75 and Still Running

Friends Helly Visser and Roger Davis lift weights together three times a week, cycle once a week and do yoga every morning. But it is the runs they go on almost every other day that keeps them a young 75 and 74 years old. "Taking up running has changed my life," says Visser, a competitive endurance runner. 'I just kept going at it and it's become a part of me.'

Visser had always kept active while her children were growing up, taking them cycling and camping.

It was only when she hit the big Five-O and her children moved away from home that she thought about doing regular exercise.

So the rookie runner strapped on a pair of joggers and hit the pavement. Twenty-five years later, she's still running.

Davis, her running partner and co-organizer of a group for endurance runners called the Calgary Roadrunners, says they've both kept each other going.

"It keeps me healthy," says Davis, who, like Visser, competes internationally in races. 'It makes me feel good, keeps the excitement in my life.'

He says younger runners give him high-fives when they see someone older than their grandfathers run past them.

Davis says he owes it to maintaining a natural posture while running, which involves evenly distributing how you carry your weight, landing on the middle of your foot and bending your arms so you can swing them during a stride.

"I'm trying to get back to a place when I was a child running, carefree, arms flying all over the place,' he laughs. 'Of course I won't ever get back completely but I can try.'

Cindy Lewis, owner of Absolute Endurance, a Toronto-based training facility, says beginner runners need to take it slow or they'll start hurting, fast.

"The most common mistake when people first start running is putting in too many miles at once,' says Lewis, who has run competitively since she was a child. 'Or they're running too fast or running in the wrong footwear.'

As with starting any new sport, beginners will feel aches and pains, particularly in the knees. Lewis says these side effects should be gone within two days or you should see your doctor.

A way to prevent some foot pain is to make sure that you have the right shoe.

"Many people have foot problems, structural problems that don't really show up as injuries until they stress their bodies,' she says.

"Everyone is different and some people need a neutral or flat shoe, others need lots of cushioning.'

The best shoe is not always the most expensive, but a good shoe should cost between $125 to $160, says Lewis.

Runners shouldn't push themselves too hard the first few weeks and should alternate between running and walking.

"Running is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise for weight loss,' she says.

"The most calories are burned per minute and it's great to build bone health. Anyone can do it, too, it's easy. Just one foot in front of the other.'

Mark Sutcliffe, the editor of iRun, a national magazine, says that in the past few years, something as simple as going for a run has turned into a lifestyle choice.

"It becomes part of their lifestyle whether it is entering a [running] event, a hobby, or just a form of exercise,' he said. 'It's not drudgery anymore, not something you have to do it because it's good for you. It's not like eating your vegetables. You enjoy the run itself.'