Aging Antidote

Two weeks ago, I had a long run with a running group. They usually have long runs near Mall of Asia and Cultural Center of the Philippines areas. They run regularly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and even on Sundays. There are more than five of them whose ages I couldn’t really guess. They call themselves Lost Command . I can’t remember exactly in detail why their group is named as such.

Anyhow, allow me continue my story…

I arrived late. The good thing was , two of my Happy Feet fellow runners, Master Mon and Kinderdorf, waited for me. I was really grateful for that gesture. Anyway, they’ve started running and we just met near Star City. The three of us then proceeded and passed through a street leading to Macapagal Highway. As we reached the bridge along Macapagal Highway, they greeted a runner who was already walking towards to where we came from. From a distance, I could already see the LC runners.

While the two HF runners maintained a pretty much enjoying-the-view-while-running-pace, I asked permission if I could go ahead. I left them then trying to catch up with the LC group. When I finally caught up with one of the LC runners, who was running slowly (so I’ve thought), I said, “I’ll pace with you.” The runner then just laughed meaningfully. You would know later why … and he had pretty good reason to laugh at me. A young guy, who was also running, tried to pace with us. In the end, it was me who eventually gave in because the two of them were just too fast for me. I waited, instead, for the two HF runners I left behind and decided to run the next kilometers with them.

After we ran a good six-kilometer, all of us met near McDonald’s area for kidney break and hydration. The runner, whom I paced with earlier, was so surprised to know I was with the group after all. Gotcha!

It was a fun long run for me. They seemed to be a very happy group with a common passion to just run together. As we were heading back, it was during this time that another runner asked me to guess the age of the runner on my left. I answered 57yo. There was shared laughter. I wondered why. The surprise of my life! His real age, by the way, is 74. Isn’t it amazing? I really thought he is within the range of 55-57. By the way, he is fondly called by his fellow runners as “45”. Why? His answer would always be “45” every time he is asked of his age. Now, I found that hilarious!

Here is a group of runners, whose members are mostly beyond 60s yet can run like a bull. To top it off, they’ve won in their respective age category not only in the past but also even up to this time. They used to smoke and drink but eventually stopped and tried to live a healthy lifestyle. Some of them had suffered hypertension, but this was gone after they were hooked into running.

So, to answer why that other runner seemed to be silently “laughing” at me? Just put it this way … I was in a situation where I challenged a very fast runner and discovered later that he was one of their bests. Now, that’s “gotcha” for me!

Why am I sharing this experience, dear readers?

Running can do wonders to you. To us. To almost every one. It keeps us young. I\’m not saying that we don’t age at all. We do. It’s a fact. But any form of exercise can make a lot of difference on how we age.

In one of my readings, running is just but one of the exercises that slows the aging process. The article says, “the average person is living longer these days, and life expectancy is increasing. And we won’t be frail and senile at age 150.” (Reader’s Digest, May 2007). This is good news, isn’t it?

The article further says, “you need to keep yourself moving. No need to jog or run. A brisk walking for about 30 minutes a day will do wonders. Running, according to a medical research, may help prevent disability and early death from cancer and diseases. For complete text, click here.

If you haven’t seen the movies, Drumline and Stomp the Yard. I recommend, get a copy, and watch them. In these movies, you will see that running improves the performers’ stamina and develops not only friendship but also teamwork.

Our body, after all, just like a car, needs tune up and maintenance.