Why I Started Running Triathlons Again at 61 (And Why It’s Never Too Late)
Last year I completed my first triathlon in 30 years. Not because I suddenly got fitter or faster. Not because I had some big epiphany. My son left home, the house got quieter, and I thought, why not? If you are a woman running over 60 and you have ever wondered whether your best years are behind you, I want to tell you they absolutely are not.
I am 61. I don’t have the perfect body you see all over social media. But I have been teaching Pilates for 26 years, I run, I Canicross with my dog Pickle in the winter, and now apparently, I do triathlons again.
This isn’t really a blog about triathlons though. It’s about what becomes possible when you stop letting age make your decisions for you.
The moment everything shifted
When my son moved out, I had something I hadn’t had in years. Time. Time that was genuinely mine. And instead of filling it with busyness or feeling lost in the quiet, I started asking myself a different question.
Not “can I do this?” but “why not?”
I had done triathlons in my 30s. I knew I could swim, bike and run. My body was different now, stronger in some ways, slower in others, wiser definitely but the capability was still there. It just needed dusting off.
So, I entered. I trained. And I crossed that finish line feeling strong, not broken.
What running over 60 actually looks like
It doesn’t look like it did at 30. And honestly, that’s fine. Running in your 60s is smarter. You listen more. You recover better when you respect the recovery. You know your body in a way your younger self never did.
What I have learned after 26 years of teaching Pilates to runners is that the women who keep running well into their 60s and beyond are not the ones who push hardest. They are the ones who also look after themselves, who strength train, who do their mobility work, who treat their body as something worth investing in rather than just extracting from.
Pilates has been a huge part of how I trained for my triathlon comeback. It kept my hips strong, my core stable and my body resilient through the training load. I genuinely believe it is why I finished feeling good.
Being in your 60s can be about finding yourself again
There is something that happens when the noise of life settles a little. When your kids leave, or the career pressure eases, or you simply reach a point where you stop performing for other people. You get to ask, what do I actually want?
For me the answer included a triathlon. For you it might be a first 5k, a return to running after injury, a half marathon you always talked about. Whatever it is, I want you to know that age is not the reason to say no. Your body looked after properly is more capable than you think.
Ready to keep running strong?
If this resonates with you, come and find out more about Pilates for runners online membership. Studio44 Pilates is an online membership built specifically for women runners with live Zoom classes, on demand sessions, and a community of women who get it. You can train from anywhere, at any time, around your running.
You just need a mat and the willingness to show up for yourself.