Protein After 50: What Older Endurance Athletes Really Need to Know

Terry L. VanderWert on September 30, 2026

Older female endurance athlete eating a protein-rich meal after cycling

When we asked SeniorTriathletes readers about their nutrition concerns, protein after 50 was one of the topics they most wanted us to explore. The questions weren’t surprising: How much do we really need? Does timing matter? And are protein powders, amino acids and other supplements worth considering?

Protein has become one of the most talked-about nutrients in healthy aging. Older adults are told to eat more of it. Athletes are told to consume it immediately after exercise. Supplements promise to overcome the body’s declining ability to use protein as we age.

There is good science behind some of this advice. But there is also more certainty in many protein recommendations than the research—especially research involving older endurance athletes—can support.

That’s an important distinction for triathletes over 50.

We aren’t sedentary older adults. We regularly ask our muscles to swim, bike, run and, ideally, perform resistance training. At the same time, we aren’t simply younger athletes with a few more birthdays behind us. Aging affects muscle mass, strength, recovery and the way muscle responds to both exercise and nutrition.

So how much protein do we really need? Does it have to be spread evenly throughout the day? Is there a post-workout “window”? What if you practice intermittent fasting? And do whey, leucine, HMB or creatine add anything?

The research provides useful answers—but not always the ones suggested by the headlines.

Start With What We Don’t Know

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein for adults is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. That number is intended to meet the basic needs of most healthy adults. It was not developed as an optimal intake for someone training for triathlon in their 60s, 70s, or beyond.

Researchers commonly recommend higher intakes for healthy older adults and for athletes. But when we ask the more specific question—How much protein does an endurance athlete after 50 actually need?—the evidence becomes surprisingly thin. It becomes thinner still when we look for research involving athletes in their late 60s, 70s and beyond.

A 2025 review found only 12 studies connecting protein intake with body composition or performance in master athletes. Seven involved endurance athletes. Even more revealing, participants classified as “master athletes” ranged from 26 to 75 years old. Protein intakes ranged from about 1.0 to 1.9 g/kg/day. The researchers concluded that the available studies were too few and too heterogeneous to establish protein recommendations specifically for aging athletes.

That doesn’t mean we know nothing. It means we should distinguish between what has been demonstrated in older endurance athletes and what has been reasonably extrapolated from research involving younger athletes or less-active older adults.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS: How Much Protein?

Modern studies of endurance athletes suggest protein needs can be considerably higher than the 0.8 g/kg adult RDA. In one metabolic study, endurance-trained men completing a 20-kilometer run had an estimated average requirement of about 1.65 g/kg/day, with an upper recommended intake of about 1.83 g/kg/day. A later study involving both male and female endurance athletes estimated approximately 1.60–1.61 g/kg/day.

The catch: These were endurance athletes, but not specifically athletes in their 60s and 70s.

What this means for you: An intake well above the RDA is reasonable for a regularly training endurance athlete, but science has not established that 1.6—or 1.8—g/kg/day is the optimal amount for a healthy 70-year-old triathlete.

A Practical Protein Target

Given the evidence we do have, approximately 1.2–1.6 g/kg/day is a reasonable working range for many older endurance athletes, with the upper end becoming more relevant during heavier training, resistance training, calorie restriction or periods when maintaining muscle is particularly important.

That is a range, not a threshold.

For a 175-pound athlete—about 79 kilograms—it translates to approximately:

  • 1.2 g/kg = 95 grams/day
  • 1.4 g/kg = 111 grams/day
  • 1.6 g/kg = 126 grams/day

Some athletes may appropriately consume more. But the evidence does not support the idea that continually increasing protein automatically produces additional muscle, strength or performance benefits.

And protein should not displace the carbohydrate and total energy needed to support endurance training.

Does Aging Make Us “Protein Resistant”?

You’ve probably encountered some version of this claim:

After 50 or 60, your body can no longer use protein efficiently.

That greatly oversimplifies a real phenomenon called anabolic resistance.

Anabolic resistance means that older muscle can have a smaller muscle-protein-synthesis response to a given amount of dietary protein or exercise than younger muscle. It does not mean older adults cannot digest protein or build muscle.

More importantly, age isn’t the only factor.

Physical inactivity, metabolic health, body composition and training status also affect how muscle responds.

That distinction matters enormously when applying studies of sedentary older adults to master athletes.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS: Age—or Inactivity?

In one experiment, older men reduced their daily activity to fewer than 1,500 steps for two weeks. One leg performed low-load resistance training three times per week while the other did not. Lean mass declined in the inactive leg but increased in the trained leg, and the trained muscle had a substantially greater protein-synthesis response to feeding.

In another study, lifelong endurance athletes averaging about 69 years old had resting and resistance-exercise-induced muscle protein synthesis similar to healthy untrained older men. Their controlled protein intake was about 1.3 g/kg/day. Importantly, the study did not establish that 1.3 g/kg was optimal; it demonstrated that muscle at this age remained responsive to exercise.

What this means for you: Aging matters, but so does what you ask your muscles to do. Staying active—and particularly including resistance training—may be at least as important as trying to solve anabolic resistance by simply eating more protein.

This may be one of the most important lessons from the protein research:

Give aging muscle a reason to use the protein.

Swimming, cycling and running provide valuable training stimuli, but they are not substitutes for resistance training when the objective is preserving strength and muscle.

How Much Protein at a Meal?

Another commonly repeated recommendation is that older adults need approximately 0.4 g/kg of protein per meal.

This number has a reasonable scientific basis.

Research examining the acute muscle-protein-synthesis response to different protein doses estimated that younger adults reached a maximal MPS response around 0.24 g/kg per meal, while older adults required closer to 0.4 g/kg. That does not mean protein consumed beyond this amount is wasted or provides no additional whole-body benefit.

For our 175-pound athlete, 0.4 g/kg is approximately 32 grams of protein.

That makes 25–40 grams of high-quality protein at a meal a useful practical reference for many older athletes.

But “useful reference” is different from “required dose.”

Most of these studies measure the acute response of muscle protein synthesis over a few hours. They do not demonstrate that eating precisely 0.4 g/kg at every meal produces more muscle, greater strength or better triathlon performance years later.

Does Protein Need to Be Evenly Distributed?

This is where an interesting physiological idea became a fairly rigid nutrition rule.

Because muscle protein synthesis responds to protein at each meal, researchers proposed that spreading protein evenly through the day might provide repeated opportunities to stimulate muscle growth and repair.

An influential study found approximately 25% greater 24-hour muscle protein synthesis when protein was distributed relatively evenly across breakfast, lunch and dinner rather than heavily concentrated at dinner.

There was just one problem when applying this to SeniorTriathletes readers:

The participants averaged about 37 years old.

Research in older adults has been less convincing.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS: Total Protein vs. Perfect Distribution

In a randomized trial of older adults, researchers compared higher and lower total protein intakes and even versus uneven distribution across meals. Higher total protein improved whole-body protein balance and muscle protein synthesis. In that study, even distribution did not produce an additional advantage.

Another eight-week randomized trial similarly found that protein-distribution pattern did not affect anabolic response, lean body mass, strength or physical function in older adults.

A large 2025 analysis of 814 community-dwelling adults averaging 69 found that breakfast was typically the lowest-protein meal and dinner the highest. Those consuming more total protein more often reached meaningful protein amounts at individual meals, but distribution patterns themselves were similar across intake groups.

What this means for you: Avoid routinely protein-poor meals—especially breakfast if yours contains very little protein—but don’t become preoccupied with making breakfast, lunch and dinner mathematically equal.

The evidence isn’t entirely one-sided. Another study found that evenly distributing protein across meals improved whole-body protein balance, primarily by reducing protein breakdown, even though muscle protein synthesis did not increase. This is another reason to distinguish short-term physiological effects from evidence that a particular eating pattern produces more muscle or greater strength over time.

If you consume 110 grams of protein daily as 10 grams at breakfast, 25 at lunch and 75 at dinner, shifting some protein toward breakfast makes physiological sense.

If you’re already consuming 30, 35 and 45 grams, there is little evidence that changing those numbers to 37, 37 and 36 will produce a meaningful advantage.

Total daily protein appears more important than perfect distribution.

What If You Practice Intermittent Fasting?

Time-restricted eating complicates the usual advice to eat protein three or four times per day.

A common 16:8 pattern restricts food intake to an eight-hour period, sometimes with only two substantial meals.

Can an older athlete still get enough protein?

Yes—but those meals have to do more work.

If our 175-pound athlete targets 1.4 g/kg/day, that is about 111 grams of protein. Divided between two meals, that’s roughly 55 grams per meal.

Protein above the amount needed to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis at one moment isn’t simply “wasted.” Protein serves many functions throughout the body, and digestion and absorption continue for hours.

In a recent 24-hour study of adults averaging 61, consuming 1.5 g/kg/day across only two meals produced better whole-body protein balance than either 0.8 or 1.1 g/kg/day, even though each meal contained considerably more than the often-cited 0.4 g/kg protein target.

The larger concern may be whether restricting the eating window makes it difficult to consume enough total protein and enough total energy to support training and recovery.

There is also insufficient evidence to justify intermittent fasting for a healthy older endurance athlete primarily on claims of improved “hormone health.” Time-restricted eating may be useful for some people for controlling energy intake, body weight or metabolic health, but that is a different objective.

For an older endurance athlete whose priorities are preserving muscle, recovering from training and maintaining performance, the relevant question is simpler:

Can you consistently consume enough protein and enough total energy within your chosen eating window?

Do You Need Protein Immediately After Exercise?

For decades, athletes were warned about a narrow post-exercise “anabolic window.”

Finish your workout. Get protein into your body within 30—or perhaps 60—minutes. Miss the window and you’ve missed an opportunity.

The underlying physiology was legitimate. Exercise makes muscle responsive to amino acids, and consuming protein around exercise supports repair and remodeling.

The stopwatch was the questionable part.

A 2025 meta-analysis restricted its analysis to studies that directly compared protein consumed before versus after exercise for at least four weeks. It found no meaningful difference in lean-mass adaptation based on whether protein came before or after training.

Exercise appears to create a broad period of increased sensitivity, not a tiny window that suddenly closes.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS: More Isn’t Automatically Better

Researchers tested this question directly in eight master triathletes averaging 52 years old after a muscle-damaging downhill run. During eight hours of recovery, the athletes consumed either 0.3 or 0.6 g/kg of protein on three occasions.

Doubling the protein dose did not significantly improve overall recovery or subsequent cycling performance, although the higher dose produced some potentially meaningful improvements in perceived fatigue and loss of muscle force.

What this means for you: Protein after a demanding workout is sensible. Twice as much is not necessarily twice as useful.

There are circumstances when post-workout nutrition deserves greater urgency.

If you trained after an overnight fast, getting protein afterward makes more sense than deliberately extending the fast several more hours.

If you have another demanding workout later that day, rapid recovery becomes more important—and for an endurance athlete, carbohydrate replacement matters along with protein.

But if you ate a protein-containing meal a few hours before training and another normal meal is coming afterward, you probably don’t need to carry a protein shake to the pool deck so you can drink it before you’ve dried off.

Whole Food or Protein Powder?

A food-first approach still makes sense.

Eggs, dairy products, fish, poultry, lean meats, soy, beans, lentils and other protein-rich foods provide protein along with vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates and other nutrients.

But “food first” shouldn’t become “supplements never.”

Whey protein is highly digestible, rich in essential amino acids and leucine, and convenient. If an athlete struggles to reach an appropriate protein intake through meals—or wants to increase protein without adding a large amount of food—a protein powder can solve a legitimate problem.

The important question isn’t “Is protein powder good or bad?“

It is “What problem is protein powder solving?“

If you’re already meeting your protein needs comfortably through food, adding another shake simply because whey rapidly stimulates muscle protein synthesis has not been shown to guarantee additional long-term benefit.

What About Plant Protein?

Animal proteins generally provide a high concentration of essential amino acids and are highly digestible. Some individual plant proteins contain less leucine or lower amounts of one or more essential amino acids.

That doesn’t mean an older athlete needs animal protein.

A varied plant-based diet can provide sufficient protein. Athletes relying heavily on plant sources simply have more reason to pay attention to total quantity, variety and protein quality, rather than assuming that equal gram amounts of every protein source produce identical physiological responses.

This is another place where adequate total intake can reduce the importance of micromanaging individual foods.

BCAAs, Leucine and Essential Amino Acids

You’ve probably seen supplements containing branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs, promoted for muscle growth and recovery. The three BCAAs—leucine, isoleucine and valine—are part of a larger group of nine essential amino acids (EAAs) that our bodies cannot make and must obtain from food.

Leucine is particularly important because it helps signal muscle protein synthesis. But signaling muscle to build protein isn’t enough. The other essential amino acids are also needed to provide the building materials.

That’s why taking BCAAs alone isn’t equivalent to consuming a complete protein.

Recommendations have changed as the research has evolved. In 2007, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommended BCAAs before and after exercise—and during prolonged endurance exercise—based on the evidence available at the time. By its 2017 protein position stand, the emphasis had shifted toward high-quality protein providing sufficient leucine along with all the essential amino acids. Research since then has further questioned whether supplementing with the three BCAAs alone provides meaningful benefits. A 2026 systematic review focused on endurance athletes found no consistent improvement in endurance performance, fatigue or recovery.

Recent systematic reviews suggest BCAA supplements may modestly reduce muscle soreness after exercise. But they have not consistently improved strength, endurance, body composition or recovery of muscle performance.

For an older endurance athlete already consuming enough high-quality protein, there is little evidence that adding a BCAA supplement provides an additional benefit. If protein intake is inadequate, consuming complete protein—or all the essential amino acids—makes more physiological sense than supplementing only the three BCAAs.

Leucine can help flip the switch for muscle protein synthesis, but your body still needs all the building materials.

HMB: Promising Theory, Less-Impressive Results

HMB—beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate—is a metabolite of leucine promoted for preserving muscle, particularly in older adults.

The idea is biologically plausible, and some earlier studies were promising, particularly in frail, inactive or nutritionally compromised people.

But more recent evidence makes routine supplementation difficult to justify for healthy athletes who can resistance train.

A 2026 meta-analysis included 13 randomized trials and 561 adults age 50 and older. Adding HMB to resistance training produced no significant additional improvement in muscle mass, muscle strength or fat mass. The authors concluded that HMB could not be recommended routinely for people capable of structured exercise.

That’s a useful example of science progressing from a plausible mechanism and promising early results to a more restrained conclusion as evidence accumulates.

Creatine Is Different

Creatine frequently appears in the same conversations as protein supplements, but it should be treated separately because creatine isn’t protein. It helps increase phosphocreatine availability in muscle, supporting rapid ATP regeneration during high-intensity muscular work.

More importantly, creatine has accumulated a substantial research base when combined with resistance training.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS: Creatine vs. HMB

A 2026 analysis of 11 randomized trials involving adults age 60 and older found that adding creatine to resistance training produced a small additional improvement in muscle strength. The certainty of evidence was moderate. Additional effects on muscle mass and physical function remained uncertain.

In contrast, the 2026 HMB meta-analysis found no significant additional improvement in muscle mass or strength when HMB was added to resistance training.

What this means for you: Among supplements marketed for aging muscle, creatine has a stronger case as an adjunct to resistance training. But the important word is adjunct. It does not replace resistance training or adequate protein.

Creatine can also raise blood creatinine, which is commonly used to estimate kidney function. Anyone taking creatine should tell their healthcare provider, particularly when kidney function is being evaluated. People with kidney disease or other relevant medical conditions should discuss supplementation with the clinician managing their condition.

The Protein Hierarchy After 50

After reviewing the research, I think the priorities for an older endurance athlete are much clearer than the individual numbers sometimes make them appear.

1. Give your muscles a training stimulus.
Continue your endurance training, but include resistance training. Protein cannot substitute for a stimulus telling muscle to maintain strength and mass.

2. Eat enough total energy.
Chronic under-fueling makes it harder to recover, train and preserve muscle regardless of protein intake.

3. Get enough protein over the entire day.
For many regularly training older endurance athletes, approximately 1.2–1.6 g/kg/day is a reasonable working range. Treat it as a range rather than a magic threshold.

4. Include meaningful protein in your meals.
Around 0.4 g/kg at a meal is a useful reference for older adults, but don’t turn it into a requirement that must be hit exactly at every meal.

5. Don’t obsess over perfect distribution.
Fix obviously protein-poor meals before worrying about whether every meal contains precisely the same number of grams.

6. Use post-workout protein sensibly.
If you’ve eaten protein within a few hours before training, eat your next normal protein-rich meal afterward. Give recovery nutrition greater priority after fasted, long or particularly demanding workouts or when another training session is coming soon.

7. Use supplements to solve identifiable problems.
Protein powder can make an appropriate daily intake easier. Leucine or essential amino acids may help when protein intake is limited. Current evidence gives HMB a weak case for routine use by healthy exercising older adults. Creatine has better evidence as an adjunct to resistance training.

Protein hierarchy for endurance athletes over 50, prioritizing training, adequate energy and daily protein before timing and supplements

Don’t Let Precision Exceed the Evidence

Perhaps the most surprising lesson from this research is how quickly certainty decreases as protein advice becomes more precise.

We have strong evidence that resistance training matters.

There is good evidence that regularly training older adults need more protein than the adult RDA is designed to provide.

We have good physiological evidence that older muscle benefits from meaningful amounts of high-quality protein.

But ask exactly how many grams a 72-year-old triathlete should eat every day, exactly how many grams must be consumed at breakfast, precisely how evenly protein must be distributed, or how many minutes after a workout it must be consumed—and the evidence becomes much less certain.

That’s not a failure of science. It’s a reason to use the science appropriately.

The research isn’t finished. Several of the researchers whose work is discussed here specifically call for more studies involving older trained athletes—including research comparing different protein intakes and examining athletes in their 60s, 70s and 80s.

For now, the evidence gives older endurance athletes good reason to be diligent about consuming enough protein to help maintain muscle and support recovery, but not enough evidence to insist that everyone needs the same precise amount or timing strategy.

The objective isn’t to optimize every gram of protein.

It is to create an eating and training pattern you can sustain that gives your body enough energy, enough protein and—most importantly—enough reason to maintain the muscle you’ll want for the years of training, racing and living still ahead.

We will continue to follow this research and update our recommendations as better evidence involving older endurance athletes becomes available.

Coach’s Rule

Get the fundamentals right before optimizing the details: train your muscles, eat enough, meet your daily protein needs—and then decide whether timing or supplements solve a real problem.

Selected References

Have a Protein Question for Our Coaches?

Still have a question about protein, recovery, meal timing, or supplements as an older triathlete? Send it to Ask Our Coaches using the button below. Your question may become the basis for a future SeniorTriathletes article.

Submit Your Question

What Has Worked for You?

How do you approach protein as an older endurance athlete? Have you changed how much you eat, when you eat it, or whether you use protein powders or other supplements? What seems to have helped with maintaining muscle, training, or recovery? Share your experience in the comments below.

Comments: We’d love to hear about your experience. Join the conversation below. All comments are reviewed before they appear.

Reply notifications: Click the bell icon above Post Comment to be notified when someone replies to your comment.

Follow the discussion: Click Subscribe above the comment box and enter your email address to receive notifications whenever a new comment is added—even if you don’t leave a comment. After subscribing, check your email and click Confirm to activate notifications.

Medical Disclaimer

Protein needs can differ with kidney disease, other medical conditions, medications, energy restriction, and other factors. Discuss significant dietary or supplement changes with an appropriate healthcare professional.

The content on SeniorTriathletes.com is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your physician or a qualified healthcare provider before beginning or modifying any exercise, training, nutrition, or recovery program—especially if you have existing health conditions or concerns.

Participation in triathlon training and related activities involves inherent risks. By using this information, you acknowledge and accept full responsibility for your health and well-being. The author and contributors are not liable for any injuries or health issues that may result from the use of this content.

Adapting Mark Allen’s Strength Training Program for Triathletes Over 50

Terry L. VanderWert on September 8, 2026

free weights or dumbbells used in strength training

When I first reviewed Mark Allen’s strength training program, I was evaluating it as a triathlete. Since then, SeniorTriathletes.com has grown into a community of older endurance athletes, we’ve surveyed readers, interviewed coaches, followed emerging research on healthy aging, and published articles on recovery, sleep, and nutrition. This rewrite reflects what we’ve learned along the way.

If you’re looking for a complete guide to strength training for triathletes over 50, start here: Strength Training for Senior Endurance Athletes.

Why Strength Training Matters More as We Age

When I first began following Mark Allen’s program, my reason for strength training was straightforward: I wanted to become a better triathlete. Strengthening the muscles used for swimming, biking, and running seemed like a logical way to improve performance and reduce my risk of injury.

As I’ve grown older, I have another reason to keep strength training. Maintaining strength and muscle becomes increasingly important simply to preserve our ability to continue doing the activities we enjoy.

That distinction matters for senior triathletes. Swimming, biking, and running provide tremendous cardiovascular benefits, but endurance exercise alone does not provide the same stimulus for maintaining muscular strength. Research involving older adults consistently shows that progressive resistance training can improve strength and physical function. Studies of masters athletes also suggest that decades of endurance training can preserve exceptional aerobic fitness without providing the same protection against age-related declines in muscular strength.

For a triathlete over 50, then, strength training increasingly serves two purposes:

  • helping us swim, bike, and run better; and
  • preserving the strength and physical capacity that allow us to keep swimming, biking, and running as we grow older.

I have seen examples of both.

A 71-year-old woman I wrote about began strength training in her late 60s—proof that it’s never too late to start. Judy Cole, a 73-year-old ultrarunner, began running every day in her early 30s. Decades later, however, problems with her knees and hamstrings led her to strengthen her quadriceps and hamstrings. She described the change in those muscles as a “game changer.”

The same theme is emerging from senior triathletes themselves.

What Experienced Senior Triathletes Are Telling Us

In an ongoing SeniorTriathletes.com questionnaire, experienced triathletes age 60 and older described how their training and racing have changed as they’ve aged. Strength and muscle maintenance repeatedly surfaced in their responses, often alongside greater attention to recovery, mobility, and a more deliberate approach to training.

One 78-year-old respondent described doing almost exclusively cardiovascular exercise before age 70. As he grew older, he became increasingly aware of losses in strength and what he called “rapid muscular response”—and of the need to devote more attention to strength and mobility.

If you’re new to triathlon after 50, this guide on how to start triathlon after 50 will help you take the first step.

Introducing Mark Allen’s Strength Training Program

Mark Allen’s program gave me the structure I needed to make strength training a regular part of my routine. It also provides a useful starting point for considering what—if anything—we should change as we grow older.

The table below lists the twelve exercises in this program along with the triathlon leg(s) most impacted by the exercise. While I vary the order in which they are performed, these are the same exercises I do two days per week, except when I do not have access to the equipment.

Mark’s original article includes videos that show how to perform each of them correctly. I urge you to watch the videos before starting the program. And, if you are anything like me, you will find it helpful to watch periodically to make sure your form and breathing are correct.

ExerciseHelps Most With
Lateral Pull-DownSwim
Leg ExtensionRun
Leg CurlBike, Run
Bench PressSwim
SquatBike, Run
Lateral Dumbbell RaiseSwim
Calf RaiseRun
Dumbbell PulloverSwim
Backward LungeRun
Bicep CurlSwim, Bike
Tricep ExtensionSwim
Leg PressBike, Run

Starting with my first time using Mark’s routine, I have recorded the number of repetitions and weights for each exercise in a Google Sheet. I have also noted when I could use a heavier weight in the next session and any pain or soreness I felt during or after the session.

If you would like to follow Mark Allen’s strength training program, comment below or email me at seniortriathletes@gmail.com. I will share the Google Sheet I use to record my results and progress.

How I Adapted Mark Allen’s Program: My Warm-Up

Mark Allen’s program begins with the strength exercises themselves. Over time, I found that I benefited from preparing my hips, shoulders, upper back, and core before beginning the weights. My warm-up has evolved as I’ve aged and as I’ve dealt with the minor aches, stiffness, and limitations that come with years of training.

I now begin every strength session, regardless of the phase of Mark’s program, with bodyweight and resistance-band exercises. What started as physical therapy for tightness in my right glute and later upper-back spasms evolved into the 15- to 20-minute routine shown below. I vary it somewhat from week to week.

When done properly, I end this 20-minute period having broken a sweat and feeling loose. The table below provides more detail on this part of what is a 70-minute routine, two days each week.

Warm-Up TargetDetails
HipsAll-4s side leg lift (“fire hydrants”) – 30 each side
Side-lying hip abduction with internal rotation – 30 each side
Side-lying leg lift – 30 each side
Shoulders, Arms, Upper BackShoulder external rotation with scapular retraction – 2 x 15
Shoulder single-arm cross body extension – 2 x 15
Shoulder horizontal abduction – 2 x 15
Standing shoulder row with anchored band resistance – 2 x 15
Shoulder extension with band resistance – 2 x 15
CorePallof press – 20 reps each side
Oblique twist – 20 reps each side
Boat pose – 1 minute
Bridge – 15 reps; hold each for a count of five
Side plank – 1 minute each side
Plank – 1 minute

Two of the core exercises—the Pallof press and oblique twist wood chopper—are more recent additions. I added them after I began using a body-composition scale that estimates muscle mass in different areas of the body.

My early readings indicated that muscle mass in my core was below the standard range for a person my age, even though the readings for other areas of my body were better. That prompted me to add exercises specifically targeting the core.

More recent readings have placed all areas, including my core, within the standard range. I can’t say that these exercises alone produced the change, but the measurements gave me another reason to address a weakness I might otherwise have overlooked.

Related post: ‘At the Core’ – Strength Training to Help Seniors Perform Better and Avoid Injury

After Strength Training

Depending on the time available, I sometimes complete another 10–15 minutes of cardio after the strength exercises. I finish with static stretches and/or foam rolling of my hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and upper and lower back.

exercise machines
Mark Allen’s strength training program for triathletes involves a mix of exercises that involve free weights, weight machines, dumbbells, and body weight.

Endurance Strength Training – Phase 2

In my initial use of this program, I moved to Phase 2 after a few weeks with the Phase 1. The main difference between these two phases is that Phase 2 involves two sets of 12–15 repetitions of each exercise with 90 seconds rest between sets, rather than one set in Phase 1. As in Phase 1, I completed two sessions per week with at least one day, but usually three days, between them.

During Phase 1, I selected weights for each of the exercises for which I could complete 15 repetitions with good form. For some, I was able to increase the weight slightly during the four weeks.

In transitioning into Phase 2, I used the same weights as at the end of Phase 1. However, in the first two sessions, I completed only 12 (rather than 15) repetitions in each of the two sets (except for squats, for which I completed 15). I did this following the principle of preventing injury by increasing intensity gradually.

Continuing with this principle, I increased the number of repetitions to 15 for the first set in week 2, while the second set still involved 12. In week 3 and beyond of Phase 2, I completed 15 repetitions for both sets.

“Increasing the intensity, time, or type of activity too quickly is one common reason for a sports injury. To prevent this, many fitness experts recommend that both novice and expert athletes follow the ten percent rule, which sets a limit on increases in weekly training. This guideline simply states that you should increase your activity no more than 10 percent per week. That includes distance, intensity, weight lifted, and length of your exercise session.” – Very Well Fit

Lessons from Strength Training for Triathletes

I have learned some important lessons while using this plan:

  • Be patient – the results may seem to come slowly, but they will come.
  • Become familiar with the specific equipment you will use in the program. In addition to watching the videos in Mark Allen’s article, I watched others, especially those working with a personal trainer.
  • Add weight only after a few sessions (minimum two) when the weight feels easy while maintaining good form.
Sample of Google sheet used for tracking progress with my strength training based on Mark Allen’s program for triathletes.

How I Would Adapt Mark Allen’s Program for Triathletes Over 50

Mark Allen’s program has served me well, and many of its basic principles still make sense for an older triathlete. I continue to use the same 12 exercises when I have access to the necessary equipment.

But following the program over the years—and learning more about strength training and aging—has changed how I think about its purpose and how it should fit into an older triathlete’s overall training.

The goal isn’t simply to copy a successful triathlete’s strength routine. It’s to preserve what works while adapting the program to our own abilities, training load, recovery, and goals.

Keep Progressive Resistance at the Center

One principle I would not change is progressive resistance: muscles need an adequate training stimulus if they are going to become stronger.

Research involving older adults consistently shows that progressive resistance training improves muscular strength and physical function. For an endurance athlete, that matters because swimming, biking, and running do not provide the same strength-building stimulus as resistance exercise.

The progression doesn’t have to mean adding weight every workout. As my own experience with Phase 2 illustrates, progression can involve gradually increasing repetitions before increasing the load. The important point is to provide enough challenge to stimulate adaptation without sacrificing good form or increasing the workload faster than your body can accommodate.

Think Beyond Triathlon Performance

This may be the biggest change in how I view Mark’s program.

When I originally adopted it, I wanted stronger muscles for swimming, biking, and running. I still do. But as we grow older, maintaining strength serves another purpose: preserving our ability to keep doing those things.

This is where the experience of senior triathletes in our questionnaire is particularly relevant. Some describe adding strength training as they’ve aged; others say they wish they had started sooner. Strength increasingly appears alongside mobility and recovery as something they deliberately make room for rather than something added only when time permits.

For a younger Mark Allen, strength training could help make an exceptional triathlete even better. For those of us training decades later in life, it can also help preserve the physical capacity that allows us to remain triathletes.

Don’t Forget Power

Strength is our ability to produce force. Power is our ability to produce that force quickly. Both are important to preserve as we age, and power tends to decline faster than strength.

Research in older adults suggests that training performed with an emphasis on moving the resistance relatively quickly during the lifting portion of an exercise can improve muscular power and physical function.

That doesn’t mean an older triathlete should suddenly start performing explosive Olympic lifts. The appropriate exercises, resistance, and speed depend on experience and physical condition. But it does mean that simply moving every resistance as slowly as possible isn’t necessarily the only objective.

The comment from a 78-year-old triathlete in our questionnaire about losing “rapid muscular response” captures the issue remarkably well. Maintaining the ability to generate force quickly can matter both in sport and in everyday life.

Fit Strength Into Your Triathlon Training—Don’t Just Add It

A triathlete already has three sports competing for training time and recovery. Strength training creates another training stress.

Research on concurrent endurance and resistance training shows that older adults can improve strength and aerobic fitness while doing both. The practical question isn’t whether strength training and endurance training can coexist; it’s how to fit them together without allowing the total training load to exceed what we can recover from.

That’s one reason I wouldn’t prescribe Mark Allen’s schedule—or my schedule—to every triathlete over 50.

Two strength sessions per week work well for me when my schedule and recovery allow it. Another athlete may need a different frequency, particularly during periods of heavy swim-bike-run training, following an injury, or when preparing for an important race.

Let Recovery Help Determine the Dose

One of the clearest messages from experienced senior triathletes responding to our aging questionnaire is that they need to pay greater attention to recovery as they age.

Science doesn’t give us a simple formula such as “add another recovery day after age 70.” Individual differences are too great for that.

Instead, pay attention to how well you are recovering from the combination of strength training and swim-bike-run workouts. Persistent soreness, declining workout quality, unusual fatigue, or difficulty maintaining good lifting form may be signs that the overall training load needs adjustment.

For older athletes, doing enough to stimulate adaptation matters. So does being recovered enough to train well again.

Strength Training Doesn’t End When the Workout Ends

Strength training provides the stimulus for our muscles to adapt, but the workout itself is only part of the process. Nutrition, recovery, and sleep all help create the conditions that allow us to respond to that training.

Nutrition: Muscle needs protein to repair and remodel after exercise. This becomes particularly important as we age because older adults generally require a greater protein stimulus to maximize muscle protein synthesis. For senior triathletes, that means paying attention not only to total protein intake but also to consuming adequate protein throughout the day.

Related post: Nutrition for Triathletes After 50 — Healthy Aging, Recovery & Performance

Recovery: Strength training adds to the stress already created by swimming, biking, and running. Recovery therefore needs to be considered across the entire training week rather than separately for each sport. An additional strength workout isn’t necessarily beneficial if it compromises the quality of the training that follows.

Related post: Recovery After 50: What Every Triathlete Must Know

Sleep: Sleep is another part of the recovery environment. Research has associated poor sleep with lower muscular strength in middle-aged and older adults, while adequate sleep also supports the broader physiological processes involved in recovery from training.

Related post: Sleep for Triathletes Over 50: Recovery and Performance Guide

None of these replaces progressive resistance training. Rather, they help us get more from the work we do in the gym.

The older I get, the more I think of strength not as a workout but as a system: provide the stimulus, supply the nutrients, and allow enough recovery for adaptation.

What If You Don’t Have Access to a Gym?

Mark Allen’s program uses a combination of free weights, weight machines, dumbbells, and body weight. But lack of access to a gym doesn’t mean giving up strength training.

Bodyweight exercises such as squats and lunges can provide resistance, while resistance bands can be useful for exercises targeting the hips, shoulders, and upper body. Core exercises such as planks, side planks, glute bridges, and the exercises included in my warm-up require little or no equipment.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, I also used dry-land resistance-band exercises from the Tri Swim Success Online Triathlon Swim Training Program to maintain swim-specific strength.

The equipment may change. The principle doesn’t: provide enough resistance to challenge the muscles and progress that challenge as you become stronger.

Let us know in the Comments what alternates to training in the gym with weights and machines you use.

Where to Go From Here

If you are getting started with triathlon training and/or strength training, here are two must-read posts:

Want to take the next step? Choose your path below.

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to improve, here are your next steps:

New to Triathlon?

Start with a step-by-step guide to triathlon after 50 designed specifically for older athletes.

Start Here →

Already Training?

Learn how to train smarter, recover better, and improve performance after 50.

Improve Performance →

Still have questions? Leave a comment—we’d love to hear from you.

How Have You Adapted Strength Training as You’ve Aged?

If you’ve been strength training for several years, what have you changed as you’ve grown older? Have you changed the exercises, weight, number of sessions, recovery between workouts—or the importance you place on strength training? Please share your experience in the Comments below.

Comments: We’d love to hear about your experience. Join the conversation below. All comments are reviewed before they appear.

Reply notifications: Click the bell icon above Post Comment to be notified when someone replies to your comment.

Follow the discussion: Click Subscribe above the comment box and enter your email address to receive notifications whenever a new comment is added—even if you don’t leave a comment. After subscribing, check your email and click Confirm to activate notifications.

This post was first published on March 14, 2019, and substantially rewritten and republished in September 2026.

Passing It Forward: How Senior Triathletes Can Mentor the Next Generation

Terry L. VanderWert on August 13, 2026

Dave Conover, senior triathlete and USA Triathlon race official

The experience we accumulate in triathlon can become a gift to someone just entering the sport.

By Dave Conover | Editor’s introduction and closing by Terry VanderWert

Editor’s Introduction

A few weeks ago, Dave Conover wrote to suggest that senior triathletes consider “adopting” a younger or first-time triathlete—not financially, but as a mentor. Dave has contributed to SeniorTriathletes.com before, and I immediately saw his idea as a natural follow-up to our The Many Ways We Keep Moving project.

The stories we have collected from senior triathletes show that our reasons for remaining active often evolve. Competition and personal goals still matter, but so do encouraging others, setting an example for children and grandchildren, and giving something back to the sport. Dave’s experience offers a practical example of what triathlon mentoring can look like.

What follows is Dave’s story, edited and expanded with his permission. His idea—and most of the wisdom in this article—came directly from him.

Staying in Touch With the Young Person We Once Were

“Surrounding yourself with young people is a way to stay in tune with the young person you yourself were at some point.” — Margareta Magnusson, The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly

That observation by Swedish painter and author Margareta Magnusson has special meaning for me. For the past 10 years, I have spent one day each week as a STEM mentor to fourth- and fifth-grade students at our local elementary school. Working with their teachers, I develop experiments related to what the students are learning, then guide them as they conduct the experiments and—ideally—learn while having fun.

In reality, I receive more from the students than they know. I leave each week feeling more energized and alive because of their enthusiasm. Maybe there is an upcoming movie entitled 75 Going on 10.

A Young Triathlete at a Family Reunion

Magnusson’s observation came back to me at a recent family reunion with five of my cousins, their children, and their grandchildren. I was introduced to one young relative as “the cousin who does triathlons” because she had completed a youth triathlon that morning—a short lake swim, a five-mile bike ride, and a two-mile run.

The number 44 was still written on her upper arm. She was beaming as she told me she had taken first place, loved the experience, and was already signing up for another race—this time, I believe, a more typical sprint triathlon that would include older athletes.

As we talked, it was clear that she could hardly wait for her next race. It was also clear that I had an opportunity to pass along some of the things I had learned over the years.

The Small Lessons Experienced Triathletes Take for Granted

Many young athletes attempting their first triathlon are probably much like many of us were years ago: reasonably athletic, but not yet training with a specific purpose or familiar with how a race flows—or what to do and when to do it.

During our short conversation, I asked about bike shoes, running shoes, socks (or lack thereof), elastic laces, race belts and other details that can make transitions faster and less confusing. She quickly understood the value of saving time in transition. I mentioned that a minute saved there has the same effect on the final result as running roughly 20 seconds per mile faster over a 5K. Essentially ‘free’ time.

When I asked about the swim, it became apparent that she had trained mainly in a pool, as many triathletes do. Her first open-water race introduced her to sighting, swimming in traffic, and making turns around buoys.

Then I mentioned that many triathletes wear their goggles under their swim cap so the goggles are less likely to be knocked off during the swim. Her eyes lit up as though I had given her a secret formula. To an experienced triathlete, it is a small and familiar detail. To a young athlete coming from the pool, it may be something they had never considered.

More Than Race-Day Advice

Mentoring can certainly include practical tips about transitions, open-water swimming, equipment, pacing, knowing the course and ‘flow’ of the race as well as race preparation from weeks before the race to the morning of the race. But the most valuable lessons senior triathletes can offer may be larger than any single race, component in a race, or the myriad of equipment options for training and racing.

Experience teaches us that not every training session goes as planned, not every race produces the result we hoped for, and progress is rarely a straight line. We can help new athletes to our sport learn patience, consistency, sportsmanship, resilience, and the ability to enjoy the sport without allowing results to define them. Like my experiences with 4th and 5th grade science, each race can end with the question I ask after each class – did you learn something and did you have fun?

Those lessons apply whether the person we mentor is 12, 32, or 62. Dave’s encounter happened to involve a young relative, but his idea extends naturally to any newcomer who could benefit from an experienced and encouraging voice.

Dave Conover and his family—wife of 52 years, Louise and son Brian, his wife Nathalia, and their daughter—at a July race in Colonial Beach, Virginia. Dave and Louise’s other son Mark, wife Caitlin and their four children live overseas.

A New Way to Remain Part of the Sport

I now plan to become a triathlon mentor to this young relative. I do not know exactly what that relationship will look like. My goal is simply to be available as a resource, encourage and listen to her and, over time, pass along some of what I have learned.

Even if I become slower with age—or eventually have to stop competing—the experience will still be there. I can draw on it to help her and other young people who want to join our ranks. Perhaps some of them will still be competing at the turn of the next century, just as senior triathletes are today.

There may be an opportunity for other senior triathletes to do something similar through a relative, friend, school, youth group, coach, triathlon club, or local race. Giving back in this way may help grow the sport we love. It may also help us rediscover some of the excitement we felt when triathlon was new to us.

Editor’s Closing: Who Could Benefit From What You Know?

Dave’s story raises a question worth considering: After years—or decades—in triathlon, what will we do with everything the sport has taught us?

Mentoring does not require becoming a certified coach or developing a formal mentoring program. It can begin by answering a beginner’s question, walking someone through transition before a race, inviting a newcomer to a training session, or simply offering encouragement after a difficult day.

This is why Dave’s story belongs beside The Many Ways We Keep Moving. Continuing to train and race is one way we remain engaged. Helping someone else begin and continue in the sport may become another. Our accumulated experience does not lose its value when our pace slows; in the right hands, it gains a second life.

Who helped you when you were new to triathlon—and who might benefit from what you know now?

Tell us in the Comments below about a person you have mentored, or someone you would like to help. Your experience could become part of a future Senior Triathletes Giving Back story—and may encourage another reader to do the same.

Comments: We’d love to hear about your experience. Join the conversation below. All comments are reviewed before they appear.

Reply notifications: Click the bell icon above Post Comment to be notified when someone replies to your comment.

Follow the discussion: Click Subscribe above the comment box and enter your email address to receive notifications whenever a new comment is added—even if you don’t leave a comment. After subscribing, check your email and click Confirm to activate notifications.

About Dave Conover

Dave Conover is a senior triathlete who served as a USA Triathlon race official from 1999 to 2022 and was named the 2020 USA Triathlon Race Official of the Year. He is also a longtime STEM mentor to elementary-school students and a returning contributor to SeniorTriathletes.com. His suggestion that experienced triathletes mentor younger and first-time athletes inspired this article.

The Many Ways We Keep Moving

Terry L. VanderWert on August 2, 2026

Collage of senior triathletes featured in "The Many Ways We Keep Moving," showing athletes and couples at races and training events.

Several weeks ago, I found myself rereading nearly ten years of stories about senior triathletes that I had published. I wasn’t looking for another article.

I was updating several pages on training, nutrition, recovery, and performance after fifty. I’d had the privilege of talking with these remarkable people, and reread their stories because I knew they possessed a wealth of experience about triathlon.

Instead, I found myself asking different questions.

After reading the first few stories, I realized I was seeing patterns I hadn’t noticed when I originally wrote them. I opened a spreadsheet and began making notes. Beside each athlete’s name, I listed two questions.

Why did this person start doing triathlon?

Why did they continue?

It didn’t take long to be reminded how remarkably diverse people’s reasons for starting triathlon were.

Then I found myself asking a different question.

What are they doing now?

Many of these stories had been written years earlier. What had happened since then? More importantly, what had they learned as they grew older that might benefit the rest of us?

Over the years, several had become friends through our shared interest in triathlon, and I wondered how their thinking—and perhaps mine—had changed.

So I wrote to many of them. Each email began with the same questions but quickly became personal. These weren’t surveys. They were conversations that continued stories we had started years earlier.

Among several questions, I asked one that seemed almost too simple.

What keeps you active and motivated today?

The replies began arriving from England, Australia, Hong Kong, France, Finland, and across the United States.

I expected that some would reply, as they always had. What I didn’t expect was the depth of their responses.

Some answered in a few sentences, while others wrote several pages. Several turned into conversations that continued over multiple emails.

Individually, each response updated a story I had published years before.

Together, they became a new story that I had never intended to write.

We Rarely Begin for the Same Reason

Over the following weeks, as I reread stories, exchanged emails, and added notes to my spreadsheet, certain patterns began appearing again and again.

I discovered that the stories resisted neat categories. The same athlete often illustrated several different ideas at once. Rather than trying to fit people into boxes, I found it more helpful to let each story illuminate one part of a much larger picture.

Looking back over the complete set of stories, the diversity was even more striking.

Paul Zellner started because he wanted to quit smoking and become a better role model for his young daughter.

Howard Glass discovered endurance sports after realizing that cycling, and eventually triathlon, helped keep depression away.

Pat Hawks was inspired by a mother who refused to let polio define her life. Following a divorce at age 50, she decided it was time to begin a new chapter.

Mark Bartolomeo entered retirement carrying nearly sixty-five extra pounds accumulated during a successful business career. He was looking for something healthy and challenging to replace the structure that work had provided.

Dave Conover learned about triathlon from his son’s little league baseball coach and, through it, learned to run and also lost some weight.

Johny Dignam stood on the sidelines of Ironman Australia and decided he wanted to become one of the athletes rather than one of the spectators. Triathlon eventually helped him replace an unhealthy lifestyle with a much healthier one.

Sue Faulkner smiles with her son and grandson at a triathlon event, illustrating three generations of an active family.

Sue Faulkner wanted to show her children and grandchildren that growing older didn’t mean becoming inactive. She discovered that the example she set was often more powerful than anything she could say. The accompanying photograph, taken after a triathlon with her son and grandson, captures that example better than words could.

Juha Makitalo admired Mark Allen and Finland’s Pauli Kiuru. Encouraged by a friend, he eventually pursued a goal that had once seemed beyond his reach—completing an Ironman.

Rick Burgess entered his seventies determined to find out what remained possible. Completing Ironman California at age seventy-three as the oldest finisher in the race wasn’t the end of his story—it became the beginning of another question.

The stories began in different places because people arrived at triathlon carrying different experiences, different hopes, and different reasons for saying yes.

That wasn’t a big surprise. What surprised me was what happened next.

Why Do We Continue?

That was the question I thought I was trying to answer.

As I reread the stories and the follow-up emails, I expected the reasons people continued in triathlon to be just as diverse as the reasons they had started. They were. Some athletes were still pursuing ambitious goals. Others had become content simply to participate without worrying about finishing times.

A few had moved beyond triathlon altogether. At first, I thought those stories belonged in a different category. I would eventually discover they were some of the most important stories of all.

Despite those differences, I kept finding the same ideas appearing again and again. I noticed that my spreadsheet was no longer filling with training tips. Instead, I found myself highlighting many of the same ideas again and again. Health appeared frequently, but so did family, curiosity, social connections, learning, and the desire to remain fully engaged with life.

I hadn’t gone looking for those themes. The athletes kept bringing me back to them.

One reply, from Joe Simonetta, especially caught my attention. Joe will soon celebrate his eighty-third birthday. Staying active has been part of his life for decades, and movement has simply become part of who he is. When people ask how he has remained so active for so long, his answer is refreshingly simple.

“Don’t stop.”

Joe enjoys challenging himself, but competition is only one reason he continues to train. Regular exercise helps him feel better physically and mentally. He also appreciates the balance that triathlon provides through swimming, cycling, running, and strength training, believing that together they develop the whole person.

Then he shifted from talking about himself to talking about his family.

Joe and his wife are raising two young children.

“I want to stay healthy and strong,” he wrote, “not only for myself, but also to continue being fully present for my young children.”

Laurent Labbé approaches an Ironman finish line with his young son, celebrating the finish together, an example of Laurent's desire to keep moving.

A few days earlier, I had received a thoughtful reply from Laurent Labbe in Hong Kong. Although his life and Joe’s have followed very different paths, I was struck by one remarkable similarity.

Laurent also wrote about remaining healthy and active for his family and about demonstrating to both his adult children and his younger children that an active lifestyle does not have to end with age. That idea is reflected in a photograph of Laurent approaching the finish line alongside his young son.

Neither man measures success solely by his next race, even though both remain competitive racers who continue pushing themselves toward new goals.

Beyond racing, both are thinking about the example they hope to set and the kind of father they want to be.

As I sat reading their emails, I realized I was no longer thinking primarily about triathlon. Somewhere along the way, I had become much more interested in what kept these athletes moving—not simply swimming, biking, and running, but continuing to grow, to learn, to encourage others, and to embrace whatever possibilities still lay ahead.

That wasn’t the article I had intended to write, but I was beginning to think it might be the more important one—or at least equally important.

Continuing to Explore What’s Possible

As I stepped back from the collection of stories and follow-up emails, one group gradually came into focus. These athletes were still pursuing ambitious goals in triathlon well into their seventies and eighties.

On the surface, their stories looked remarkably similar.

Gene Peters continued competing at the highest levels of the sport. Laura Rosetti continued racing, coaching, and encouraging others after more than forty years in triathlon. Darrell Myrick had returned to endurance racing following major heart surgery. Rick Burgess was already asking what he might accomplish next after becoming the oldest finisher at Ironman California.

The more I reflected on their stories, however, the less interested I became in their accomplishments alone. What intrigued me was what seemed to sustain each of them over time.

Gene Peters was the first to deepen that question.

Gene and Kitty Peters smile together after an Ironman 70.3 World Championship event, reflecting the partnership that supported Gene's triathlon career.

When Gene and his wife, Kitty, became involved in triathlon, each found a different role. Gene trained and raced. Kitty became his greatest supporter. She volunteered at races and proudly shared Gene’s accomplishments with friends. According to Gene, Kitty understood how important triathlon had become in his life. Looking back, he doubts he would have accomplished nearly as much without her encouragement.

One of my favorite photographs of them shows Gene and Kitty together after an Ironman 70.3 World Championship—a reminder that every finish line was something they shared.

After Kitty passed away following fifty-five years of marriage, Gene continued training. Two years later, at age eighty-two, he finished fourth at the Ironman World Championship in Kona in the 80–84 age group.

It would be easy to conclude that Gene simply refused to slow down.

I don’t think that’s the real story.

As I reread Gene’s story, I saw someone continuing a life that he and Kitty had built together over decades. Kona was another chapter in that story, not its purpose. His accomplishments were remarkable, but what stayed with me was the quiet influence of someone who believed in him for more than half a century.

Laura Rosetti offered a different perspective.

Few athletes have remained involved in triathlon as long as Laura. She began racing in 1985 and, more than forty years later, continues to train, coach, and compete. She has raced at Kona repeatedly and earned numerous age-group podium finishes. Yet when I asked what had helped sustain her involvement for so many years, she spoke far less about racing than about relationships.

When Laura moved to Georgia in her early fifties, she knew almost no one. Through masters swimming and local cycling and running groups, she found training partners who became close friends. Those friendships made training more enjoyable, provided accountability, and carried her through moves, injuries, and different seasons of life.

Laura told me that building those relationships becomes more difficult as we grow older. We have to make the effort to put ourselves in places where friendships can develop. For her, community was never simply an incidental benefit of triathlon. It has been woven into the experience itself.

Darrell Myrick pointed in yet another direction.

Following major heart surgery, many people would have assumed Darrell’s endurance racing days were over. Instead, later that same year, he stood on the starting line at the Ironman World Championship in Kona and crossed another finish line. What impressed me most, however, wasn’t simply that he returned to racing. It was that recovering enough to race again reflected how deeply an active lifestyle had become part of who he was.

Rick Burgess added another dimension.

After becoming the oldest finisher at Ironman California at age seventy-three, Rick didn’t ask whether he should stop. Instead, he immediately began wondering what might still be possible.

“If I could do this at 73, what could I accomplish at 75?”

As different as these four athletes are, they share one important characteristic.

Each continues to explore what remains possible.

Although these four athletes followed very different paths, they helped me understand four different ways people continue exploring what remains possible.

Gene’s story reminded me of the quiet influence of a spouse who believed in him for more than half a century.

Laura showed that community isn’t simply a pleasant part of triathlon—it often sustains it.

Darrell demonstrated that an active lifestyle can become part of our identity.

Rick illustrated that curiosity doesn’t have to diminish with age.

The finish lines may look similar.

The stories behind them do not.

Redefining Success

Not every story pointed toward bigger races or longer distances. Instead, some pointed toward something that may have required even greater wisdom.

They reminded me that continuing to move forward doesn’t always mean continuing in the same direction.

Craig Cross was one of the first athletes to help me see that.

For years, Craig had challenged himself with longer races and ambitious goals. As he has grown older, however, his thinking has changed. Craig challenged one of my own assumptions. We often speak about athletes over fifty as though they are one group. Craig reminded me that the experience of someone in their early fifties may have very little in common with someone in their late seventies or eighties. Aging isn’t one stage of life. It’s a continuum.

That observation helped explain something I had been seeing throughout these stories.

Craig also recognized that the rate of physical decline changes as we grow older. What worked in his fifties no longer works in quite the same way in his seventies. As Craig wrote, “My athletic world has changed.” Rather than resisting those changes, he has learned to work with them.

He still trains with purpose, but his emphasis has shifted toward recovery, strength training, Pilates, yoga, and sprint triathlons rather than longer races. Success is no longer measured against the athlete he once was, but against the opportunities still available to him.

Steve Stewart arrived at a similar place from a different direction. Completing an Ironman after retirement had been one of his long-term goals. Many people might have viewed that accomplishment as the perfect ending to their triathlon story. Steve didn’t. He continued training and racing, but with different expectations and different priorities. The satisfaction of remaining active gradually replaced the pressure to accomplish something even bigger.

Nikki Austin smiles after a triathlon, reflecting her continued enthusiasm for the sport.

Nikki Austin‘s story reflects another kind of adaptation. After years of racing, an artificial hip, and more recently a serious wrist injury, she continues looking for ways to remain active. Race walking has replaced some of her running. Water aerobics has become another outlet. She still hopes to return to triathlon, but she no longer measures success solely by crossing another finish line. Remaining healthy, engaged, and optimistic has become just as important.

The accompanying photograph says as much as the words: Nikki smiling beside members of her family after a race, exactly where she wants to be.

Marty Hunter‘s experience reminds us that adaptation is not always a choice. After injury changed what was physically possible, she shifted from long-course racing toward relay events and shorter races. Her competitive spirit remained, but it found a different expression. Rather than mourning what she could no longer do, she embraced what she still could.

As I reflected on these stories, I realized that none of these athletes had lowered their standards.

They had simply changed the way they defined success.

Success was no longer measured only by finish times, race distances, or podium finishes. It was increasingly measured by the willingness to adapt without giving up.

Their goals changed.

Their commitment to moving forward did not.

When the Finish Line Isn’t the Finish

As I continued rereading the stories and follow-up emails, another pattern gradually emerged. Some of the athletes were still racing. Others had moved on to different pursuits. At first, I assumed that distinction would become one of the defining themes of this project. Instead, it became less important with every story I revisited.

When I wrote Triathlon Adventures Across America, I explained why I wanted to complete my goal of racing in all fifty states before turning seventy. Having watched family members and older friends age, I was convinced that seventy represented about the limit for triathlon-level activity. If I was going to achieve the goal, I believed I had to do it before then.

As I reread these stories and the follow-up emails, however, I gradually realized I had been looking at this in the wrong way.

The important question wasn’t how long someone could continue competing in triathlon. It was what they continued moving toward as they grew older. The athletes whose stories filled my spreadsheet answered that question in remarkably different ways, yet their answers shared something important. None of those who were no longer racing in triathlon had stopped living with purpose simply because the sport no longer occupied the same place in their lives.

Paul Zenner and granddaughter Addie, both smiling, during a run.

Paul Zellner was one of the first to help me see that.

Years earlier, Paul had turned to triathlon to quit smoking and become healthier for his family. He accomplished both goals. But when I contacted him again, what struck me wasn’t that he had stopped training for another Ironman. It was why.

While preparing for Rockford Ironman 70.3, Paul found himself asking a different question: “Is this where I should be spending my time?” He thought about his wife, his children, his grandchildren, volunteering, and travel. Then he looked at the medals hanging on his wall and wondered, “Is one more medal that important? Is my ego driving me?“

For Paul, redefining success didn’t mean leaving triathlon behind. It meant allowing the values he had learned through triathlon to shape what came next. As he reflected later, “For me, triathlon has been about relationships and community.” That new purpose is beautifully reflected in a photograph of Paul pushing his granddaughter, Addie, during a run. As he wrote, “Running as a pusher for my granddaughter, Addie, brings me new purpose. I look forward to seeing how far these old legs will take us together.“

Jeanne Minder‘s experience pointed in a similar direction. Jeanne has accomplished far more in triathlon than most athletes ever will, yet when I asked what continued to matter most after decades in the sport, she devoted surprisingly little attention to medals or finish times. What energized her was introducing people to triathlon, encouraging them through their doubts, and helping them discover abilities they never knew they possessed. Her greatest satisfaction no longer came only from what she had accomplished herself, but from watching others begin and progress in stories of their own.

Sue Faulkner reminded me that influence is often measured differently than achievement. When I first interviewed Sue, she talked about wanting to show her children and grandchildren that growing older did not mean becoming inactive. Reading her follow-up years later, I realized she had already succeeded. Whether anyone in her family ever completed a triathlon wasn’t really the point. She had demonstrated, through the way she lived, that an active life could continue well beyond the years many people assume it should.

Johny Dignam completed the picture for me. He began as a spectator wondering what it might feel like to become an Ironman. Training eventually helped him replace unhealthy habits with healthier ones, but the lasting transformation reached much deeper than improved fitness.

The discipline, confidence, and direction he gained changed far more than his fitness. Looking back, Johny shared perhaps the most revealing comment of all: “My wife Tracey says she waited 30 years for this version of me.” By “this version,” he meant the man who had emerged through triathlon. The sport had been the catalyst, not the destination.

As I reflected on these stories together, I realized something that genuinely surprised me. I had begun this project hoping to strengthen SeniorTriathletes.com’s pages on training, nutrition, recovery, and performance after fifty. I found many practical ideas that will undoubtedly improve those pages.

But I also found something I hadn’t expected.

For much of this project, I had quietly assumed that stepping away from triathlon represented an acceptance that age had finally imposed its limits. These athletes showed me something very different. Some still raced. Others no longer did. Yet all of them continued pursuing lives filled with curiosity, purpose, relationships, service, and personal growth.

As I once again scanned my spreadsheet, I realized I no longer viewed the future quite the same way. For years I had assumed there would come a day when leaving triathlon would feel like closing the door on an important part of my life.

These athletes helped me imagine another possibility. The sport had enriched their lives, but it had not confined them. They carried its lessons, friendships, discipline, and curiosity into whatever came next.

It reminded me that leaving triathlon, whenever that time comes, is not the same as leaving behind an active and meaningful life. The finish line may mark the end of one chapter, but it doesn’t have to define the chapters that follow.

Conclusion

When I began rereading these stories, I thought I was updating a website.

I was looking for better advice about training, nutrition, recovery, and performance after fifty. And, I expected to find practical ideas that would help make those pages more useful.

I found those ideas.

But somewhere along the way, the project became something else.

Over nearly ten years, I had interviewed dozens of remarkable people. As I reread their stories and exchanged new emails with many of them, I began seeing those stories through a different lens. Individually, each had inspired me. Together—and enriched by what many had learned in the years since—I began to see something I hadn’t fully appreciated before.

I realized they weren’t simply teaching me how to become a better triathlete—they were teaching me how to approach aging.

Not one of them followed the same path. Some continued chasing ambitious goals. Others found fulfillment in sprint races instead of Ironman. Some devoted themselves to coaching, volunteering, grandchildren, or helping new athletes discover abilities they never knew they possessed. A few had stepped away from triathlon altogether.

Yet none of them had stopped moving forward.

For years, I quietly assumed that there would come a day when leaving triathlon would feel like closing the door on an important part of my life. Watching family members and friends grow older, I had come to think that every athlete eventually reaches the point where possibilities begin to shrink.

These athletes challenged that assumption.

They showed me that while our abilities inevitably change, our capacity to learn, to contribute, to encourage, to stay curious, and to remain fully engaged with life does not have to diminish alongside them.

Perhaps that’s the greatest lesson I found hidden inside these conversations with older athletes.

Triathlon was never the destination. It was the classroom.

The finish lines, the medals, the podiums, and even the training were preparing these athletes for something larger. The discipline, resilience, friendships, confidence, curiosity, and sense of purpose they developed through the sport became tools they carried into every chapter that followed.

Looking back, I realized I hadn’t been finding different answers. I had been asking more important questions.

I began by asking why people started.

Then I asked why they continued.

In the end, I realized there was an even better question.

What kind of person is this experience helping us become?

Looking back over nearly ten years of conversations, I think I finally know the answer.

The people who inspired me most weren’t simply the fastest or the strongest.

They were the ones who kept growing.

And perhaps that’s what “keeping moving” has meant all along.

The stories in this article came from athletes who simply took the time to share their experiences. I hope you’ll add yours.

Before You Go

We’d Love to Hear Your Story

After talking with senior triathletes from around the world over nearly ten years, I’ve learned there is no single reason people keep moving. Every story adds another perspective.

Looking back over your own life, what has kept you moving? Has your reason changed over the years?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Your story may encourage someone else who is wondering what’s possible in the years ahead.

Comments: We’d love to hear about your experience. Join the conversation below. All comments are reviewed before they appear.

Reply notifications: Click the bell icon above Post Comment to be notified when someone replies to your comment.

Follow the discussion: Click Subscribe above the comment box and enter your email address to receive notifications whenever a new comment is added—even if you don’t leave a comment. After subscribing, check your email and click Confirm to activate notifications.

Related Posts

Start Here: Your Guide to Triathlon After 50
Finding Your Tribe: How Senior Triathletes Connect, Train, and Thrive
Improve Performance After 50

error

Enjoy this post? Please spread the word :)