Defy the “Rules” of Aging: How You Can Run Your Best Past Age 40 with Master’s Coach Cathy Utzschneider

What if you could actually run your best past age 40? And get fitter and stronger?

Now, I’m not here selling the latest product promising the fountain of youth. If you started running in your teens or in your twenties, you are not going to be able to race or train at the same intensity or paces as you did back then.

But just because your times aren’t going to be the same doesn’t mean that you can’t run your very best and have the same sense of pride and accomplishment as you did when you were younger.

In fact, you might even find more satisfaction in your running as a master. And some runners can run their best past age 40!

Or, if you are like me, and came to running later in life, you have probably already started to find that sense of joy that running can give you. But if you are following training plans designed for 25 year olds, you are likely going to be disappointed at best and injured at worst. That’s because older runners need to train differently. It’s not only because our bodies are different and respond differently to stimuli, but because our lives are different.

We have responsibilities like careers and spouses and kids and houses and more. Many of those things just aren’t in the picture in your twenties. All of this creates an incredible richness to who we are as people and who we are as runners.

But let’s be honest. Sometimes the idea of getting older and not being able to do certain things as well as we used to, well, it kind of sucks. Maybe it creeps up on you slowly, like when you start to notice that you can’t quite read the numbers on your Garmin as well. Or when you feel just a little more tired after a hard workout than you used to be.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of telling yourself that your best days are behind you, so why bother.

But we are runners. And that means, by definition, that we don’t take the easy road. And my guest today certainly isn’t taking it easy.

Cathy Utzshcneider is an accomplished athlete and coach who did not even start her running journey until age 40. In the years since, Cathy has won nine USA Track and Field national age group championships, a silver medal at the Nike World Masters Games, and a gold medal at the North American World Regional Championships. She was ranked No. 5 in the world in her age-group in the mile in 2005.

She is a lead faculty member of coaching and high performance at Boston College and is the author of three books on master’s running. Her coaching practice has produced eight Olympic trial marathon qualifiers, six world age-group records, 10 American age-group records, and 67 USA Track & Field (USATF) age-group champions.

I wanted to bring Cathy on to the Run to the Top to explore how masters athletes can find meaning and purpose in their running and their lives. We talk about her journey, how she coaches her athletes, and how we all can use simple mindset techniques to not only become better runners, but I would argue, better people as well.

I could have talked to Cathy all day. In fact, we probably talked at least 30 minutes after I stopped recording. Her experience and wisdom along with the way she communicates her passion is so inspiring. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Okay, so where are all my master’s runners at? Did you start running later in life or have you always been a runner? How is running different now that you are past a certain age? Let me know by emailing me at claire@runnersconnect.net and I just might include your story in a future episode.