Five tips for how to keep running past 40 in Hong Kong, from athletes who are doing just that
Running is a great way to keep feeling stronger as you get older, but with the risk of injury increasing with every year on the clock, longevity requires changes to training regimens
When runners reach their 40th birthday, they are awarded the age-bracket title “Master”. Traditionally, that’s the time elite distance runners step out of the competitive limelight, to coach, write their life story or settle into a TV pundit’s chair – all well-deserved after years of brutal training.
But an increasing number of runners now choose not to slow down so early. They stick to running, and winning, for years after they reach Master status.
In 2014, British runner Jo Pavey, then a 40-year-old mother of two, became the European 10,000 metres champion. The following year, the American Bernard Lagat won the US 5,000 metres trials at the age of 40, beating a man 15 years his junior. Both Pavey and Lagat then went on to represent their countries in the 2016 Olympics.
We Run HK: 10-kilometre enthusiast Charlotte Cutler the comeback trail
The trend extends to amateur runners, who are also increasingly unwilling to slow down with age. Hong Kong’s Charlotte Cutler, who works as a strategic risk analyst, is 44 years old, and has been running and racing for 32 of them. A former national level 400 metres hurdler in the UK, she is a multiple winner of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon’s 10km race, and was crowned Asian Masters 1,500 metres champion last year.