GRANDVILLE - Harold Plaisier, at an age when most people are content to just be walking, has some advice to anyone who wants to be an 82-year-old runner like him.

"You don't want to run too much," he said.

Well, that seems like a no-brainer for senior citizens everywhere. But Plaisier's reasons are deeper than that.

The Grandville resident has adhered to moderation ever since he took up running at 55, which, in hindsight, was a heck of a long time ago. But at the time, he was a late arrival to the sport and his approach even back then was to not overdo it.

"In the 1990s, there were about a dozen of us in our 60s who ran, and they're all out of it now," Plaisier said. "They ran too much. They were real competitive - very good men - but they wore themselves out. I always said I'd rather be healthy and slow and at the starting line than not make it there at all."

What he runs in his 80s is less than what he did 27 years ago, but Plaisier takes pride at the results. He runs about three miles early in the week, then gets in five or six miles on the weekend. Even back his 50s, his weekly mileage wasn't more than 25 miles and he seldom ran more than twice a week.

Nowadays, time isn't a concern as much as just finishing, said Plaisier, who laughed that he once told a friend he would stop running if he ever did a 30-minute 5K.

He's still running.

His current training has Plaisier on target for the Winter Blast Run in Grandville on Feb. 20, his first race of the season. Last year, Plaisier estimated he did 10 races, from 5k to 15k. He has done 17 marathons, but none since he did seven in a year to celebrate his 70th birthday.

Going back to late 1988, Plaisier's back and shoulders were shot from a career in construction. So, he took up running just as a way to get into shape.

"At first, I couldn't even do a quarter mile without coming back with aches and pains. But I wouldn't quit," Plaisier said in 2005 story in the Grand Rapids Press. "I went to a (Fifth Third River Bank Run) running expo, started running Saturday mornings at Johnson Park with members of the (Grand Rapids) running club, kept at it and kept at it."

He did his first 25K on a dare at the River Bank Run in 1989 and then did another 23 in a row. Now, he still does the 10k.

Being slower nowadays doesn't bother Plaisier, who laughs that at least he is still moving. But there is some seriousness to his statement. Running slow and steady has never resulted in an injury outside of a pulled hamstring and one bout of plantar fasciitis.

"I've just done slower and less, but I've never quit," he said, noting that if he can't run outside he will use a treadmill, rowing machine and a bench press. "If you quit, then you lose your heart and lung situation."

How long can he go?

Try forever.

"I just plain love running," he said. "I just plain love it. It's really good for your balance, I've never had an ankle sprain, and once I took up running, my back became better and it's still strong. It just seems like running has helped me stay healthy."

Pete Wallner covers sports for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at pwallner@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.