Older Runners: Heroes of Aging?

• In Event: Aging and the Life Course Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 9: Social Activities Among Older Adults

Abstract

Running is an activity popular among both men and women in midlife but also for many nearing or well into their retirement years. In this paper I examine those older adults who, through their commitment to the sport of running, belie the pernicious stereotypes of older people as disengaged, confused, and incompetent. From interviews conducted during 2023-24 with 61 runners between the ages of 50 and 82, living throughout the U.S., I examined the issue of runners’ motivations, which is the topic I pursue in this paper.
Concerning those older people who continue to exercise at a high level, Tulle and Phoenix (2015: p. 3) caution that "care must be taken not to fall in to the trap of positioning them as heroes of ageing. Likewise, we must remain aware of the ease with which physical activity can be seen as an anti-ageing practice.” The sheer number of older adults who continue to incorporate vigorous exercise into their daily routines offers clear support of the vitality of older adults. Concerning the motives for their participation, my research leads me to conclude that, contrary to the view of some skeptics that a fear of physical decline is central to the running phenomenon, a more obvious explanation lies in the great joy and sense of satisfaction that exercise provides. One conclusion I draw from my analyses of these interviews is that it would be an exaggeration to lionize older runners as heroes of aging for they are neither extraordinary nor, in almost any other way, different from their age-peers who do not exercise. The one major difference, however, is that they are committed to their running routines and this fact makes all the difference. Their achievement of continued engagement through running “offer(s) some opportunities to reconstruct the discourse of ageing” (Tulle, 2007: 329).

Author

• James J. Dowd, University of Georgia