Faces of Port Jeff: At 49, Port Jeff Man Still Raises Bar in Track and Field

At 49 years old, Port Jefferson resident Don Nenninger placed second in the men’s pentathlon at the United States Track and Field regional open held in Glassboro, NJ on Saturday, May 28.

“I started training and participating in pentathlon competitions a year ago as an adjunct to running and triathlons,” Nenninger said. “In 2010 New York State held the Empire State games in Buffalo and this was my first competition.”

Only last year, he was ranked 22nd in the nation. For 2011 his goal was to move into the top ten.

“I'm currently ranked third,” he said.

Nenninger competed in the masters division for people over 30 in an age block consisting of men aged 45 to 49 years old from all over the eastern United States. A pentathlon consists of five events including the long jump, javelin, 200-meter sprint, discus, and 1500-meter race. The competition began at 8 a.m. and finished at 4 p.m. with track temperature reaching almost 100 degrees at one point in the day.

Certified as a nutritionist in New York State, Nenninger says that his entire family has always been into physical fitness. His father is eighty years old and still plays touch football and tennis three times a week. His wife is a competitive runner and all of his children all compete in some form of track and field sport.

“The training and the competitions dovetail nicely with my approach to living,” he said. “I am a huge believer that choosing personal goals that are important to us provide the experiences in life that we want.”

He is also the author of a book on personal development titled The Infinite Solution. His wife also wrote a book called Transforming Divorce and they are currently working on a co-authored book and CD series.

“We believe in fully actualizing our lives and these competitions are inspiring us to do so,” he said.

The pentathlon works well for him because he said training for the multi-sport event is “imperative for good physical health.”

“I enjoy the training and discipline and the competition involved in these events,” he said.

Training for the pentathlon comes on top of his normal exercise regiment.

“To be competitive requires the effort of training but also a certain discipline with diet and nutrition,” he said. “Training for a pentathlon takes an additional 10 to 15 hours a week of specialized training for the different events in addition to my normal running routine.”

Even though Nenninger is pushing 50 years old, he can still find a way to put things into perspective after a competition or a training session.

“It's really tough to complain about my aches and pains when you look across the track and see the 90 plus age group competing in these events,” he said.