In our lives, age is often seen as an obstacle that restricts us from pursuing our goals and pursuing our dreams.
However, some people have shown us that no matter how old or young we are, age is just a number, and there is no limit to sports!
The legend of the 80-year-old grandmother
At the Great Bear Run 5km in Massachusetts, Jan Holmquist, a grandmother who had just celebrated her 80th birthday, set a new 5km record for the 80-year-old age group with a time of 24:08 and an average pace of 4:49.
Jan Holmquist improved the 80-year-old record by more than a minute to finish 425th out of 854 runners, beating half of its competitors.
This achievement not only won the warm applause of the audience, but also made her the focus of media coverage.
Jan Holmquist is not just the holder of this record, she is also a living legend that breaks the stereotypes of age.
Jan didn't start her running career at an early age, she started her running career at the age of 38. An ordinary starting point, but destined for an extraordinary future.
At the age of 50, she ran a personal best of 19:54 in the five kilometers, which has amazed many young runners.
Time passed, but Jan's passion for running remained undiminished. She broke world records several times at different ages, especially at the age of 61, when she ran an astonishing time of 1 hour, 33 minutes and 48 seconds in the half marathon.
This level of speed and endurance is beyond the reach of many young runners, let alone an older runner.
Jan Holmquist has always believed that running is the joy of a lifetime, and she is never bound by age. "Running gives me freedom and joy," she said in an interview.
This mentality of hers not only makes her a winning general in the running arena, but also inspires countless people like her to believe that it is never too late to start exercising.
At the age of 71, she was still able to set an astonishing age group world record in the one-mile with a time of 6:37.21. At the age of 75 to 79, he broke the world record in the 8km age group, stunning the audience with an outstanding time of 39 minutes and 37 seconds.
Her story is like a powerful torrent, impacting people's traditional perceptions of age and sports, and inspiring us that as long as we have faith and integrate sports into our lives, miracles can happen at any time.
Jan Holmquist's inspirational story crosses borders, and there is no shortage of senior running models in our country. With their deep love of running and positive attitude towards life, they are inspiring more and more people to join the craze for sports.
Academician Li Jian'an's sportsmanship
Academician Li Jian'an is an authority in the field of rehabilitation medicine, an international academician of the National Academy of Medicine, a doctoral supervisor, and the director of the Rehabilitation Medicine Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University.
Since he started running in 2016, he has managed to lose 10 kilograms, from 83 kilograms to 73 kilograms, and his fatty liver condition has also been relieved without any dietary control.
That year, he was 64 years old, but he was full of youthful energy.
Since March 14, 2019, Li Jian'an has launched an unprecedented challenge – completing a marathon every week for six consecutive weeks.
He used this as an experiment to find out what kind of effect such high-intensity exercise can have on the body. What is particularly admirable is that Li Jian'an was 67 years old at this time.
Li Jian'an said in an interview: "This is actually because some people in our circle, including my teacher, say that I exercise too much, and I just want to prove that at my age, is it possible to gradually improve my athletic ability through gradual training." ”
Throughout the trial, he remained in excellent form, with no injuries or weakened immunity.
"I even said that if I run another full marathon today, I can still do it, which means that my adaptability is accelerating," he said. In the past, it took me two weeks to recover after a half marathon, but now I can recover in two days for a full marathon. ”
In September 2016, Li Jian'an accidentally suffered a fracture while running in the morning. He chose to challenge himself to explore the potential benefits of early exercise for fracture rehabilitation.
On the fifth day after the fracture, he walked for half an hour without the assistance of crutches, accumulating nearly 6,000 steps.
Just eleven days later, he tried jogging. In 12 days, he successfully climbed the Purple Mountain in Nanjing. On the eighteenth day, he went to Xuzhou and completed a 10-kilometer running challenge.
The astonishing recovery speed led him to participate in the Nanjing Half Marathon on the 70th day.
On December 11, 2016, 80 days after the fracture, Li Jian'an completed his first full marathon in the Guangzhou Marathon, with a time of 5 hours and 54 minutes.
At this moment, his fractured right foot is almost fully recovered.
Through exercise, Li Jian'an not only regained his health, but also further tested the application of scientific theories in practice, verifying the effect and importance of sports rehabilitation.
Professor Li has proved from his own experience that practice is more important than slogans. As a scholar, his exploration of the limits and his pursuit of the scientific spirit have shown us that people can also challenge themselves and pursue excellence at different ages.
Academician Shi Yigong's running philosophy
Shi Yigong is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, president of Westlake University, and tenured chair professor at Princeton University.
Shi Yigong also has a little-known identity - a runner. He once proudly declared in his autobiography "Self-Breakout": "I am also a veteran runner!" ”
He now runs every other day, reaching at least 10 kilometres each time and running between 150 and 280 kilometres a month.
During his tenure as vice president of Tsinghua University, Professor Shi Yigong's encouragement of students to exercise was one of his key concerns: "Some people think that if they spend a lot of time exercising, their learning efficiency will be reduced. In fact, if you run properly, you can adjust your energy levels, increase your heart function and lung capacity, and have an adequate blood supply and quick thinking. ”
At the opening ceremony of Westlake University in 2018, Shi Yigong led by example, and together with his colleagues, he completed an 11-kilometer run around the lake at 5 o'clock in the morning. He said: "I look forward to our West Lake long-distance running team growing stronger and moving forward side by side. ”
In the 2020 Guangzhou Marathon, he participated with his runners from the Westlake University Running Group, and finally finished in 3 hours, 34 minutes and 56 seconds.
Shi Yigong's love for running is quietly shaping the unique atmosphere of Westlake University. In the official public account of Westlake University, there was such an affectionate description: "Long-distance running is the beating sport gene of Westlake University." ”
Shi Yigong believes that exercise is not only for health, but also an important part of life. It is this dedication and persistence to the sport that keeps him active in both scientific research and life.
It's never too late to move
Sport has a profound meaning for life. No matter what age we are, as long as we have a goal and put it into action, we can overcome difficulties and achieve self-breakthrough.
Exercise not only makes our bodies healthier, but also makes our lives full of vitality and hope.
These touching stories inspire us: no matter when you start, as long as you have a goal and are willing to work hard for it, you can find joy in sports and achieve self-transcendence.
I hope that every reader can draw strength from this article, bravely pursue their sports dreams, and make sports a part of life.
Age has never been an obstacle to our pursuit of our dreams!
How old are you now, and how many years have you been running? Let's talk in the comment area!