Lifetime Miles

There’s an arbitrary level in a runner’s life when “lifetime miles” change from being a supply of assurance to a trigger for concern.

Early on in a runner’s life, conversations proceed like this: “Lately, my coaching has been compromised, however I’ve so many lifetime miles in my legs that I must be high quality in my upcoming race.”

Later, these conversations undertake a sinister tone. “Sure, I ready for this occasion, however I’ve so many lifetime miles in my legs that I hope I’m contemporary sufficient to maintain up with my opponents.”

The difficulty is, you by no means know when this transition will happen. You by no means know when another mile turns into too many miles (1), and you’ll cross some invisible threshold from preparation to say no. Additionally, this transition can take somebody without warning as a result of, for a lot of runners, what was as soon as a supply of racing confidence (coaching mileage) immediately turns into one thing to lament.

Looking back, you would possibly wonder if you must have run much less. Or possibly you don’t. The way you weigh your former athletic choices towards your present situation will depend on the way you measure a superb life and what types of Faustian bargains you’re prepared to make (2).

Simply Retire Already

Two years in the past, I wrote an article on tips on how to take humanity critically in sports activities. I requested whether or not we’re like pencils — capable of be sharpened by coaching, however not indefinitely. You may solely sharpen a pencil so many instances till it’s all used up. Perhaps racing ultramarathons is like that. In that article, I wrote that taking humanity critically in sports activities means stewarding the physique properly, honoring its limits, and celebrating quite than begrudging the athlete’s complete lifespan — together with the arc of their efficiency decline.

I used to be interested by these concepts once more just lately as a result of Eliud Kipchoge, the previous marathon world report holder, raced the 2025 Sydney Marathon. Now 40 years outdated, Kipchoge is now not in a league of his personal, however he’s nonetheless world-class, an articulate spokesperson, and an advocate for the game who raises the profile of each occasion he competes in.

Nonetheless, following his ninth-place end in Sydney, there have been requires the now-40-year-old to retire. Kipchoge responded, “To those that really feel it’s time for me to retire, I say this with respect: These days I don’t compete to win; I compete to remain match and robust. It’s my passion (3).”

It’s vital to have a good time all levels of an athletic lifespan. Picture: Sabrina Little

Definitely, Kipchoge is just not the primary athlete to subject such feedback. Individuals usually discuss runners who’re “completed” or who ought to retire instantly. These feedback will not be distinctive to sports activities both. Individuals on the whole are uncomfortable with growing old. That is apparent in a tradition the place we’re suggested to erase wrinkles, dye our hair, and conceal all different proof that we ever lived.

Getting old is just not shameful. This looks as if an apparent factor to say, however we frequently act as if it’s shameful, significantly in how we communicate in regards to the arc of an athlete’s profession. Getting old is human. It means we have now the present of a protracted life, which isn’t afforded to everybody.

Once I hear feedback like these directed at Kipchoge and different elites as they age, I usually marvel what individuals are saying to themselves about their very own inevitable efficiency decline — when their base of “lifetime miles” crosses over from safety to legal responsibility.

Getting old Is Good, Truly

I just lately learn J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan.” Like many individuals, I watched the movie model quite a bit as a toddler. As a toddler, I someway missed a central pressure within the storyline — the truth that Wendy ages and Peter doesn’t. He returns to Neverland. On the finish of the story, Peter guarantees he’ll return to Wendy, however he forgets. His reminiscence is poor as a result of he lives within the second and maybe as a result of he has an uneasy relationship with time.

In an epilogue added later, Barrie describes Peter’s belated return. Wendy is an grownup (4). Peter is a toddler and nonetheless has all of his child enamel. Peter continues to reside a lifetime of childhood adventures, which is enjoyable. Nonetheless, there’s a tragic aspect to his perpetual youth. He cries when he realizes Wendy has grown up with out him. His life is stunted, whereas her life is made coherent by a maturity acquired through the years.

The passage of time isn’t essentially a nasty factor. Picture: iRunFar/Bryon Powell

You may’t keep younger without end with out shedding one thing vital. Typically we body discussions of growing old as a loss — being unable to compete on the degree we as soon as did. However many issues are gained by growing old, too — knowledge, maturity, expertise, recognition of what has worth, and relationships deepened over a few years.

Ultimate Ideas

The entire course of a operating life is gorgeous — the start if you depend on others and have little consciousness of what’s going on, the half the place you discover your footing and begin to discern your potential, if you practice exhausting and crest a efficiency peak, and if you develop a broader imaginative and prescient of tips on how to occupy the game with integrity, no matter your bodily standing.

I dislike the a part of skilled racing the place a runner who was beforehand ascendent ages, after which individuals say horrible issues about how they’re washed up and unhealthy athletes. No, they don’t seem to be unhealthy athletes. They’re people, and so they have quite a bit to supply to the game past efficiency.

Name for Feedback

How has growing old modified your relationship with operating?
What advantages include being a runner with a whole lot of lifetime miles of their legs?

Notes/References

This is called a sorites paradox, or “paradox of the heap.” One grain of sand is just not a heap. If you happen to add one other grain of sand, that’s not a heap both. If you happen to add a 3rd grain of sand, that’s not a heap. At what level do grains of sand turn into a heap? This can be a puzzle as a result of the time period “heap” is a imprecise idea. Likewise, we would marvel when the addition of a single further mile crosses over from preparation to say no. It’s a tough query, made harder by the truth that this threshold varies for everybody.
Faustian cut price originates from the legend of Physician Faustus. It refers back to the willingness to commerce long-term happiness for short-term beneficial properties (e.g., promoting your soul for riches, or promoting your long-term well being for peak efficiency now).
T. Mwangi. 8 September 2025. Eliud Kipchoge retirement information: “I’m not operating for medals anymore.” SportsLeo Information. Internet Accessed 8 September 2025.
J.M. Barrie. 1979. Peter Pan and Wendy. Hodder and Stoughton. Chapter XVIII. When Wendy Grew Up, 176.