Sixty and Still Running

My sixtieth birthday was last Saturday, and it got me thinking about my mortality, which led to me pondering the age of the universe, how life formed and the laws of entropy. I’ve been wondering how much longer the universe will exist, and what it would like to be immortal. The universe formed 13.7 billion years ago, which means I have existed for an infinitesimal amount of time, and yet I am considered old. A recent scientific article said that under the right conditions the formation of life is inevitable if energy and the correct ingredients are available, and not just some random event, which leads me to wonder if there is life somewhere else in the universe. I’ve also been thinking about the Laws of Entropy and how the organic matter in my body is becoming disorganized and will someday cause the cells in my body to no longer function. What I am trying to do is come to terms knowing that I’m old and won’t live forever and there is nothing I can do about it.


I certainly feel my age when I run. When I was young, running was so much easier: I could get to work early, teach four classes, remain after work to coach volleyball, help get our children ready for bed, and still have the energy to go for a run in the evening. I wouldn’t even warm up; just quickly change into my running gear and start running as soon as I reached the sidewalk. It was effortless for me to sprint up a hill or run a sub-4-minute kilometer. I could also run every day, alternating between a hard run and an easy run the next day. Not only could I run more often during the week, I could also run further, resulting in a large weekly mileage.


Those days are long gone. I don’t enjoy running in the evening anymore; I’d rather go to bed than exercise. I no longer run fast out the gate because my body is stiff, and I need to stop and stretch and give my body a few kilometers to warm up before I can pick up the pace. My runs are shorter now and I rarely run back-to-back. The fastest I ran a 10 km race was around 44 minutes; it now takes me a little over 50 minutes to finish. Oh, did I mention that I now must apply ice after a long run? The one advantage I have is that the top of my head is more aerodynamic, and I no longer need to worry that my flowing hair will slow me down.

I never used to worry about running injuries, but lately, I have been going to physiotherapy to prevent getting tendonitis in my Achilles when I start training for the Victoria Marathon at the end of the month. I am so concerned about injuring my Achilles that I have decided to not run hills in fear of aggravating it.


However, it’s my right knee that will someday determine my running fate. I first injured my right knee when I was in my early twenties playing baseball and then again later playing basketball. I needed to have knee surgery, and the doctor informed me after the surgery he could not save the anterior cruciate ligament and that he had to remove half the cartilage in my knee. Fortunately, my knee had not given me any further problems until a few years ago when I stepped awkwardly during a training run for the New York City Marathon and suffered a contusion on the remaining cartilage. I couldn’t run anymore but I couldn’t miss running the New York City Marathon so I trained by biking as well as and spending a lot of time on an elliptical trainer. After the New York Marathon, I stopped running and booked an appointment to have an MRI on my knees to determine how much damage there was and whether I should run anymore. At the follow-up appointment, the orthopedic surgeon showed me the MRI and informed me I have old man knees. The cartilage was very thin, the knee joint was no longer aligned, and there were early signs of arthritis. When I asked him if I could continue running, he said running would not cause further damage, but when it hurts to run, stop. Whenever I go for a run now, I am monitoring my right knee for any discomfort.


On the day of my sixtieth birthday, I went for an 8 km run, my longest run of the year. My goal is to build up to 10 kilometers by the end of the month when I begin to train for the Victoria Marathon. I ran at a slow pace and did some stretching at the end. I didn’t take going for a run on my sixtieth birthday for granted; I don’t know how much longer my knee will last. I now feel the same way about running as Haruki Murakami, a famous Japanese author, and ultramarathoner who wrote, “I’ll be happy if running and I grow old together.”

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Dean Johnston

I am a retired science teacher living in Edmonton, Canada. I've been married for over 30 years to my wife Michelle. We have three sons, a daughter-in-law, and recently became grandparents for the second time. Our family also includes Michelle's mom who lives with us and our youngest son's partner and last but not least, our dog McDuff. As I have gotten older I have come to understand the importance of remaining healthy, both physically and mentally. As a result, I like to write about activities that I am passionate about, like biking, running, and cross-country skiing. Aside from physical activities, I also like to write about interests of mine that help me remain active like traveling, backpacking, and canoeing. Finally, to remain mentally active I like to write stories of my family, both past and present before my memory fades. Thanks for reading my blog.

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