You’re over 50, you’re outdoors, and it’s Friday
Old people have occult skills for opening bottles of beer. Chalk it up to experience, cunning, and a stubborn insistence on opening that bottle of beer dammit even when there isn’t a reasonable tool at hand. But they are too worldly to use the tricks of younger folk. They don’t use their teeth; they know...
Dietary secrets of centenarian athletes
Recent posts mentioned paraglidingPeggy McAlpine (104) and marathoner Fauja Singh (101). Our centenarian coverage inadvertently omitted recognition of the 100th birthday of “Pocket Hercules” Manohar Aich, the 4’11” body builder who was India’s first Mr. Universe. Aich no longer lifts weights, since he had a minor stroke last year. (Which, yes, suggests he was lifting...
104-year-old sets paragliding record
It’s been a good few weeks for achievements by people who are so old that—typically—each new breath would be considered something of a triumph . Fauja Singh finished the London Marathon in late April; he is 101. A week or so earlier, Peggy McAlpine reclaimed the record for the oldest person to take part in a...
101-year-old Fauja Singh finishes London Marathon
Fauja Singh has (again) broken the record for the oldest person to finish a marathon. The BBC reports that the 101-year-old Londoner (and proponent of ginger curry) posted a time of 7 hours and 49 minutes. That’s about a half-hour faster than his time at the 2011 Toronto Marathon, where he set the previous record...
Century-old Frenchman (with the body of a 75-year-old) sets biking record
There are many, many things to say about this, and there is nothing that is necessary beyond the following: at the age of 100, Robert Marchand—citizen of France, former inhabitant of Venezuela and former Canadian lumberjack—has just ridden a bike 15.1 miles. In an hour. That sets a new record because it...
Stubborn old sailor won’t admit defeat
If it is true that a sailor’s survival often depends on iron resolve, and if it is true that old men are inherently stubborn, then no one should be surprised by 84-year-old Tom Corogin. Last month, the Ohio native was rescued from the vast, empty Pacific after “broken rigging...
We take your point: let the old birds fly
This probably doesn’t count as an exposé because, well, no one tries to hide it. But the story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal is nevertheless shocking and appalling. The Journal reports that the “fastest-growing population in federal and state prisons are those 55 and older,” and the cost...
Toward a new definition of extreme sports
Two stories this week raise the issue of what we are talking about when we talk about extreme sports. Typically, the term is used to describe anything really dangerous and really unusual: physical activities pursued by a few people at the far end of the bell curve of crazy. (Base...
Put down the ginger curry and applaud Fauja Singh, 100-year-old marathoner
At age 100, British runner Fauja Singh completed Sunday’s Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8:25:16, placing 3,850 out of 3,855. Which means first that he is a phenomenal athlete and second that five people had to slink home after the race and admit they were beat by someone who was born the...
Toughest old bird of the day: you decide
If you need to be reminded that even the most prosaic trip can have its risks, consider Dan Anders (61) from St. Petersburg, Florida. An avid outdoorsman, Anders was on a not-particularly-adventuresome trip through the West. Visiting the parks, driving aimlessly down back roads, collecting...
Unnamed 95-year-old is tougher than you are
Africanized honey bees attacked a 95-year-old man yesterday, stung him enough times to kill him–but didn’t. The Los Angeles Times reports that the bees, riled up by an exterminator, bit the man 400 times. A police spokesman said the man was actually bitten “thousands of...
