Some guys in their 40s who still want to compete in athletics slow down a little and participate in less strenuous sports such as golf or horseshoes.
Highland Park’s Dimitry Burukhin is not like that.
The 43-year old is a long distance runner, who participates in marathons and short triathlons.
He is also a stand up paddle surfer and he tried to do a 50-mile crossing of Lake Michigan with West Chicago Matt Lennert and a surfer from North Carolina with the Windy City Waterman group. It didn’t work, but he had made several other long-distance trips on the water in that sport.
And when he’s not competing in those time-consuming activities, he is also involved in judo and last week earned a red belt, which is ranked higher than a black belt.
He said he thrives on the challenges these sports present.
“I like being able to do endurance events like running a marathon or being on the water paddle surfing,” he said. “Sometimes your brain can go into a sleep mode. But other times in training you can go for miles and it’s like spending the weekend somewhere like on vacation. You can solve problems in your head.
“It’s also about improving your own time. I’m always curious if I can do better than the last time. It’s great to be on the water on a lake or ocean and being connected with nature. It’s not just all about the physical aspect of building muscle.”
Growing up in St. Petersburg in Russia, Burukhin said there wasn’t much of a chance to compete in sports. He was able to try his hand with a swim team for a short amount of time while he was in grade school but not much after that until he took up windsurfing in college.
He came to the United States in 1997 and lived in Evanston for awhile. He met Lennert, the founder of the Waterman organization, and the two set out to try several long-distance surfing challenges on the water with the group.
“It was Matt’s idea to do a lake crossing and it was only done once before,” Burukhin said. “He assembled a group of paddlers two years ago and we made two attempts and had all kinds of problems.. The first time we tried to paddle from Wisconsin to downtown Chicago but it was super windy that day which is unusual for August and the waves were 10 or 12 feet. We stopped in Waukegan.
“Another time Matt and I started in Highland Park and made it to 63rd Street south of Chicago. We were on the lake for 13 hours.”
Burukhin said the group may make another attempt in the near future but scheduling might be a problem.
Speaking of scheduling, how does this guy find time to compete in these demanding sports?
He said he’s been self-employed for more than 10 years and is able to do this around a “flexible schedule.”
He doesn’t believe in idle time. Years ago, when his son Yuri, took up judo at the Kokushikan Academy in Evanston, he grew tired of waiting around. So he joined up, too and has been at it strong long after his son tired of the sport.
“I try to make as much time as I can,” he said. “It’s easier now but when I had a regular job I would spend my lunch hour training and at night. It’s all been worth it.”
