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In a message dated 6/6/00 4:12:17 PM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << I am 46 yrs. old and was diagnosed with being in the very early stages of PD six months ago. I have always been athletic and still run in road races and compete in triathlons. I am looking to share information with other athletes as to how PD has affected them. >> My husband ran in two marathons after being diagnosed. The second one was four years after diagnosis. After that, due to stamina problems, he confined himself to 10Ks for several more years. We can't remember exactly how long he continued to run in 10ks, but he had to stop running entirely about 11 years after diagnosis due to the tendency of the street or sidewalk to come up and smack him in the face. He couldn't seem to pick his feet up enough to avoid tripping and falling. You have a lot of years of competition/athletics left to you, most likely, especially if you're willing to "down-size" to whatever seems a manageable event for your physical condition as time goes on. One of the hardest things for Dick was the tendency to compare what he used to do pre-PD to what he could do ten or fifteen years later. I told him that at age 50, he couldn't expect to run like he did at age 37, even if he didn't have PD. Age itself will take its toll. Good luck, and keep competing as long as you can. Margie