On A Positive Note: 94-year-old veteran competing in Senior National Games
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A local Korean War veteran is competing in the Senior National Games in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Jack Eckenrode, 94, has competed in over a dozen of the games in cities across the country. He started back in 1994 when Pittsburgh hosted the Senior Games, and Pittsburgh is slated to host again in 2023.
"That's an encouragement for people to get ready for it," Eckenrode said.
Eckenrode competes in the cycling events. To train, he bikes 30 miles a day on the trail in Bulger, Washington County. He bought a house right on the trail so he could train daily.
He purchased the property from Eleanor Meero. Not long after that, the two fell in love and got married.
"We both lost our mates three months apart and we just helped each other," said Eleanor. "He really has been good for me. He's helped me an awful lot."
Now, she's cheering him on, along with Eckenrode's 12 children, 41 grandchildren and 61 great-grandchildren.
"I love him so much, and he knows that," Meero said. "All he does is smile and he keeps me smiling and that's why I think he's so healthy because he never is mad, never gets upset about anything. He's just a happy person. "