The Age Limit Myth: Are Our Best Running Years Behind Us?

ahunterarnold

11 minutes ago

4 min read

Episode overview

Does turning 40 mean your fastest running years are behind you—or can women continue getting stronger, more durable and even faster as they age?

Ashley is approaching 40 and wondering whether she still has time to chase lifetime PRs. Trax, at 51, is finding that hard workouts and races take more out of her than they used to. Together, they ask the question sitting underneath both experiences: How do we keep pursuing ambitious goals when our bodies—and our definitions of success—begin to change?

Masters runner Jenny Hitchings shares how she became competitive around 40, ran her lifetime-best marathon at 59 and continues chasing records in her sixties. She also opens up about the pressure, comparison and race anxiety that can come with trying to maintain an extraordinary level of performance.

At 82, Jan Holmquist offers a different—but equally powerful—perspective. She didn’t begin running until 38 and still trains, races and sets records more than four decades later. For Jan, longevity comes back to joy, community, meaningful goals and the simple reminder to “just run.”

Finally, exercise physiologist and human-performance researcher Dr. Susie Reiner explains what actually changes in our bodies as we age—and what can still improve. While VO2 max may gradually decline, endurance, efficiency, strength, durability and fatigue resistance can continue developing with smart training, adequate fueling and more intentional recovery.

The takeaway: Aging may change how we train and measure progress, but it does not require us to stop improving—or make our goals smaller. Sometimes, continuing to do incredible things simply requires more precision, flexibility and grace.

In this conversation

Ashley grapples with the idea that 39 could be the last year she is capable of getting faster.
Trax shares why workouts and races suddenly feel more physically draining at 51—even though her drive remains.
Why getting older doesn’t automatically mean giving up ambitious goals or running only “for fun.”
Jenny Hitchings explains how she discovered her competitive potential in her late thirties and early forties.
How Jenny ran a faster marathon in her fifties than she did at 48, when she missed the Olympic Trials qualifying standard by just 10 seconds.
Why consistency has been one of the most important factors in Jenny’s longevity.
How stepping away from road racing and spending several years on the trails helped Jenny recover from burnout.
The pressure and anxiety Jenny feels while chasing records—and why comparison can begin to steal the joy from running.
How Jenny is learning to give herself more grace, listen to what her body needs and judge success based on where she is now.
Why believing a goal is possible matters—even when the outcome is not guaranteed.
Jan Holmquist shares how a dare to run a mile in under 10 minutes launched a running life that has lasted more than four decades.
How Jan continues training and competing at 82 after returning from a torn Achilles.
What age grading can tell older runners about their performance beyond the finishing time on the clock.
Why Jan believes running clubs, younger teammates and shared goals are essential to physical and mental health.
How chasing joy and connection can become just as meaningful as chasing faster times.
Dr. Susie Reiner explains why chronological aging does not eliminate our capacity to improve.
How experience, pacing, confidence and resilience can help compensate for physiological changes.
Why women may have endurance and fatigue-resistance advantages that become particularly valuable in longer events.
How strength training can preserve—and potentially build—muscle mass, power and durability as we age.
Why training and recovery may require more precision without necessarily requiring less ambition.
How sleep, fueling, stress, parenting and other life circumstances should influence how we program our workouts.
Why expecting every workout to feel terrible can actually affect how hard it feels.
How small habits stack together and make seemingly impossible goals possible over time.

Meet the guests

Jenny Hitchings is an elite masters runner and coach from Sacramento. A self-described late bloomer, she became competitive around 40 and has since set American and world age-group records from the 5K through the marathon. At 59, she ran a lifetime-best 2:45:27 at the London Marathon and set the women’s 55–59 world record. Later that year, she set the 60–64 marathon world record in Chicago.

Jan Holmquist is an 82-year-old masters runner and member of the Whirlaway Racing Team. She began running at 38 and has continued training, racing and setting age-group records for more than four decades. Her accomplishments include a 6:37 mile at 71, a 7:17 mile at 80 and a pending American 80–84 record in the 1500 meters set in 2026.

Dr. Susie Reiner is an exercise physiologist, human-performance researcher and assistant professor at Seton Hall University. She holds a PhD in health sciences with a specialization in human and sport performance and is the founder of TheoryEx, where she translates complex research into practical guidance for athletes, clinicians and health-and-performance companies.