Fitness Display Of 100 Year Old Participants In Marathon
Fitness Display Of 100 Year Old Participants In Marathon: During USATF (Track & Field) Masters Indoors Championships the inspiring marathon took place with hundred year old men and women. Most of us have an idea that it is really surprising to be still breathing at the age of 100. The idea of running a marathon is not a part of science fiction movie but it is real.
As per studies your muscle strength declines sharply once you pass 70, at a rate of about 30% per decade and with age the heart becomes less efficient at circulating oxygen, an average 60-year-old pumps 20% less oxygenated blood than a 20-year-old. Your sinews and tendons become more inelastic, making you more disposed to injuries, and your lung tissue becomes harder and less efficient.
If you are in good health you can run a marathon at any age. Says medical expert.
Orville Rogers, retired pilot and a 100 year old sprinter was sent home at “The Marathon”, with not “one but five” achievements as he managed to break 5 world records during USATF Masters Indoors Championships.
Julia Hawkins turned the oldest female competitor Ida Keeling, in meet history at the age of 102 as she broke 100-plus age group records in the 60m.
These participants in the Marathon perfectly prove that age is just a number. So how is this act of age-defying stamina possible?
Secret of Long Healthy Fit Age Shared By The Participants
Long-distance running is hard on the body and the older you get the greater the effort it takes. Many old but fit athletes credited following factors to their success
- to not smoking or drinking alcohol,
- staying positive
- eating ginger curry
- Slowly and with plenty of walking breaks to avoid building up of fatigue in legs
- Good Fitness light weight Training
Marathons are a major physical excursion for your body. At the age of 100 most people are concentrating to walk on 10 yards rather than a marathon and the chances of staying fit enough to complete 26.2 miles at the age of 100 are very rare and unique indeed.
But if you are in good health and used to training, some of the ravages of age can be slowed down. Anyone who is in reasonably good health can finish a marathon as long as you go in a normal speed.
“I am not going to allow the world’s norms to tell me what is possible,'” says Chris Twigg, national programme director of Galloway Training, of Atlanta, Georgia.
About USATF
Based in Indianapolis, USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States.