This Havertown resident is 90 and still competes in track and field. What’s his secret?

People in John Durning’s circle have come to know him as “Superman,” which makes sense, given his growing collection of gold medals.

At 90 years old, the Irish immigrant and Havertown resident is preparing for the 36th annual Delaware County Senior Games, where he will compete in seven track and field events on Thursday morning. Those events include a 100, 200, and 400-meter run, a softball and football throw, a 400-meter walk, and, Durning’s favorite, the long jump.

Last year, as the sole 89-year-old in the 85-89 age division, John still had some competition. He may be one of the few in the 90-plus age category this year, but Durning won’t mind if he wins gold by default.

“This week brings the total to 230 medals,” Durning said. “I have nine more silvers than I do gold, so I’m trying to beat that.”

Durning began competing in the games when he was a spry 56-year-old after hearing about them from a friend. The games are meant to keep folks active as they age and retire. Durning spending his retirement on the couch, however, was never a concern for his friends and family.

Durning was born in 1935, the second-youngest of 10 children, and raised on a farm in Donegal, Ireland. He learned to play Gaelic football with his five older brothers at an early age. Needing to find a job, he immigrated to the United States at 21, where an aunt and cousins lived.

“I came through New York City on April 17, 1957, and I saw the lit-up Statue of Liberty,” Durning said. “It was beautiful.”

» READ MORE: Ryan Carter found ‘family’ at Friends’ Central. Now, she’s bringing her experience to Team USA.

He only planned to stay for three years. The plan was to work and save up to open a sporting goods store back in Ireland. However, after 16 months in the United States, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he went on to become a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne.

The Army saw his athletic potential, and he was recruited to compete on the U.S. Army soccer and track teams. He competed against other military branches and colleges while he was based at Fort Lee in Virginia.

“I’ve rubbed shoulders with some great athletes when I was in the Army,” Durning said. “Like Bobby Mitchell, who was a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns.”

Unlike many of his teammates, John had no thoughts of going pro after he left the military in the early 1960s. Besides, he soon had a family to support.

He met the love of his life, Helen, at a dance, and they married in 1962 and had the first of their four sons a year later. Durning worked night shifts at Acme Baking Co. and coached his sons’ soccer and track teams in the afternoons.

“He has always had a sense of humor about our sports,” said Brian Durning, the second-oldest of the Durning sons. “I remember he would take us to the Haverford High School track on the weekends to practice baton handoffs and understand what we were doing better, and help us ahead of time not make a mistake.”

Over the years, Durning coached a multitude of sports for local teams, including soccer and track at Malvern Prep, Waldron Mercy Academy, and the Haverford School. The number of kids he has coached is innumerable.

“I have people here and there who tell me, ‘You were my coach,’” he said. “They are teaching their own kids now and ask me to come and watch … coach them on coaching.”

» READ MORE: The World Cup is here. So how well do you know the players and nations descending on Philly?

A large part of Durning’s legacy is the founding of two soccer clubs. The first, when he was only 17, was the St. Michael’s GAA Club in Donegal. He played on the team and served as treasurer and secretary in the club’s early years. The club recently honored Durning for his 90th birthday by placing a bench engraved with his name outside the clubhouse.

In 1974, he helped found what became Haverford Soccer Club, where he remained involved for years, helping the organization grow from just 68 boys to more than 2,000 players and coaches.

Durning retired from coaching at age 75 after the Haverford School won the 2011 Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship.

“After that, I knew it was time to step away,” he said.

The World Cup in Philly

Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.

Between the annual Senior Games, Durning stays on his feet. Heavily involved in the Donegal association of Philadelphia and the local Irish Center, he is an athlete in many ways — including dance.

“At the Irish Center, he’s known as the best waltzer in the Irish community,” said Pari Livermore, Durning’s best friend. “He’s like dancing with air. He can still dance with about 15 to 20 girls. No one can move like him anymore. That’s why they call him Superman.”

Durning and Livermore make it a habit to dance as much as they can.

“We met at an Irish dance,” Livermore said. “We sat down next to each other, and I asked, ‘Would you like a drink?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t drink’ … so that’s one reason why I think he is so healthy and so active.”

Added Durning: “At one point I was a bartender, and I’ve still never had a drop. I sold cigarettes in my father’s shop, and not once did I ever smoke.”

The Irishman adds to his regimen by stretching every morning and walking around the neighborhood most evenings. Even Durning, though, has had his hardships.

“I’ve had three back surgeries and two hip replacements,” he said. “And I’m still running and doing the long jump. A lot of people have back surgeries, knee replacements, and all, but they never continued with physical therapy exercises, which is key. It just takes 20 minutes a day.”

Durning has encouraged others to continue staying active. Once a coach, always a coach, he now helps friends with their Senior Games performances. Despite being an accomplished athlete, his community remembers him for more than his medals.

“If you were to go around his friends and say, ‘Can you describe John with one word?’” Livermore said, “they would all probably say he is a gentleman, not an athlete. They would say he is a gentleman.”

» READ MORE: Liam O’Leary's winding baseball journey led him to St. John’s and a super regional

Durning plans to stay active and “compete until I am physically unable to,” but not without warning.

“You know, I’ve been told to slow down,” Durning said. “‘You could get a heart attack and drop dead on the track,’ they say, and I just said, ‘Well, we have the long jump pit and the shovels out. You can just throw me in and do it dirt cheap.’”

Durning has a plan for his medals when the time inevitably arrives. It’s somewhat of a tradition, he explained, to hand out the silver, gold and bronze awards one received in the Senior Games at their funeral. Durning will have more than 230 medals to share — a physical reminder of the zest he has for life.

“I say you’ll never, ever be too old,” he said. “If you want something, as long as you’re healthy enough to do it, you should be doing it.”