“I hope I can run like you when I am your age” was a comment directed to me during a 10K race almost 30 years ago. I admit that my salt and pepper hair suggested I was older than the 20- something who was about to pass me on a steep uphill. I hesitated for a moment and then responded, “I hope you can too!”
I have been fortunate to know many active older people in my life. When I was a member of my North Carolina track club, I enjoyed how we encouraged each other as we got older and moved into new age categories for races. I was always impressed by the energy and enthusiasm for running of a woman who was 15 years older than me, Martha Klopfer. Last year she won the 2024 1500-meter Masters race for women 85-89. Associating with people who remain active into their later years seems normal to me.
I had another experience related to age on our recent hiking trip to Patagonia (see photo). Several of us were approaching or into our 70’s. (I was the oldest). We were going down a particularly steep crowded section of the trail headed to Gray Glacier. Because of the rocky wet path, hikers were kindly waiting to take their turn going either up or down. A young man with a distinct European accent waited patiently and then said to one of our folks, “Can I ask you how old you are?” Kathy looked up at him for a moment, and said, “70.” His response was “Wow!”
Not everyone in our small group of travelers was “older.” However, two fellow travelers remarked to me that their mothers (women of my age) could never do the trip we were doing.
I do not think it is unusual that people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s are able to run races and hike mountains. If that is a part of their lives when younger, it can remain an important part of life. Afterall, as the commercial says on TV, “Age is only a number.” Living a healthy life impels us into the future. I cannot control how much longer I will be able to be physically active, but I hope I will continue to encounter active folks regardless of their age. I will not let an old lady live in my body or mind.