Katie Stratman
Even after losing a limb in a hunting accident, Gary Bertelsen didn’t lose his love of running. By pure chance, he stepped into the New Albany Walking Classic and found a love for competitive walking. He’s continued on to compete in Senior Olympic races – and, of course, always returns to the Walking Classic.
“After 72 years, I finally found a sport that I am competitive in,” Bertelsen says.
Bertelsen lost his leg after a bullet struck it while he was hunting in 1979. After a few weeks in the hospital, he’d had enough and told his medical team to “just cut the damn thing off.” He didn’t let the amputation change his perspective on life.
“The most valuable lesson I found early in life is that if you don’t have a sense of humor, it’ll make you go plumb crazy,” he says.
It took about a year of recovery for Bertelsen to run a single step. Once he did, he couldn’t stop himself from putting one foot in front of the other as he worked his way to the Senior Olympics. In 2020, he placed first for his age group in the 1,500-meter race walk and second in the 5,000-meter nationally, according to World Masters Rankings.
Sports have always come naturally to Bertelsen and his family. He competed in Division I track after walking on at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, just a few hours’ drive from his hometown of Hudson, Wisconsin. His brother, Jim, played professional football with the Los Angeles Rams.
After the accident, Bertelsen never let the prosthetic limb slow him down. He picked up cycling after crafting a makeshift leg with Kevlar, plywood and a pair of ski poles. Running marathons and half marathons was never easy on his knees or prosthetic devices, though.
It was by mistake that Bertelsen came upon a way to continue competing in long-distance events. In 2015, he signed up for the Walking Classic, expecting to run it with new and improved prostheses.
“I filled the application out and I hit the enter button,” he says. “This little flashing thing said, ‘Rule No. 1 is if you run a single stride, you’re disqualified,’ and I think, ‘It’s just a bunch of guys walking?’ Answer – yes, it is a bunch of guys walking!”
It turned out that power walking was much easier on his body. He much prefers walking now, since it is propelled almost entirely by his hips rather than his knees or prosthetic.
Competing in races helps motivate Bertelsen to move more quickly when he’s on the track. While training, he keeps his closest rival in his age group on his mind to prepare himself before they go head-to-head.
“I love the competition, but I have to keep telling myself, ‘Gary, the reason you’re doing this is to stay alive,’” he says.
That’s part of why Bertelsen loves the way the New Albany Walking Club operates. He believes that sports should be a casual, fun experience in which community and exercise are more important than a need to be the best, and that’s the attitude he’s found with the club. Now, he’s an adamant regular, sure to show up to walk and talk with the club every Sunday morning.
“It was their fault that I got into the damn sport in the first place,” Bertelsen says. “So I said, ‘I’m going to haunt you guys until they put me in a pine box.’”
Tyler Kirkendall is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
