This gives me some hope about learning some new sports late in my life.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/@RUNLONGAFTER60/podcasts

I'm about to start my "Bataan Memorial Death Run" training block and I've put that training plan on GitHub[0]. I also started an mdbook about some of the stuff I've done, but my (then 92 year old) mom had a stroke and it's less than half-baked[1].

[0] https://github.com/ctm/Bataan-Memorial-Death-March/blob/mast... [1] https://ctm.github.io/docs/yld/life/too-public.html

As for injuries, I have some trouble in my right foot that was due to competing in a 12-hour ruck race on a hilly trail, where we did loops in the same direction. That was May 3rd and it's still giving me a little trouble. I had a different injury in my right foot that was giving me trouble for about two years that I think was due to an aged (about ten years old) orthotic causing hard to diagnose problems that were easy to misdiagnose. I think that trouble is behind me.

One day on little sleep, when I was new to bicycling, I went over my handlebars at over twenty miles an hour, landing on my face. That flat out broke a few teeth and chipped / damaged some others. Last month I had to have six of my front teeth removed, probably due in part to the damage they took on that bike accident, although to be fair, when I was in grad school I drank a lot of sugared coke right out of the bottle and ate away much of the enamel on my upper front teeth, so some of my teeth problems are due to simple negligence.

Oh, and I had an inguinal hernia that was probably due to my rucking. I had mesh put in on one side in 2012. I have continued to ruck competively since. I came in third overall at the Bataan Memorial Death March this year in the male civilian heavy (meaning carrying a 35 pound pack or more) division[0].

[0] https://bataanmemorialdeathmarch.itsyourrace.com/Results/657...

Why is being a grandmother more important to mention than e.g. party affiliation, religion, favorite soap opera, diet and mental health?

"Grandmother" is more important than all of those other things, because of the whole "old+frail" thing usually makes people not participate in ironman challenges, at least where I live, and none of those other things implies anything of the sort.

Not everything is a scientific journal, and people with hearts like "feel good stories", even the stories with a bit of flowery language to really drive home some of the points. It's OK.

There's also a good chance, since she was interviewed, that that's how she described herself first.

"Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm a grandmother..."

Just when I thought she couldn't be even more awesome.

PS. If you're inspired by this story, this video might be a great watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J07O6dViHo

Of course, mental state is only factor but I do think it is very important - particularly as I've just turned 60!

https://biology.ucdavis.edu/news/how-our-muscles-tendons-and...

This makes you much more resilient not less.

Full triathlon distance has nothing to do with health.

She is a little older than her cohort life expectancy at birth (which was 78 in the USA in 1945):

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/TR/2011/lr5a4.html

Assessed in 2010 at the age of 65 she might be expected to live to 85. That seems quite likely.

If anything you would have to say it leans towards extending her life because she will not be eating less like elderly people do, she is likely to have excellent venous health, her reaction times must be good, and prosaically she's so physically fit that just that much more likely not to be derailed by a fall. Living at her age starts to be a question of intent but there are loads of really small things that can trigger decline; she is robust against many of them.

What a remarkable woman.

(And assessing the average woman of her age now is not likely to change it that much; AFAIK life expectancy in the USA is actually falling slightly across all age groups)

The issue is, she's not an average woman, at least in terms of physical fitness.

Boring example but an obese woman with type II diabetes her age might already have had one life-threatening fall, may already have other severe health challenges.

Whereas a woman her age with such good vascular health could be delaying the onset of significant vascular dementia by up to a decade, let alone all the other things.

Still, the point I was making is that it is not shortening her life; it's either having no statistical difference or extending it.

yet all the difference for people her age

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32848273/

It’s definitely possible but the hardest part is finding time for training. At 100k you usually need to be putting in at least 60 miles per week during peak weeks to finish without injury or a lot of suffering.

More info: https://nutskarhunkierros.fi/en/races/83km/

I do want to mention when I said: "surprisingly little training "

I realize now what this sounds like. I want to mention that I did other races to build up my condition to be able to this one (the longest one I ever did).

I also want to mention that it was probably the physically hardest (but most rewarding) thing I've ever done.

But even this doesn't seem to be true. I would say the most common reason is cultural. Average age of first pregnancy is nowadays very old. Definitely driven by culture. If you are to have your first child at over 30 it is very likely you will only be having 1. Which is below replacement levels. Also it creates a society of single child households, no siblings, and in my opinion too much focus on 1 child. Another cultural aspect I would say is the view of the importance of family.

I myself come from a very poor family in a developed nation. I am glad my mother didn't explain me out of existence due to economic factors.

Tangent/rant: And no, I'm not a right-winger. People's single opinion's on topics shouldn't dictate their view on all matters. This is such a weird US-centric phenomenon that is creeping to other countries...

I think in the context of an athletic accomplishment, being a grandmother does have some small significance because raising children does often hamper one's ability to stay fit during that period of their life. Her personal fitness during her 30s probably contributed to her success in her 80s.

Of all the old folks I know in their 80’s the happiest and healthiest are, and have always been, the active ones who still do circuits classes, swim, gym, etc.

Keep your elderly loved ones in your life moving and they’ll last a lot longer.

Don’t leave getting fit to your thirties or later. Start now.

I was reasonably athletic, but never tried to "train" or got even close to what peak might have meant, and then continued skateboarding and doing other athletic things throughout my twenties, always being in pretty good shape. Now in my thirties, I'm in my best shape and continuing, it doesn't really matter what my peak hypothetically could have been or where I was at earlier, past is the past, let the good memories stick around, let the bad ones disappear, be present and keep pushing into the future.

Maybe I consider it a blessing that I never tried that hard in my early years, because now I'm not concerned about any ceiling. I let the enjoyment and ambition guide me, not the numbers, who cares.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/16/nx-s1-5467389/meet-the-oldest...

she has a SUB 7 HOUR half-ironman, that's bonkers

very healthy well-trained 40yo would have a hard time matching that

some people just have excellent genetics and then pair that with excellent training

https://www.athlinks.com/athletes/94494810/results