Published: October 31, 2009 07:37 pm      

Guerrero shoots for gold at Senior Games

San Marcos — Homer Guerrero never planned on competing at today’s 2009 Texas State Senior Games Championships.

Guerrero didn’t intend on getting back on the track to race again after a 40-year absence.

He only started training again because we wanted to lower his blood sugar.

“I’m a diabetic, so I wanted to bring my blood sugar down,” Guerrero said. “When I was out there running, I said ‘You know what? I should run in the Senior Olympics.’ Plus, it works out because my wife has always wanted to see me race.”

And just like that, Guerrero’s plan was born. The Senior Games were two months away (in Houston) and he wanted to compete in the 100-meter dash.

For any other 60-year old this would be off the radar. Yet, speed runs in Guerrero’s blood.

“I think my speed is a God-given speed,” Guerrero said. “In other words, I was born with it. My dad was fast. I was fast. My brothers always ran track and I had a sister (Barbara) who was in the summer Olympics 40 years ago.”

Guerrero isn’t a slouch either on the track.

He was a member of the 1968 1600-meter relay team at San Marcos High that still holds the school record (3:16.8). He finished his leg in 47.9 seconds.

After high school, he earned a full scholarship to Southwest Texas State (now Texas State), where he led off the Bobcats’ 1600-meter relay team.

“I was always a gifted athlete,” Guerrero said. “I always liked being competitive and track is one of those sports where you don’t only race others, but yourself.”

When he began training for the 2009 Senior Games, Guerrero blasted through his 100-meter sprints.

Guerrero set his sights on last year’s winning time (13.39 seconds) as motivation. He blew that time out of the water.

“A few weeks ago, I wanted to see where my conditioning was,” Guerrero said. “I finished the first one in 13.01 seconds and just to make sure the timers were working, they wanted me to run it again.”

He matched the mark again.

Guerrero feels ready for today’s race even though he hasn’t raced competitively on a track in 40 years. He’s admittedly nervous, but at 10:15 a.m., Guerrero will feel right at home.

And hopefully with a gold medal around his neck after he finishes.

“My goal is to bring back the gold,” Guerrero said. “I’m 100 percent sure I can do it.”