If you think Pat Sparks is taking it easy since retiring last year, think again. Sparks, 71, broke the 70 to 74 age-group record at the Pikes Peak Ascent by 20 minutes last August. "I'm more determined than ever," says Sparks, who lives in Manitou Springs, Colo.

A retired administrator from Arizona State University, Sparks started running 27 years ago when her son asked her to help him get in shape for junior-high football. "I just kept running after that," recalls Sparks, who started competeing in races 10 years ago.

She's also an avid cyclist, having biked across the country twice with her husband. But she broke her leg in a bike race 4 years ago. "My doctor told me I might never run again," she says. It took her leg a year to heal before she could try. She started slowly, literally one block at a time. Says Sparks: "I'm competitive, and I really wanted to race again."

That she did, and then some. This past summer turned out to be her best running season ever. She won Colorado's Triple Crown of racing for women over 70, including her record-breaking 5:07 at the grueling 13.4-mile Pikes Peak Ascent. "The hard work paid off," say Sparks. "I'm hoping to come back and do even better next year."

*Reprinted by permission of Runner's World magazine. Copy written 2000, Rodele Press, Inc. All right reserved.