Dick Rosen, Greensboro's running nonagenarian, lacing up for Run 4 the Greenway

Dick Rosen might follow in our footsteps Saturday at the Run 4 the Greenway.

We'd do well to follow in his.

The 91-year-old retired Greensboro internist will be among more than 100 runners who are signed up for the four-mile fundraiser for the Downtown Greenway.

That's right: 91 years old. Four miles.

"I feel fortunate," he says.

Maybe so. But clearly he has practiced what he preached in his practice, so more than simply luck is involved. Rosen's active lifestyle has put him in a better position to deal with physical challenges, such as skin cancer or dental issues, or his most recent one.

"The worst thing I had since turning 90 was a herniated disc, and it's flared both last November and this April," Rosen says.

Epidural injections eased the pain. The second of those preceded some balance issues, though he says he's been "pretty stable" since April.

"When I began playing tennis again, I have had pulled calf muscles a couple of times," he adds.

Wait: Rosen plays tennis, too?

Of course he does. And lifts weights. He has to build strength for these 20- and 25-mile weeks of running.

"I shuffle," he says. "In the last month or two when I try and run, I'm really not lifting both feet off the ground at the same time."

Rosen for years advocated against smoking, not only as a physician but as a leader in the community. This run on the greenway earns his attention, as he writes, "as a pathway to better health, especially in reduction of obesity."

The run, at 5 p.m., will start and end at LoFi Park, adjacent to Joymongers, at 500 N. Eugene St. Greensboro's dashing doc previewed the Downtown Greenway recently, taking a test run to see how Saturday might go.

"I am aware I will lose contact with the pack," he writes, "which is why I went over the course in advance."

He expected to cover it in about 20 minutes per mile.

"Which would have been in a total of 80 minutes," he says. "But by my watch it was 85 minutes."

Five minutes. But at age 91, Dr. Dick Rosen is showing he still has time on his side.