Published August 4, 2026 03:00AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
September 10, 1972: Maury Dean, a 29-year-old English professor at a New York community college, sat transfixed in front of his 12-inch, black-and-white TV set, watching a mustachioed law student named Frank Shorter<\/a> cross the finish line of the 1972 Olympic Marathon, becoming the first American to win the event since 1908. \u201cIt was riveting to watch,\u201d recalls Dean. \u201cI got marathon fever that night.\u201d<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t alone: Shorter\u2019s gold medal performance is widely recognized as the spark that lit what would become known as the first Running Boom. Over the next few years, an estimated tne million runners\u2014mostly white-collar, well-educated males at that point\u2014laced up pairs of newfangled running shoes and hit the roads.<\/p>\n Dean was one of them. He went on to finish 14 marathons and became a competitive age grouper in the New York area.<\/p>\n Like another octogenarian, Mick Jagger, who, as a young man, once said that he\u2019d rather be dead than sing \u201cSatisfaction\u201d at 45, Dean never really imagined that he\u2019d continue to be pounding the pavement at age 83.<\/p>\n \u201cI figured I was going to stop running when I was 60,\u201d he tells Outside Run<\/i>. \u201cAnd then I ignored my own advice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m getting slower and slower, faster and faster,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n But he\u2019s still at it. And, he says, still enjoying it.<\/p>\n Dean\u2019s epoch-spanning running career reminds us that, while we may indeed be slowing down\u2014an average of one to three percent<\/a> of people per year start around age 40, researchers estimate\u2014running can be a lifetime sport. While you can\u2019t outrun Father Time, you can keep him (or her) at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n \u201cRunners, whether we like it or not, tend to slow down over time,\u201d says kinesiologist Hank Williford<\/a>, emeritus professor at Auburn University-Montgomery in Alabama. \u201cHowever, the decline is not the same in everyone.\u201d And if it can\u2019t be completely avoided, it can at least be ameliorated.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you put in the work, on and off the roads, you can still get a lot of satisfaction from running,\u201d Williford says. \u201cI\u2019m 79, still racing and proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, you might need to make some changes in your training.<\/p>\n \u201cAs runners get older, they\u2019d be wise to do more than just run,\u201d says Jason Karp, PhD<\/a>, an exercise scientist, coach, and author. To explain what runners should incorporate into their training as they age, he points to a 2022 study<\/a> of best practices for aging competitive runners.<\/p>\n The study, published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy<\/em>, examined the running habits of 68 competitive female athletes, between the ages of 45 and 60. The researchers found that these women\u2014most of whom continued to compete in races of various distances\u2014ran an average of three days a week, totaling no more than 15 to 30 miles of running per week. Most of the women followed a warm-up routine that included stretching. About half logged at least some of their mileage on treadmills or off-road. A whopping 97 percent did at least one form of cross-training\u2014primarily strength training, but also stationary biking, elliptical, and yoga\u2014an average of two to three days per week.<\/p>\n This less-is-more regimen didn\u2019t make the women in the study immune to injuries, but it did allow them to keep training and running competitively. However, for runners imbued with the idea that the answer is always more mileage, it might be a daunting prescription.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a young runner, you can get away with six or seven days a week,\u201d Karp says. \u201cBut you probably can\u2019t do that your whole life as a runner.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are some ways that an older runner can refocus and revitalize their running career.<\/p>\n Mike Keohane<\/a>, 61, was locked in a vicious cycle: \u201cI was running in pain,\u201d Keohane says. Keohane is a New Jersey runner who competed in the 1992 Olympic Trials Marathon and is now a coach and certified pedorthist, a running shoe expert. \u201cI\u2019d actually be limping after a run. So I started running less. As soon as it felt better, I\u2019d up the miles. And then I was running in pain again.\u201d<\/p>\n Keohane finally broke out of this rut by cutting his mileage dramatically (from 25 to 30 miles per week to ten to 15). He also began hitting the gym in earnest: lifting weights, cycling, doing the elliptical. Now, he says, \u201cFor the first time in over ten years, I\u2019m running without pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Attitude adjustments might be in order for the older runner. \u201cEveryone should have an attitude of gratitude towards their running,\u201d says Gordon Bakoulis, a five-time Olympic Trials marathoner and New York Road Runners coach. \u201cWe should run because we love it.\u201d<\/p>\n Gail Butrymowicz is a prime example. She loves to run. A retired nurse from Green Bay, Wisconsin, she completed 43 marathons over three decades.<\/p>\n Although never in Bakoulis\u2019s league, Gail was a solid, middle-of-the-packer. But as she approached 60, she noticed a marked drop-off in her time. \u201cI thought, \u2018Maybe my marathon days are over.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n She ran her last 26.2 at Big Sur in 2019. But she kept on running\u2014just not as far. Now 63, Butrymowicz runs three times a week on a four-mile loop near her home. And enjoys every minute. \u201cI come home after my runs, and I feel really good about myself,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Her advice: \u201cIf you\u2019re an older runner, and you\u2019re still able to get out and run, be thankful. You\u2019ve been able to maintain your health and fitness, and you\u2019re still out there! That alone is an achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n As older runners slow down, they assume that\u2019s the way they should henceforth do all their running: Slowly. Not so, says Karp.<\/p>\n Shorter, faster running increases force production. \u201cThat means recruiting some fast-twitch muscle fibers, improving hip extension and flexibility, and helping build bone density,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n This kind of shorter, higher-intensity training doesn\u2019t have to be done on a track. \u201cYou could do a Fartlek run, which means doing little spurts of hard running during an easy run,\u201d he advises. \u201cIt could just be running 30 seconds hard, or running from one telephone pole to the next. You can make it free-form.\u201d<\/p>\n However you choose to do it, consistent, short-but-higher-intensity efforts will help put a little pep in your running step.<\/p>\n Chances are, chasing PRs wasn\u2019t the only reason you started running. You probably felt less stressed when you ran, more in touch with nature, refreshed and renewed. Why not try reconnecting with those feelings?<\/p>\n Maybe it means a run without your watch. Or perhaps a run where you stop and smell the proverbial roses. In 1977, Eileen Barnes Corley was the first female member of Fordham University\u2019s cross-country team. Like Dean, she has seen the breathtaking growth of her sport. And she continued to train hard and race seriously into her early 60s, but injuries and aging prompted a different perspective: one that encompasses the entire breadth of the running experience\u2014not just performance.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to say, gotta get the run in, gotta get the run in, no stopping,\u201d says Barnes Corley, now 67. \u201cNow I\u2019m like, \u2018 Oh, there\u2019s a waterfall. Let\u2019s stop for a minute and enjoy the view.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Want more\u00a0<\/b>Outside<\/i><\/b>\u00a0health stories?\u00a0<\/b>Sign up for the Bodywork newsletter<\/b><\/a>. And, f<\/b>or tips on how to train, fuel, and recover better, sign up for the Sweat Science 101 newsletter.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\nPeople\u2019s Athletic Ability Naturally Slows Down with Age\u2014and That\u2019s OK<\/b><\/h2>\n
4 Ways to Keep Running Safe and Fun As You Age, From the People Actually Doing It<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. Decrease Your Mileage to Reduce Pain and Injury Risk<\/b><\/h2>\n
2. Remind Yourself That Running Any Distance Is an Achievement\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
3. Incorporate Short Bursts of Fast-Paced Running Into Your Training to Keep Bones Strong<\/b><\/h2>\n
4. Rediscover Why You Started Running<\/b><\/h2>\n