Kim and Don Warren wouldn’t consider themselves athletes. They both offer a hearty laugh at the thought.
Married for 37 years, the Silk Hope residents have both recently retired and spend a lot of their time alongside their two German Shepherds, Diesel and Heidi. But this spring, both Warrens will compete in the Chatham County Senior Games for the second straight year.
Running in the area for the better part of the last decade, the Chatham County Senior Games offer older residents the chance to showcase their abilities in a number of sports and different activities, from archery to table tennis. Those who perform well enough at this year’s games — held April 28 through May 11 — will qualify for the North Carolina Senior Games, which take place in September and October. Last year, 49 Chatham County athletes combined to win 31 gold medals at the state games.
The Chatham County Senior Games have grown immensely over the past few years. In 2021, the local chapter was honored by the N.C. Senior Games for having the highest participation increase over a five-year period. Last spring, a record 262 people participated in the events.
Kim, 61, is planning to compete in bowling, bocce, cornhole, horseshoes and softball/football throwing this year, while Don, 70, will try his hand at bowling, bocce, cornhole, horseshoes and pickleball. While they might not set any records, both Warrens agreed that participating in the senior games has been a welcome change of pace.
“We’re both retired, so our interactions with other people are kind of limited to the meet-up groups, our bowling league and the Senior Games,” Kim said. “It’s nice to get out and interact with more people. I retired right when Covid hit, so when I went home, we were stuck at home. It’s nice to be able to get out and do stuff like this.”
*Banjo music intensifies*
While they’ve spent the better part of four decades in Chatham County, neither Don nor Kim were born and raised in the area.
Don grew up in Anson County, about an hour southeast of Charlotte. He played football at Bowman High in Wadesboro before graduating in 1971. He also played football his freshman year at UNC, but it was short-lived.
“I realized — they weren’t really trying to kill me — but they didn’t really care if they did or not,” Don joked.
Don eventually graduated from UNC and went on to become a school-teacher. But he wouldn’t meet Kim until the early 1980s. This time, Kim was a UNC student looking to pick up a new hobby. She checked the local want-ads and found a listing for banjo lessons, which Don was offering. And she ended up taking lessons from him until they eventually got married in 1986.
Talk about a chance encounter.
“I had a big, beautiful German Shepherd named Justice, and I’m sure that’s what (made her fall for me),” Don said. “She might say something different.”
Turns out that wasn’t far from the truth.
“That probably was the first attraction,” Kim joked.
From there, the pair went on to have two children together, a son, Justice — named after the dog, and a daughter, Kaitlyn. Don continued to work as a teacher and coach in Moore and Chatham counties until he retired in 2019, teaching at local schools like SAGE Academy in Siler City. Kim, meanwhile, took a position at the Chatham County Public Health Department, where she stayed for 30 years before retiring in 2020.
The couple like to joke that out of their 37 years of marriage, they’ve had 12 wonderful years, though they’ve been nonconsecutive.
On Monday, the pair made a trip to the Western Chatham Senior Center in Siler City to submit entries for the Chatham County SilverArts senior arts competition. Kim submitted a few photos she’s taken of her family, while Don entered a piece he made while wood-working. Kim said having different hobbies has kept things fresh for the couple as they approach their 40th anniversary.
“It helps if you have your stuff you do together, but also stuff you do separately,” she said.
Busy schedule
Of the events they participate in, the Warrens feel best about their abilities in bowling. They compete each week as part of a senior league in Asheboro.
“We bowl in a league, so we’re probably not as bad at bowling as some of the others. But we’re not great at bowling, either,” Don joked.
Don also plays pickleball, one of the quickest-growing sports in America, about three or four times a week. And he leads hikes with the “Hike Over the Hill” meet-up group, which holds group hikes around central North Carolina.
Don said his favorite spots to hike nearby are in Saxapahaw, on the Eno River Trail and at White Pines Nature Preserve in Sanford. He’s also used his wood-working experience to hand-make walking sticks to help him deal with the terrain.
Kim, on the other hand, spends her time taking photos and enjoying long walks with the couple’s two dogs. She knows how important it is, both physically and mentally, to stay active and get out of the house.
“Sometimes we don’t feel like going for a walk, and the dogs are like, ‘Oh, you’re taking us for a walk,’” she said. “And I just feel so much better after we’ve done it, just to know I’ve gotten that physical walk in and being outside, too.”
The importance was exacerbated by the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. Locked in the house for days at a time, Don and Kim joked that while it was an adjustment, they managed not to kill each other. What helped them cope was staying active. By the time case numbers began to slow down, they understood the importance these extra-curricular activities can bring to people their age.
“I’ve enjoyed competing. It’s been nice meeting other people from the county and having an opportunity to compete.”
The chance to connect with people was part of the reason they decided to participate in the Chatham County Senior Games starting last spring. And it’s something they plan to continue doing as long as they can.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.