Q: Can you really run your first marathon at the age of 63?
A: Yes... but there’s a strict recipe to getting it right, as Bake Off’s Jane — who’s doing it this Sunday — discovered
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until 6k ‘In — the Boxing with end, my Day. I daughter didn’t I did start the Amy, first my but training run there — a was just a went lot of out walking, in old especially trainers, a uphill. pair of I leggings Jane’s and training a T-shirt.’ regimen involved one 6k long or run 10k at runs the a weekend week, as and well two as two shorter onehour distance, gym but workouts. I surprised ‘I struggled myself with with how the far faze I’ve me come and I — can doing run up 10k the now hills doesn’t I had to walk up only a few months ago.’
She recently completed her first half marathon in two hours, 48 minutes (compared with a typical average for women her age of about two-and-a-half hours). ‘The run itself demoralised me, as it was one of the worst I have done,’ she says. ‘At 4k, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It put me off, but I went out and did another long run and felt more positive.
‘In hindsight, I should have given myself double the amount of time to train, given that I’m older and starting from scratch.’
RUNNING is becoming one of the most popular forms of exercise in the uK — two million of us run to keep fit — and more over40s are doing marathons.
Over the past five years, the number of 40 to 70- year- olds running the London Marathon has increased by more than 20 per cent — and this year they represent almost half of all runners.
More than half of those running the marathon on Sunday have never run one before (people are more likely to sign up on the brink of a big birthday — with a ‘9’ in their age, according to research in the Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences in 2014.)
But is running 26.2 miles a good idea, especially if, like Jane, you’re older, and haven’t even jogged to keep fit, let alone run a marathon?
The simple answer for most people is yes, says Dr Courtney Kipps, assistant medical director for the event and a consultant sports physician at the Institute of Sport, exercise & health at university College London.
‘ Running a marathon is a challenge at any age. however, the human body is built for running — it’s very good at regulating temperature by sweating, which means we have the ability to run for hours and hours. We also have long muscles, tendons which connected make us to efficient short endurance runners compared to apes and other animals. ‘Age itself is not a factor,’ she adds. ‘In fact, doing it for the first time in later life can be a good thing when managed well; that means building up slowly.’
Professor Stephen harridge, director of the Centre for human and Applied Physiological Sciences at King’s College London, agrees. ‘It is never too late to gain the benefits from exercise.’
Research he conducted with the university of Birmingham on cyclists aged 55 to 79 found that the exercisers had the immunity, muscle strength and cholesterol levels of a young person.
Meanwhile, a study recently published in the journal Circulation found that starting exercise in middle age — at an average age of 53 — even if you’ve always been a couch potato, can reduce the risk of heart attack.
‘The “sweet spot” in life to get off the couch and start exercising is in late-middle age, when the heart still has plasticity,’ said the u.S. researchers.
Marathon running specifically helps speed up metabolism, improves cardiovascular, muscle and bone health — the impact exerted on the body as you run encourages new bone formation.
And contrary to popular belief, older runners are not more likely than non-runners to get knee arthritis, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine in 2008.
There are some potential dangers, however. Research presented at the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2012 found that men are at greater risk of a heart attack during the race, particularly those over 49 — and the last three miles are by far the most dangerous.
however, the overall risk is small. (Since the London Marathon began in 1981, there have been more than a million runners and 14 deaths.) So while it’s certainly achievable to do a marathon for the first time in your 60s or 70s, a check-up with your GP is advisable if you have a history of heart disease, or unexplained chest pains or discomfort when you exert yourself, says Dr Kipps.
Overtraining — where you don’t give yourself enough time to recover after a run — can make you more prone to infections as the body releases the hormone cortisol which temporarily suppresses the immune system. BuT overall, the message remains, running is good for you. ‘even if you start running in later life, aged 60 or 65, the benefits to your health will still be quite significant,’ says Professor harridge. Jane (pictured) can attest to this: ‘everything is working a bit better than before: I was having to think about how I get out of the car because my knees were cranky; now they’re fine and I’ve lost a stone since Christmas.’ Most people will need at least four months to build up to a marathon — but if you’ve never run before, you might need another four to eight weeks of gentle exercise first, says leading running coach Martin Yelling. ‘The more prepared you are, the less it will hurt,’ he says. Jane, who is running to raise money for Great Ormond Street hospital, would like to complete the course in under six hours. ‘It’s going to be an amazing experience and I’m definitely going to continue running afterwards. ‘Would I recommend it to older women? If you’re fit and healthy and your legs work, then why not?’