Older Athletes Rock Endurance Events

Older athletes, especially older women athletes, are dominating younger competitors in events that require pacing, strategy and mental fortitude. So argues L.A. Times writer Jeannine Stein in Finishing Strong, her contribution to her paper’s nicely built special section on Aging Well. What’s up with that?
Miriam Nelson, director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University, tells Stein that older athletes are beating the kids because they’re more disciplined, they train smarter, they’re consistent with
their training. "Whatever sport you’re " says Nelson, "You can be smarter from a
competitive edge in terms of knowing yourself, how to pace yourself."
Sport
psychologist Ralph Vernacchia, director of the Center for Performance
at Western Washington University in Bellingham and a professor in the
physical education, health and recreation department, says older people know how to use what they have better than younger competitors. "If they only
have 60 percent of the functional capacity and aerobic power they had when
they were much younger, they can learn to get 100 percent out of that 60 percent.
They’re better at strategizing. As we age, we recognize that we’re not
going to waste the time we have . . . . Having that mental resilience
and attitude is so important."
Read more about why older athletes rock.