosley decided to run a marathon in Berlin, Germany. Despite some warning from friends not to, he decided to carry the American flag during the 35,000 person race.

“They said ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’” recalled Bosley, who garnered cheers from spectators throughout the race. “It was wonderful. The response from Germany was unbelievable.”

Bosley said the ultra-marathons are harder than the Ironmans, partly because of the physical toll, but also because they’re usually a couple hundred people “running around the woods.” During his last 100 mile race on the Appalachian Trail in Maryland, he experienced some vision problems, and admits his family wants him to retire from racing. He’s retired from Ironmans once before, but in light of his recent stellar performance, his racing career appears far from over.

Besides, at the rate he’s going he just might have another personal best in store.

“I’m getting older, but I’m getting faster,” laughed Bosley, who says the allure of finishing an Ironman is a powerful draw. “Every time it’s such a thrill at the finish line, with the crowd going wild.”