Shane Anthony’s success can’t be measured in wins and losses. And he probably wouldn’t want it to be.

The Palmerton native has gained perspective — and shown undeniable perseverance — as he has carved a path as a decorated Masters runner.

“I never knew the whole Masters world existed,” said Anthony. “I was still, you know, going in these races and trying to compete with these younger guys. Sometimes I would win one, and sometimes we were showing up at these races and my wife was like, ‘I don’t know, he looks pretty young. He might be fast.’ And I would get second or third.

“In 2021, I ran the Cherry Blossom. It’s the USATF National Championships. It’s a 10-mile race in Washington D.C. And they also have the Masters age group, and there’s like several thousand runners there. And I trained myself on an old Budd Coates handwritten, training log. Because back then, that’s all that we had. And actually, I ended up winning my age group and I was like 112th or something like that out of a couple thousand.

“And then I got an invite from them to come back, which I’ve never had that before, especially something that big reach out say, ‘Hey, we would like you to come back, we’ll pay for your entry fee.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. Really?’”

Really.

That was just the start. Anthony competed in the 2024 USATF Masters Outdoor Championship in Sacramento, California, in July, placing second in both the men’s 55-59 5,000 (17:16.39) and 10,000 (35:59.69).

The 55-59 5,000 and 10,000 were both won by Craig Godwin of the Bowerman Track Club in 16:45.18 and 34:32.52, respectively.

A helping hand

Anthony, who is soon to turn 56 years old, has been a staple of the running community for much of his life.

But this new chapter was different, unlike anything he had been a part of before.

It was new, and it caught the attention of another decorated Palmerton product — Jake Martinez.

Anthony dealt with injury issues, but continued to train and race, with hopes of returning to the Cherry Blossom as he heard from Martinez.

“I told him what I ran three years earlier, and I thought at that point when I ran that, I thought I was in the best shape of my life,” said Anthony. “I was 53 at the time, and there was no way that I could get faster. And Jake looks at everything and he goes, ‘Shane, there’s a whole other world out there.’ So he said, ‘If you don’t mind, let me train you for this 10-mile race. And then afterwards we can look at like this whole Masters thing.’

“But he trained me, and I actually ran faster three years later than I did three years earlier and I never thought that that was possible. Jake did a lot, as far as all my workouts and stuff, and we just went on from there and then we started actually doing all the Masters stuff in January.”

At the Cherry Blossom race in April this year, Anthony ran a time that would have placed him faster than anybody 44 years old or older.

Anthony was also a fan of Martinez, who starred for the Blue Bombers in track and cross country before authoring a stellar career at Lehigh University. And Martinez was as much a supporter of Anthony’s accomplishments.

“The running community of Palmerton is small, and the community in general is small,” said Martinez. “So you see everybody every day, and they are your neighbors. And Shane was one of those neighbors that I got to know. And he’s a guy who works incredibly hard, has a great story, comes from being an Allentown city cop.

“Now he works for the borough (of Palmerton) and takes care of our town and keeps Palmerton, which I think is a gem of Carbon County, looking beautiful and works really hard every day at that. That work ethic translates into his training. So we’d see him around town, just working and training hard. For a while, he was training in an old-school style and couldn’t quite get to the start line healthy for some key moments.”

New view

Hard work is nothing new for Anthony, who ran for one year at Millersville University before joining the Army. After retiring from working in the city of Allentown, Anthony now serves the Palmerton community working for the borough.

Martinez wanted to help Anthony work more to maximize his incredible potential to compete at an elite level.

“To train for a 10-mile road race and then do a 5K and 10K on the track is very different,” said Martinez. “And we knew this would be a challenging block — just given the rigors of the speed he’d need to run on the track and also the heat of Sacramento, California.

“He was competing when it was 90 to 100 degrees out both days. So really it was a slow build where it kind of felt like it was on the horizon, but we needed to stay focused past this success at the Cherry Blossom. It was just a continuous build and we continually ramped up the intensity, and then we knew he had the fitness to do something great. But even for a guy like Shane late in his career, it’s about having the confidence, right?”

Anthony was nervous, but he knew he was prepared.

“I’m standing there and there’s a group of these men that obviously they know each other because they’re talking about other past races and stuff and then I hear my name mentioned, and I’m like, OK,” Anthony recalled with a laugh about the moments prior to his first race. “Now I’m standing not facing them, but I’m within like five feet and I hear the one guy go, ‘Hey, you know, you know anything about this Shane Anthony guy? I didn’t see him, I wonder if he’s going to be showing up.’

“And I’m right there and, now I’m really getting nervous because now they’re talking about me, and I hear the one guy go, ‘Yeah, I couldn’t find anything on him.’

“I just turned around and one of the guy says, ‘Oh, there he is.’ By now my heart rate just went up to 200. And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ So that, along with the heat, kind of made me nervous. But there were no excuses.”

Anthony made fast friends with his competitors, the same way he has throughout his years running and training with the Palmerton community.

“I have to say, and that’s one thing that even in the 5K, people that I’ve never met before and even though some of those guys, you know, have been racing the master circuit for like years, they know each other, and they race all the time, but they were so friendly. And in that aspect, it made me feel a little bit more relaxed. But they were just so super nice.

“And then they congratulate you and stuff. And even in the 10K as we’re walking up, everybody was just super nice out there. And they realized, too, that I was totally new to this.”

Perspective & purpose

His success was no surprise to Martinez.

“Shane, after the race, told me how he never thought he’d be able to achieve something like this ever again in his career,” said Martinez. “He didn’t think just that level of competition or success was still possible at his age, and to be able to find a newfound level of success and a newfound level of competitive drive toward future success, I think that’s so beautiful.

“Seeing somebody in any stage of your life be able to find that drive and that success is really incredible. I think that’s my biggest takeaway because I’m 23, so to be able to see somebody like that 30 years older than me still have that same passion and drive — and that’s from that dedication — is pretty special and I think that’s awesome. And Shane is a shining example of that. And it’s been a privilege to coach him and to be a small part. I feel I may have opened his eyes, or helped him just realize that there is still opportunities for him. But again, he did the work, he put in the time and he did it.”

Anthony’s next race will be a 12K Masters road race Sept. 15. in New Jersey. He’s also hoping to compete in the cross country club national event in Washington in December, which both Jake and his dad, Michael Martinez, will be competing in.

No matter the difficulty or uncertainty that comes with each challenge, Anthony will face it full speed ahead, just like he always has.

“I look forward to the miles, to getting out there, and every once in a while, getting to run with some of the guys in town and stuff,” he said. “And so I’m going to keep doing this, and the body either says no you’re not or I don’t enjoy it anymore.

“But right now, I love what I’m doing. I love the intensity. And I’m just going to do this as long as I can.”