RICHARD SHEPARD 
I've always been into lifting weights ever since I was a kid. I worked at a gym while in high school and was lucky enough to meet and learn from some very successful body builders. I was also living in a rough neighborhood and surrounded by people that drank alcohol, I think I began drinking fairly regularly around 13 years old.
Eventually drinking became a way of life and a daily habit. My health declined pretty consistently over the years and I stopped making progress and began gaining weight.
Around 8 years ago I began racing BMX bicycles with my children. I really enjoyed the sport and there was a decent older population of riders to compete with. At that time I never really consider that I could ever be very good at it and my friends and I would drink beer in the pits and call it "training" then one day I had a pretty bad crash that left me in the hospital with sepsis for 2 weeks and I ended up having 3 surgeries and leaving with a wound VAC in my leg that would stay there for the next 3 months. I sank into a deep depression and the drinking hit further and further out of control.
By the time I was healed up enough to race again I had gotten myself up to 275lbs I was weak and slow and some of my friends that used to finish behind me were now beating me. Things were pretty miserable and my marriage was beginning to suffer as well. My wife quit drinking. She encouraged me to quit as well and about 3 months later I did. I decided to dedicate myself to getting in shape and to see just how good at this sport I could be.
At 47 years old I have finished top 3 in the state of California two years in a row. My son and I qualified for world championships this year and made our way out to France to race against riders from all over the world. I ran my first half marathon and am setting my sights on a tuff mudder and full marathon next year and we also hope to qualify for worlds and race in Glasgow Scotland next year.
If I were to tell my 44 year old self that I could get this far I wouldn't have believed it. This is a dangerous sport and over the years I've collected a pretty long list of injuries and fractures but I've also learned how to bounce back from those situations and come back stronger. I consistently get in 3 days of weight training per week as well as time on the bikes and some running.
My long term plan is to take all that I’ve learned over the years and help other older athletes keep pushing their boundaries and achieving their health and fitness goals.
