Age: Not a Deterrent, Nor an Excuse

“I'd go out with women my age, but there are no women my age.”
George Burns
US actor & comedian (1896 - 1996)

51-year-old Joe Bonness of Florida recently completed his tenth consecutive sub-10 hour Ironman. Four of those results came in Kona.

75-year-old Ed Whitlock (at left) just finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a time of 3:08:34, to win the Men’s 70 and over category. His time was 16 minutes faster than the winner of the 60-64 men’s, and would have put him in the top 2000 overall at the Boston Marathon.

Last year, Sister Madonna Buder became the oldest woman to finish the Ironman World Championships, at age 75. In addition, 80-year-old Robert McKeague became the oldest man to finish, in a time of 16:21.

Somebody asked me recently if I was still racing, then asked, “How old are you?”
I replied, “Forty-six.”
“Shouldn’t you be slowing down?”

So the answer is, a resounding NO! And if your doctor ever tells you that you need to slow down because you’re getting old, find another doctor!