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Any of her eight grandchildren would have a hard time keeping up with Ruth Sherman. She is preternaturally energetic and fit for someone even half her 70 years of age.
A native of Boston who has lived in Westport for 44 years, Ruth has run or walked between four and 9 miles every day for the past 40 years. Walking -- with her braided hair bouncing happily on her back -- is just the beginning of her daily regime, as she bikes 20 miles per day as well. "Sometimes I have to get a five a.m. start when it's very hot outside," she said. If that weren't enough to reduce the legs of most human beings to rubber, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays she teaches aqua-fitness classes at the Westport Family YMCA for arthritis sufferers. And Tuesdays and Thursdays she not only teaches water aerobics for seniors at the Longshore Club pool, she also runs a special fitness class for people suffering with Parkinson's disease.
Ruth, whose wide blue eyes are dwarfed only by the width of her ready smile, has been married to her husband Larry for 50 years. Her grandchildren range in age from 7 months to 15, but occasional babysitting never stops her. In the midst of her hoppingly busy schedule, Ruth embarks on a yearly adventure, the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge: "I ride 200 miles -- from Sturbridge Village to Provincetown, Mass. -- to raise money for the Jimmy Fund," a nonprofit organization that supports cancer research. It's a grueling two-day ride that Ruth has taken every summer for the past 22 years, and she has single-handedly raised more than $176,000 for the organization since she began. "Frankly, I'd be happy to not participate in the race every year, but I do it for my grandchildren. It's my dream that cancer is eradicated in their lifetime and this is the way I can help make that dream come true," she said.
"I'm only happy when I'm moving," she said. Clearly, Ruth Sherman is a very happy woman.
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