94-year-old Minnesota man keeps fit by lacing up
DULUTH, Minn. -- 94-year-old Mark Sertich begins everyday doing his pushups and sit-ups. For him, the more vigorous the exercise, the better. And that's why he still hits the ice to play hockey three days a week, reports CBS Minnesota.
All year round, Sertich, of Duluth, laces up his skates and puts on his shin pads, gloves and helmet.
"I like to kid the guys and say, 'How come you guys close your eyes when I get the puck, for crying out loud, including the goalie?'" Sertich said to CBS Minnesota.
The only time Sertich didn't play hockey was when he was serving in World War II. CBS Minnesota reports that he fought for U.S. General George Patton's Third Army. In May 1945, after the historic Battle of the Bulge, Sertich was among the 23 men in a platoon who liberated the Maulthausen concentration camp.
In Sertich's private scrapbook he shows CBS Minnesota the small black and white photographs, including horrifying images of dead and emaciated Jewish captives.
"Mark is a great example as an athlete but [also] as a human being," friend and teammate Bob Somers said to CBS Minnesota.
Hockey isn't the only physical activity Sertich engages in.
"As I got older, I figured I'd get into jogging, which I did, and when I was 59, I ran my first marathon," he said.
Sertich continued running after that initial marathon. He completed five more marathons after that.
In addition to running marathons, Sertich began doing inline skating marathons too reports CBS Minnesota. He's competed 11 times in the annual NorthShore Inline Marathon.
Even so, from the time he was a kid, ice hockey always rose above the rest.
Some of the players on his team in Duluth are half his age. He is among a group of select retirees.
"We all enjoy him and like to play with him," Somers said. "He's good at what he does and is patient and sets a really good example."
CBS Minnesota reports that in 1983 Sertich began competing in the annual Snoopy's Senior World Tournament in Santa Rosa, California. The ice hockey tournament is designed for players over the age of 40, It was created by the late cartoonist and hockey devotee, Charles Schulz.
Sertich formed a deep bond with the Peanut's cartoon creator, also a native Minnesotan, early on during his first competition.
"I played with "Sparky" Charles Schultz for many years on the same line," Sertich said to CBS Minnesota. "It's really something to have under your belt."
Sertich says he believes anyone can do what he is doing.
"I say that most important step is the first one out the door," he said. "Even when you don't feel like doing it, you make up your mind to do it because once you get out there you're okay."