 |
 |
Parkinson's Disease Doesn't Slow Exeter's Moore By Ken Stejbach - [log in to unmask] Exeter News Letter, NH ... Tuesday, August 3, 2004 EXETER - Marshall Moore met "Mr. Parkinson" in 1990, and he’s been racing him since. Moore, a 47-year-old from Exeter, will be racing him and some of the best master sprinters in the country when he competes in this week’s USA Track & Field 2004 Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. Moore is scheduled to compete in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races. "Mr. Parkinson" is the name Moore gives to the disease he’s burdened with - Parkinson’s disease. "He’s a son of a bitch sometimes, but he’s a hell of a teacher," says Moore. "Sometimes you can get him to work for you. He’s stubborn, so he can be helpful." You could say it takes that kind of stubbornness to do what Moore is attempting. As Moore notes about himself: He’s "a guy frozen in the morning who wants to run the fastest time in the 100 meters in the world" by noon. Moore’s battle against Parkinson’s, a degenerative disease, is a constant challenge. In Moore’s case, Parkinson’s is all about rigidity. It takes an hour for him to get up and move in the morning after he takes his medication. The biggest problem is maintaining the right balance throughout the day. "I’m trying to hit it evenly all day," says Moore, referring to his chemical balance. As his coach, Hilary Coder, the head of the track and field program at Phillips Exeter Academy, notes: He has his bad minutes and good minutes. "What you are looking at is an unusual person and an unusual athlete," says Coder. "Each day I see something different and exciting ... and I have seen flashes of real brilliance. Marshall has a great spirit. We are keeping his times a secret even from him, but he truly believes he can win and even set world marks. And I, for one, am not getting in the way of that kind of thinking. He is both inspired and inspiring." Moore feels he’s put himself in the right position - thanks to the coaching of Coder and help from others - to hopefully surprise some people at the upcoming games. He feels if he’s fit, gets proper sleep, and gets hydrated, that when he "gets on the line and the gun goes off, maybe something magical will happen. And I’ve been to the magic." Moore was referring to his collegiate experiences in the world of rowing at Harvard University where he was a member of two undefeated crews. Moore grew up in downtown Boston and attended Groton School in Groton, Mass. They didn’t offer track or lacrosse at Groton, but they did have crew. And that’s where Moore excelled. After college he stayed fit by running. Sometimes at local races. Sometimes on his own. And it was on one of those training runs that he experienced cramping in his foot about five miles into his run. The next day he went out, the cramping occurred at the 4½-mile mark. Each day he ran the cramping occurred even sooner, eventually to the point where he decided to check it out at the Lahey Clinic. One simple test later and what he described as a $10 or $15 co-pay, he discovered he had Parkinson’s disease. Moore, however, is not the kind of guy who wants to sit still and watch the world go by. "I love making people smile by doing the unexpected," says Moore. "I’m high on life. There’s so much to learn, so much joy out there, so much good to be done and life is short." It was last winter that Moore met Coder at the PEA indoor track. She told him that if he wanted to, he could join in and practice with the team. He did. Then one day he found himself at George & Phillips in downtown Exeter and looking at spike running shoes. "I always wanted a pair of those," says Moore. That day he bought two pair, took them down to the PEA track, and started dancing - "I love to dance. I’m all about movement, and it turned out I was very fast." Consequently he approached Coder and told her he wanted to set the world record in the 100-meter dash. He signed up to compete in the USATF indoor championships in Boston, but got "scared off. I didn’t feel my legs were ready." Then one day in early June he told Coder he wanted to go to the master’s outdoor championship and find out just how good he is. "When he feels good, he looks like no other 47-year-old," says Coder. "He can fly. He’s a beautiful, smooth runner and he’s really coachable. He wants to know details, the whys. When he’s on, he’s just a gorgeous runner, as good as any runner I’ve ever coached." When he’s off, it’s clear he has Parkinson’s disease. It brings him from being a really hyper person to someone who has very limited movement. Moore describes the feelings he goes through during the day much like those made by "a dimmer on a light switch." "It’s amazing how quickly things can change and how adaptable he is," says Coder. "He appreciates when his body is able to move." "People are born good, and life is so precious," says Moore. "Celebrate what you’re given." Moore knows what he was given. And he knows just how far he can push his body from past experiences in rowing. He feels that once when he gets on the starting line, he’ll feed off the support from the people who know him, especially those fellow patients who have Parkinson’s. He says he can almost hear them say: "That’s my guy out there." He says that when he was in high school and played football and lacrosse, "the last whistle was the worst part of the game. I just wanted to keep playing." Right now, he feels he has the proper medication, mindset and routine to be able to stay far ahead of the game, but he’s content staying even. "With Mr. Parkinson I just want to stay in the game. I love the chance to be in the game," he says. And as Moore notes: "The game’s not over." Moore decided to enter three events because he felt it would give him the best chance to catch himself at his best in at least in one of them. "It’s a great strategy," says Coder. Moore loves to play the trumpet, and loves music. Currently, he’s an educational consultant, a mentor and guidance counselor for the young. He also has an antique business and loves to write. Aside from the coaching of Coder, he also credits a number of eighth-graders, like Nate Shepard, who have helped pace him during his workouts. SOURCE: Exeter News Letter, NH ... Tuesday, August 3, 2004 http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/08032004/sports/30182.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn