There should be Olympics for 50+ year-olds

I’m not even 42, so I’m not writing this to address some passion or insecurity that’s relevant to my current life.

However, the topic of aging has been on my mind quite a lot, I noticed, in both positive and negative ways.

On the negative side, there is career-related age discrimination. I experienced it somewhat! Yes, at only 41. Of course, my story is unique and there are other factors, but my experience of interviewing for some positions has been distinctly awkward. I wrote about it here.

On the positive side, my passion for running helped me discover a new amazing world where not only am I not concerned about aging but I don’t expect to peak until many, many years later. And I’m pretty good already, having recently run a sub-three-hour marathon and sub-eighty-minute half marathon. I wrote several stories on this topic. One of the most interesting experiences has been getting to know the 2021 London marathon winner in the 55+ age group Yuri Strofilov (at 56 he finished in 2 hours 38 minutes). He ran his first marathon at 50. Now he’s the world champion in his age group.

Because of my running, I’ve come to view myself as an athlete. My family is also very sporty — all four of my kids play competitive sports and we’ve done some crazy moves to accommodate our kids’ sporting arrangements. I love…