As seniors across the state flex their muscles at their regional North Carolina Senior Games, two top competitors in Pitt County said they are grateful for ECU Health’s Wellness Centers where they can train for competition, learn a new skill and above all keep moving.
The North Carolina Senior Games began in 1983, as did the local Greenville-Pitt County Senior Games. The local event invites athletes aged 50 and above from Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Martin and Pitt counties to compete in over 40 events encompassing sports like bowling, bocce ball, basketball and track and field. Medalists are then invited to the state and, should they keep winning, the national games.
Shirley Darden-Gibson, 71, has competed in 13 Greenville-Pitt County Senior Games. “The Beast from the East” as she is known by friends and competitors regularly takes first place in track and field sprinting events, and last year clinched a silver medal at the National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa. Darden-Gibson said the games feed her competitive fire, a fire that is sparked in part by her workouts at the ECU Health Wellness Center in Greenville.
“Our wellness centers in Greenville, Washington and Ahoskie provide members and guests with a wide array of resources, equipment, facilities and classes to improve their overall wellness,” said Jonathon Unger, director of ECU Health Wellness Centers. “People of all ages can depend on these resources to keep themselves moving and prepared not only in competition, but in their day-to-day lives. Improving health through flexibility, strength and cardio exercise is important for people of all ages and ECU Health is grateful for organizations like the Greenville-Pitt County Senior Games who promote recreation and wellness across our 29-county region.”
Darden-Gibson works out five days a week for two and a half to three hours each session. She taught aerobics at the wellness center in Greenville for 20 years and takes full advantage of the center’s many resources, where she can run on the indoor and outdoor tracks, lift weights and participate in classes like yoga and Pilates. She also does aquarobics in the center’s indoor pool and enjoys finding new activities.
“The wellness center is very important to me,” Darden-Gibson said. “Fitness has always been part of my life. I believe that the body is a temple, and I believe in taking care of my temple. It belongs to us and I believe we are responsible for its maintenance.
“The gym is a great resource to train for my competitions. I know a lot of people here because I taught here, and they are very supportive. They’ll tell me ‘You’re the beast!’ and I’ll tell them they’re right, but there’s a lot more beasts out there. That’s why I have to stay at the top of my game.”
Don English, 87, has taught yoga at the wellness center in Greenville since 2002, with a short break to move into the private sector. He also competes in cycling at the senior games, where last year he won a silver medal in the 5K time trial and a gold in the 10K time trial at the national games in Des Moines, Iowa. English said he cycles between 75 and 100 miles a week with friends and teaches three to four yoga classes a week, too.. He said he hopes cycling and yoga will keep him fit well into his 90s.
“I feel very strongly that, as we age, it’s so important to keep our legs strong,” English said. “It’s so easy to lose leg strength. I have read that you should lift weights, to tighten and strengthen your muscles, should do something to lengthen and stretch the muscles, for me that’s yoga, and then a cardiovascular exercise. For me, that’s cycling.”
English also teaches chair yoga, for people who can’t or don’t want to get down on a mat, and teaches seniors how to get up and down off the floor in the event of a fall. NC Department of Health and Human Services data indicates that more than 20,000 residents aged 65 or older were hospitalized by falls in 2024.
Darden-Gibson said she finds maintaining her “temple” is a great step toward injury prevention and healing from injuries when they do occur. She said in 2015, an abdominal surgery that was estimated to take six months recovery time only took three months because she was in excellent physical shape.
“I believe we can have a better handle on sickness, illnesses, disease if we take the initiative to care for own health,” she said. “They have meds, and thank God for meds and doctors, but I think there’s more that we can do ourselves, that can maybe help us stay on top of that.”
ECU Health Wellness Centers are located in Greenville, Ahoskie and Washington and offer a broad range of fitness and exercise programs, and aquatic and wellness services for all ages and fitness levels. The medical fitness facilities are designed to empower users to achieve their optimal health. More information about ECU Health Wellness Centers is available here.