A Lakota tribal member has joined the ranks of athletes in the South Dakota Senior Games Hall of Fame. Wally Little Moon has been running for half- a-century…and has no plans to stop anytime soon.
Wally Little Moon was born and raised on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. His first taste for running long distances came while attending high school and continued when he moved to Oklahoma to attend Haskell Indian School.
As Little Moon explains, he’s been running ever since.
“I really love running,” says Little Moon. “When I get out on the road…it’s almost like a church for me. I pray. A lot of people. A lot of friends…relatives and friends died on the road…you know? That’s where I get my strength.”
The Lakota elder has competed in the South Dakota Senior Games since 2000. Called “The Legend” by his people, Little Moon also ran at the 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 National Senior Games and the 2005 Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah.
Little Moon was inducted into the South Dakota Senior Games Hall of Fame last week during this year’s biennial competition in Aberdeen. He joins 57 other South Dakota seniors who’ve been recognized for their athletic achievements as part of the games since 1984.
The South Dakota Senior Games include competition in 21 different sports from track and field events, to bicycle races, basketball and shuffleboard and are open to both male and female athletes. Eleven age categories range from 50 years old to 100-plus.
Co-executive director Howard Bich competed this year as well as helping to organize the games.
“Don’t think that you’ve got to be first place in order to participate,” Bich cautions. “The goal is participation. Even though it’s competition…it’s not necessarily that you have to .excel in it.”
Howard Bich explains that the primary goal of the 4-day competition is to get seniors active. After all, he notes, exercise is the strongest medicine known to man.