By TED MAST Charbonneau resident

Age is just a number . These are a few numbers about Charbonneau resident Gail Mast . Age : 72 . Louvonne resident : five years . Married : 50 years . Number of children : two . Grandchildren : two . Year graduated high school : 1969 . This was pre-Title IX , so no girls sports were available .

Gail took up running at age 55 after watching our son run cross country for Wilsonville High School . It was one of those “ I could do that ” moments . After entering a few 5K ( 3.12 mile ) runs , a friend talked her into trying a sprint triathlon , which consists of a half-mile swim followed by a 12-mile bike ride and finishing with a 5K run . She was hooked .

Throughout her 60s she was ranked in the top three by age group in the Pacific Northwest in the 60-64 and 65-69 brackets . To date she has competed in 31 triathlons ranging from Sprint and Olympic , which is twice the Sprint distance , to Half Ironman and two full Ironman events . The latter consists of a grueling 2.4-mile swim ,

112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run .

In 2019 Gail went down to Santa Rosa California for a full Ironman . The 2.4-mile swim went fine , but the day was heating up and the 112-mile bike course ran through the hills and vineyards of the Napa Valley . At mile 102 heat stroke set in and she crashed , literally . After several fluid IVs and a night in the hospital we headed home .

COVID followed in 2020 and races were put on hold . Gail took the time off to learn a great deal about hydration and how her system handles heat . A high tech Sweat Test identified her as a person that loses more than half a liter of sweat and up to 800 mg of sodium per hour during running or biking . This information has been a total game changer .

Since last fall she has entered and won her age group in the Portland Shamrock Run and two Sprint triathlon events , the most recent one in Canby where she finished 26th out of 69 females , beating 43 women younger than her . But the competitive urge to do another long course won out and Gail is signed up to do Ironman 70.3 Oregon in Salem on July 23 .

Many of you have seen her train . This is the woman that ran the streets of Charbonneau all winter long in a sleeveless top . Most just stared

but a few asked the obvious question : “ Aren ’ t you cold ?” The answer to that would be a resounding “ No ” from a person whose core temperature heats up quite rapidly , although , when the temperature dropped below 40 , she did put on a long-sleeved T-shirt .

She trains one-to-two hours daily and that will increase to three as it gets closer to race day . She asked me to go on bike rides with her and I upgraded to a Class Three E-bike for the rides . I still can ’ t keep up with her on level ground but , when I catch up and pass her on hills with the throttle down , I turn and offer words of encouragement as I ride by .

Ironman 70.3 Oregon will begin in downtown

Gail Mast runs , bikes and swims long distances in her competitions .

COURTESY PHOTO

Salem with a 1.2 mi swim in the Willamette River , followed by a 56-mile bike ride past Independence and down to Ankeny Hill just north of Albany before turning around and coming back , only to hop off the bike , change shoes and run 13.2 miles around Minto Island Park . Gail hopes to complete the course in under 7 and 1 / 2 hours . Most of us this age gets worn out just traveling in a car for that length of time .

After the race she ’ ll get a well-deserved couple of days off before you see her on the streets again in Race Walk mode training for the late August Portland to Coast Walk . It seems like I ’ ve been chasing this woman for more than 50 years and I am still trying to catch her .