Plattsburgh dentist leaves tomorrow for the Ironman World Championship

PLATTSBURGH -- Bob Heins may be a dentist, but his passion is senior fitness.

The man who once climbed mountains, now, at 69, competes regularly in Ironman triathlons.

At the Lake Placid Ironman this past summer, Heins won his age category of 65 to 69 -- he leaves Thursday for Kona, Hawaii, to compete in the Ironman World Championship. The one-day, Oct. 11 event consists of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile marathon.

"When I turned 60, I started climbing mountains. We did a climb on Mount Rainier in Washington for Operation Smile -- it was a group of physicians and dentists that raised money for children with cleft palettes.

"Then I decided that I wanted to try to climb ... the highest peaks on each continent."

He managed to reach the summit of five of the seven and all 46 Adirondack peaks before frostbite brought the hobby to a chilling halt.

Living here, he said, is a big reason he climbed for eight years.

"The beautiful mountains give us something to do in the summer, fall and winter."

SENIOR ROLE MODEL

It was Dr. Linda Shephard, a colleague of Heins's, who half heartily suggested that he should try out for the Iron Man competition.

She knew his interest in senior fitness.

"The joke was that she said, Just kill yourself on land and not on a mountain,'" Heins said, laughing. "That sort of got me thinking about it, so I jumped in with both feet." He likes the idea of being a role model for other senior citizens.

"I think if I weren't a dentist, I would try to promote senior-citizen fitness. I'm so happy when I go into the gym and I see a group of seniors swimming or biking. In my own small way, being 69 going to 70, I'm able to promote senior health, both from an athletic point and a nutritional point, and I think that is part of why I do this."

Besides the Lake Placid triathlon, Heins participated in Tempe, Ariz., earlier this year.