The Simplest Sport Is the Best Sport
Running only requires a pair of shoes and a little desire. You can do it at any age for any number of reasons. But a few tricks of the trade can help you avoid injury, run to your potential, and enjoy every step whether you're 22 or 82.
20s
Until recently, the Nike track star seemed destined for burnout. But last year in Boston, after a wave of disappointing races and a personal tragedy, she ran a record-shattering debut marathon. Will the new distance of 26.2 miles save her career?
When running four marathons in a row, it helps to enlist a professional for help. I tested a bunch of her advice so you don't have to.
Only 2 percent of people who toe a marathon starting line will break 3 hours. As Matt Skenazy found out, joining that club isn't easy.
When you enter the Western States 100—a day-and-night endurance run in the Sierra Nevada—you can "mature a lot."
The pro runner suffered an injury in the middle of the Olympics. Here's how she plotted her comeback.
Ten pro tips for reaching—and maintaining—peak performance
30s
When you’re in your fourth decade, you’re still young enough to run a personal best. But it’s also the beginning of the end.
A wave of psychotherapists are treating patients by running with them
One writer sacrificed (not even close to) everything to get to the top of the leaderboard
She won Olympic gold in a sport that chose her. Can she do the same in the one she truly loves?
Devon Yanko was sexually abused as a teenager. It took hundreds of miles for her to run away from the trauma.
It’s hard to make a living from just one thing. The champion middle-distance runner, cofounder of Picky Bars, coach, and mother of two lets us in on how she juggles it all.
40s
As you get older, setting goals—and reaching them—will look a little different
A lifelong runner and outdoor athlete is hit with a mysterious physical breakdown. Once the engine starts to fail, what happens to the mind?
'Play On,' a new book from journalist Jeff Bercovici, explores how aging elite athletes stay at the top of their game
More than 76 years ago, a visionary Australian coach had an epiphany that forged a generation of super-athletes: true fitness is all about translating fear into raw power.
50s and Beyond
We asked ex-Olympian, coach, and elite Masters runner John Henwood for his advice
It's never too late to race the 26.2. You just have to know how to prepare.
You don't have to lift less as you get older—you just have to make a few adjustments to your training
Why do some of us flame out in our thirties while others are still racing in their sixties? And how can we reverse the effects of getting older?