Aging Competitively for Wilmington ‘Strongman’

In 1969, Larry Readman held the Will County record in discus throwing. Today, the 60-year-old Readman still works out two hours a day and runs an hour on Sundays. And, Readman is still earning trophies.

In November, he competed in the 2011 North American Strongman Master’s Championship and Texas Strongest Man competition in Houston, pulling a six-and-a-half ton Army truck from a dead stop. With no idea of how the pull would go, he said, his goal was just to get the truck to move. Before the start of the truck’s roll he had the tow line “just as tight and low as possible.” With the tire pressure reduced to 20 pounds there “was also a lot of drag,” he said. But, when he felt the truck take its initial move, “It was the greatest feeling.” While the event would allow 60 seconds for the pull of 50 feet, Readman’s time was just 25 seconds. “It surprised me,” he said.

Readman has competed for trophies in strongman events for the past five years, and Houston was his third national competition. He and his wife, Joyce, enjoy the traveling that the competitions require. “We’ve been to every state and to quite a few countries,” Readman said.

Age is a factor, he said. Readman was one of two competing in his age category: “There are only three in the United States that compete. “I’m very proud that I’m one of three that can do it — the training is hard,” he said.

When training, it’s hard for him to gain weight. He normally weighs around 195 pounds and competes at the 175-200 pound level. He builds endurance by flipping a 500-pound tire as far as he can for as long as he can. “At this age and weight, it’s more challenging,” he said.

Readman is retired from his job at a chemical plant, and is a fourth-generation farmer still living on the farm four miles outside of Wilmington along the Kankakee River where he was raised. For the past 17 years, he has also coached the Wilmington High School powerlifting team. “It’s a very big part of the football program,” Readman said.
He tries to have the Wilmington High School students challenge themselves “to set a goal and work towards it.”

The student’s initial interest in some of the strongman events sparked his own interest in competing in the sport. During the time right before competitions, he said he feels his endurance and powerlifting skills are at their height. “It gives me a feeling of accomplishment,” he said.