Vintage Heroes

My heroes have always been older people. From a young age I always valued the wisdom of experience and listened closely to sift out any secrets to happiness in life, success, and longevity. On the Internet today I found a new hero, 105-year-old Robert Marchard, a spry Frenchman who never stopped being active. At forty-plus years my senior his example has me thinking about my own true potential for an even longer active life ahead. I have always admired runners in their 70's and 80's, and have sought out the acquaintance of those rare birds in their 90's. I want to know their magic. I weave my own magic, certainly, but want to know about anything that I might be missing.

Researchers at the University of Evry-Val d’Essonne have followed the progress of this centurion for over four years. While his 10,000 kilometers of cycling during the most recent two years equates to an average of almost 13.7 kilometers of cycling per day (I averaged 10.8 km/day of running in 2016), what is most remarkable to me is that during that time, he increased his VO2 Max, a measure of aerobic fitness, by 13 percent, and his peak power output increased by 39 percent. These results demonstrate that the human body is still capable of adapting and strengthening past 100. We may only lose it because we no longer use it. Professor Veronique Billat and her team have concluded that Marchand's impressive aerobic fitness is roughly on par with a fit man aged 42 to 61. In other words, Marchard has not lost much fitness since he was my age.

While it is easy to say that Marchard has good genetics, credit must be given for his disciplined approach and dedication to continued physically activity. So, what lesson is there for the rest of us in this case study? The lesson that I take away from this is that we are not destined to frailty if we continue to maintain a disciplined regimen of physical and mental challenge throughout our lifespan, but particularly as we reach the later years. Healthy aging should be re framed by preserving cognitive and physical function through continued disciplined activity. I have always believed I could continue running adventures until age 80, at least. Marchard may have raised the bar on my outlook. If he can do it, I can do it. Most impressive is that he is probably no where near finished. It intrigues me that I may still have a long way to go before reaching the finish!