84-Year-Old Needham Resident set to Run the Charles River Y Independence Day 5K

NEEDHAM, Mass. | Age is not slowing down one Needham runner. Phyllis Mays, 84 of Needham, will lace up to run alongside 600 participants during the Charles River Y Independence Day 5K.

Since her first 5K completion in 1977, Mays has been an avid runner. Because of the endorphins and overall good feeling that running gives her, Mays runs three times a week. Though she says she jogs more than runs nowadays, she is adamant about staying active. Mays is no rookie to 5K races, either. She runs a variety of 5K, 10K and 5-mile races throughout the year, and says she has lost count of the total number she has completed.

Mays was born in Needham, and returned in 2003 after raising her eight children in Wellesley. Upon her return to Needham, Mays joined the Charles River Y in town. In her thirteen years as a member, she uses the YMCA to stay strong and fit. A regular aerobics and stretching class attendee, Mays is frequently at both the Chestnut Street and Great Plain Charles River Y branch locations. The Chestnut Street location holds the weight machines, which are her favorite part about the Y. She also enjoys the Great Plain location for its pool, she says. On occasion, she meets her daughter Teresa Stock – who is also a member of the Charles River Y – to work out. When she is not taking classes or lifting weights at the Y, she is working part-time as a computer instructor or volunteering as membership chair of the New England 65Plus Runners Club – a group of over 700 runners ages 65 and up.

“I know the race route well – I can walk to the starting line,” says Mays about the upcoming race. “I am ready for the race and the heat. As always the goal is to cross the finish line, which I am pretty sure I can do.”

The 2016 Independence Day 5K kicks off at 8:30 a.m. in front of the Episcopal Church located at 1132 on Highland Avenue in Needham. Runners interested in joining Mays on the road can register online at http://ymcaboston.org/cr5k.

PHOTO ID'D LEFT TO RIGHT:

Phyllis Mays; Paula Jacobson, Executive Director of Charles River Y