ealtll & fitness >> sports
Marathon End
70-year-old runs his final 26-miler.
Steve Stein
Special to the Jewish News
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38
May 26 • 2011
fifteen days after his 70th birth-
day, Ben Alalouf ran in his 21st
and final marathon.
The West Bloomfield resident fin-
ished the Country Music Marathon last
month in Nashville,
Tenn., in four hours,
nine minutes and 59
seconds, placing him
second among 24 run-
ners in the men's 70-75
age division.
Not bad for someone
who hadn't competed
in a marathon since the
2002 Free Press race.
"I'll admit it. It was
an ego thing," he said.
"I'm still very active. I
work out seven days a
week. I wanted to prove
I could run a marathon
Ben Alalouf
at age 70. I've now done
marathons in my 30s,
40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.
"But that's it for marathons',' he quick-
ly added. "I was floating after the race in
Nashville. I felt great. No aches or pains.
But the training is just too hard. You have
to be engrossed in it and get your miles
in regardless of the weather, which is
especially difficult around here."
Alalouf isn't hanging up his running
shoes. The spry 5-foot-4, 134-pounder
will continue to compete in shorter
races like the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half-
Marathon on June 5. He estimates he's
run in as many as 50 half-marathons.
His first marathon was the 1979 Free
Press event. He finished it in 3:30.
"I got caught up in the running craze
back then but when I first started run-
ning it was a struggle. I was breathing
like a pig',' he said. "I really thought I
was in shape to run. I don't smoke, and I
barely put away a six-pack a year."
Alalouf got himself into running
shape, and he hasn't stopped running.
His best marathon time was 3:16 in
the 1980 Free Press race. He competed
in the New York City Marathon, Big Sur
International Marathon in California,
Marine Corps Marathon in Virginia, and
the Midnight Sun Marathon on Baffin
Island, Canada, 480 miles north of the
Arctic Circle.
Alalouf speaks with a bit of a
Brooklyn accent even though he hasn't
lived there for decades.
He graduated from New Utrecht High
School in Brooklyn. The front and rear of
the building were used for the opening
scenes of the TV sitcom Welcome Back
Kotter, which starred New Utrecht grad
Gabe Kaplan. Curly and Moe Howard
(Jerome and Harry Horwitz) of the
Three Stooges and comedian Buddy
Hackett also were New Utrecht alumni.
Alalouf played college football for one
season. He was a 190-
pound offensive guard
at Central Washington
State. He transferred
to Murray State in
Kentucky but was told
by doctors that he
couldn't play because
of a bad back, but he
stayed to earn bachelor's
and master's degrees.
He moved to
Michigan in 1964 after
accepting a job offer
at Garden City High
School, and he hasn't
left. He spent 45 years
at the high school as a
teacher, football coach,
athletic director and associate principal
before retiring in 2009.
Alalouf keeps himself in shape these
days with weight training, kickboxing
and running. He does at least one of the
three disciplines every day.
He's fit enough to compete in the
Jewish Football League, a touch football
league for guys ages 30 and older.
Players are still talking about the
devastating block he threw and the
touchdown pass he caught in the 2008
league championship game. He was 67
years old at the time.
He and his wife, Martha, have
been married 46 years. Their daugh-
ter Amy Alalouf lives and works in
Nashville. That's the main reason why
the Country Music Marathon was chosen
for his marathon swansong.
Let's Make A Deal
Bloch/Israel and Pisgah/Zeiger B'nai
B'rith units are holding their 11th Texas
hold'em tournament June 5 at the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield.
The tournament features new twists.
Cash bounties are being offered for beat-
ing the dealer, the champion will receive a
free entry into the January 2012 tourna-
ment, and proceeds will benefit local B'nai
B'rith softball and basketball leagues.
Call B'nai B'rith Great Lakes Region
office, (248) 646-3100, or Rick Sherline,
(248) 613-5400, for a registration form. II
Send news to sports@thejewishnews.corn.