For masters athletes age is truly just a number

By Henry Howard

Among my go-to mantras during training runs and races is “Someday I won’t be able to run. Today is not that day.”

We can outrun the competition. We can redefine what’s possible for fitness as we age. We can run for sheer enjoyment.

But at some point — insert record scratch — we will all finish our last mile, succumbing to injury, burnout, illness or our inevitable fate. I’ve riffed previously on doing as much during “our one wild and precious life,” as Mary Oliver wrote.

I was thinking about Oliver’s poem, “The Summer Day,” again during a recent run. A day or two later I noticed a story from Axios about how 49 is the age when humans start to slow down their exercise routine. The story’s premise is based on research of MRI scans and self-reported activity levels from adults ages 18 to 81, 52% of which were female and 48% male. Researchers discovered that physical activity drops off suddenly around age 49.

That came as a surprise as I’ve been running for just about as long after hitting age 49 as compared with before.

While I have zero expectation that I can compete with elite athletes half my age, the journey is not as simple as the numbers on a race clock.

Sure, I’d love to hit a sub 3-hour marathon. But process goals come with a deeper, more meaningful award.

There is an inherent reward that comes from putting in the work every day. It goes beyond improved fitness, boosted mental wellness and the satisfaction of guiding others to achieve their dreams.

Age is truly just a number.

There are incredible older adults who are crushing races and life. Among them are Mariko Yugeta, 62, the first woman over 60 to run a sub-3 hour marathon with a 2:52; Andy Jones-Wilkins, who at 57 completed the Cocodona 250-miler after two hip surgeries; Pam Reed, who has completed more than 100 100-mile races ; and Gene Dykes, a prolific marathon and ultra runner.

While those masters athletes grab the headlines and have large followings, there are countless others in their 50s and beyond who are defying age-related stereotypes, their own preconceived notions and the noise that says, “you’re too old.”

As I’ve gone through my own voyage of personal discovery, I’ve found a sense of peace in zero dark thirty training runs, a sense of belonging in the trail and ultra community, and a sense of purpose for guiding other runners to achieve their amazing goals.

And once I unlace my running shoes, slip them off and set them aside for the last time, I’ll be able to look back at an incredible journey filled with friends, stories and memories.