Fitness report: take age in your stride

The top four women in last November’s New York Marathon, and their ages at the time: (from left) Christelle Daunay, 34, third; Derartu Tulu, 37, winner; Paula Radcliffe, 35, fourth; Lyudmila Petrova, 41, second

The first four women to cross the finish line of the 2009 New York City Marathon were all enviably fit and fast, as one would expect. But perhaps more surprisingly, all four runners – Derartu Tulu, Lyudmila Petrova, Christelle Daunay and Paula Radcliffe – were in their mid-thirties or early forties. Their achievement followed on the heels of another relative old-timer, Constantina Dita, who was 38 when she took gold at Beijing in the women’s marathon.

For a keen runner who recently turned 40, this is heartening stuff. And it seems there are many other women in the same age group who feel similarly inspired. Forty-three per cent of all female finishers in the New York Marathon (women made up more than one-third of the field) were over 40, while US statistics show that 50-plus runners are the fastest-growing group among marathon entrants. Peg Jordan, co-founder of the Women’s Running Network, a UK organisation with more than 160 women-only groups, isn’t surprised. “The average age of our members is decidedly 40-plus, and while some are returning to running after a break, many are starting for the first time.”

There are certainly benefits to be reaped from running in our middle years. As far as staying in shape is concerned, running breaks the tape – burning more calories per minute than any other readily accessible form of activity.

Research also suggests that running can help women weather the storm of menopause more successfully. More than three-quarters of respondents in a survey conducted by the Melpomene Institute for Women’s Health Research believed running had a positive effect on both physical and mental symptoms.

As well as keeping weight gain and bad moods at bay, running has significant health benefits, particularly for the heart. Scientists in The New England Journal of Medicine noted a clear relationship between miles run per week and cholesterol levels, in both pre- and post-menopausal women. A clinical trial at Duke University Medical Center came to a similar conclusion. Subjects aged 40-65 were assigned either to walking, jogging or no exercise over an eight-month period. In those who did the greatest amount of running – 17 miles per week – abdominal circumference (a measure of visceral fat, the type that is particularly hazardous to heart health) decreased by 3.2cm. Walkers saw a 1.1cm decrease, while participants who did no exercise saw a 1.4cm increase.

©AFP Constantina Dita won the 2008 Olympic marathon at 38

That said, I’m sure Radcliffe et al aren’t giving much thought to their cholesterol levels when they are pounding out the miles. Their motivation is to improve and, ultimately, to win.

But are they on the brink of decline – and am I? Reassuringly, the evidence suggests not. In one study, the calf muscles of athletes still competing over the age of 60 were found to have an equal number and size of mitochondria (the powerhouses of the muscle cells, which facilitate energy production) as those of twentysomethings in the same race. Meanwhile, research tracking the performance of participants in the National Senior Olympic Games noted just a 3.4 per cent decline over a 35-year time span – it wasn’t until athletes hit 75 that performance took a nosedive.

(An observation that Betty Jean McHugh, an 80-year-old Canadian woman, may take issue with. She set a new world marathon record for her age group in 2008 – 4 hours, 36 minutes and 52 seconds.)

Jordan started running at 30, but produced her best times in her forties. McHugh, meanwhile, didn’t even start until she was in her fifties. “It’s difficult to say how much is down to physiology and how much is about experience and attitude,” says Jordan. “But I have seen many women improving at an age where you simply wouldn’t expect it.”

A year ago, I would have attributed such improvement to a late start – years of sedentary living would place you so far from your genetic potential that progress would be almost inevitable. But much to my surprise – and having run for more than half my life – I have got faster since my 40th birthday, achieving new personal bests at both the 10-mile and half-marathon distances.

“It’s not about training harder, but training more cleverly,” believes Jordan, now 56. I agree. I’m not running more miles, but I do train more sensibly. Easy days follow hard ones, I fuel myself better, lift weights and don’t ignore niggles.

And as for fears about creaky old bones, let me point you to a long-term study of 50-plus runners from Stanford University. Far from knackering knees and hips, running was found to reduce musculoskeletal pain by 25 per cent compared to a control group. It even improved mortality – 19 years into the study more than twice the number of non-runners than runners had died. Now that’s one finish line for which I’m quite happy to delay my arrival.

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The details

Women’s Running Network, www.womensrunningnetwork.co.uk