Once again we find our famous photographer Marcy Maloy in the news. Check out this great feature on her from our very own San Francisco Chronicle!
Marcy Maloy - Photo Courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle
For her 60th birthday last fall, San Francisco photographer Marcy Maloy donned fishnet stockings and climbed a ladder that led to a waiting trapeze bar. About 100 supporters – including her 89-year-old mother, Barbara – stood below, craning their necks upward to see whether Maloy would complete a full flip, a stunt she’d practiced for three months.
“I told myself when I get older I’m not going to be one of those people who sits on the sidelines,” Maloy says. “I want to be active, in the game.”
Thanks to a vigorous exercise regimen and playful nature, Maloy is now in one of the biggest games around: She’s a competitor on CBS’ “Amazing Race,” which premiered Sunday. Along with her boyfriend, Ron Shalita, 59, the pair represents the globe-trotting show’s oldest competitors.
“By far,” Maloy said.
Before the show was taped, she did something every day to get in shape, because “I didn’t want to embarrass myself among all these young kids.” Maloy lives near Golden Gate Park, but she’s not much of a runner, so the hard-core Rocky Balboa regimen was nixed early on.
Instead, she bought a balance beam and placed it in the middle of her studio, often walking back and forth while discussing business with her assistant. The increased balance helped strengthen her core muscles, which helped during her twice-a-week kung fu classes. She also took archery lessons in Golden Gate Park and started rock climbing at Planet Granite in Crissy Field.
Marcy Maloy Balances! - Courtesy of SF Chronicle
Although she loathed running the park’s trails, Maloy speed-walked up to an hour a day to increase endurance while listening to the theme songs from “Indiana Jones” and “Wonder Woman” for inspiration. Soon she was able to complete 20 men’s-style push-ups every morning after stretching and sit-ups. After each workout with her trainer, Alyona Aikina, she hugged herself and repeated the positive mantra, “I’m so proud of myself!”
“One motivation can be fear,” Maloy said. “As you get older, you won’t be able to continue to have fun if you get too achy and stiff. And if you get too stiff your fun factor goes down, so you have to keep at it.”
During her time on “Amazing Race” – Maloy could not divulge any details on locations or how she and partner Shalita finished – she continued a morning stretching routine but was usually wiped out each night by the vigorous activities the show demands.
“I didn’t even know about the show until Ron asked me to do it,” Maloy said. “It was our third date, and he said, ‘Hey, you wanna apply for this show?’ ”
Once the couple learned they were semifinalists for a slot, Maloy said, they worked out three times a week.
For her birthday trapeze act, Maloy said she was nervous she’d bail into the net after all the training and let down her audience. But as she swung through the air, she flipped, reached forward, and caught the hands of her fellow trapeze artist.
She heard the roars of approval below.
“They called for an encore,” Maloy said. “So I gave them a couple more.”
This article has been corrected since it appeared in print editions.
This article appeared on page E – 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Article By: Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, September 28, 2009
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