Older Faster Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All About Living Younger Longer

by Margaret Webb

One part personal quest to discover running greatness after age 50, one part investigation into what the women's running boom can teach athletes about becoming fitter, stronger, and faster as we age, Older, Faster, Stronger is an engrossing narrative sure to inspire women of all ages. A former overweight smoker turned marathoner, Margaret Webb runs with elite older women, follows a high-performance training plan devised by experts, and examines research that shows how endurance training can stall aging. She then tests herself against the world's best older runners at the world masters games in Torino, Italy.

Millions of women have taken up running in recent decades--the first generation of women to train in great numbers. Women are qualifying for the Olympic marathon in their 50s, running 100-mile ultra marathons in their 60s, completing Ironmans in their 80s, competing for world masters records in their 90s. What are the secrets of these ageless wonders? How do they get stronger and faster long after their "athletic prime"? Is there an evolutionary reason women can maintain endurance into advanced years? Webb immerses herself in these questions as she as she trains to see just how fast she can get after 50.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Memoir, Health, Fitness

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2014

About the author

Writer, journalist, screenwriter Margaret Webb is an avid runner, foodie and adventure girl.

Author of Older Faster Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All About Living Younger, Longer

also Apples to Oysters: A Food Lover's Tour of Canadian Farms

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expectations are a funny thing. I purchased this book to gain some knowledge and some motivation. I am a lifelong athlete over 50 who is not fond of running. Like my reading, my athletic excursions are calculated and planned sometimes up to a year in advance or more. Next year I'm embarking on a quest to run 21 miles at Big Sur. It's going to take a tremendous amount of self-discipline and self-motivation to train for this. I've got the self-discipline when it's something that I enjoy. With running, the best thing I can generally muster is "I don't mind doing it" and that is after a month or two of running 4 times a week. Getting to the "I don't mind " stage is not sustainable for the amount of training it will take to train for Big Sur. If you are asking why do it? My answer is take a look at the vistas. It's breathtaking and even if I am a "one and done" (and I will be); I have to do it once. I need to find ways to enjoy running. This is the expectation with which I purchased Older, Faster, Stronger.

Webb has written a book that has caused me to resurrect the term "Humble Brag". Marketed as a motivational book to convince older women that running is not beyond their reach. But in reality this book attempts to motivate readers with memoir-ish passages about how awesome Webb is at running and how she excelled after 50. Chapter after chapter of how Webb overcame adversities after she had "larded" on weight and overcame her ginormousness of 140 lbs (her heaviest weight) and the advice she followed to get where she is. Some of the advice is questionable and even downright incorrect (according to my medical friends). But what is most annoying is that none of this is aimed at an average runner. Webb is obviously a gifted runner who has built her life around it. This is a book that would appeal to women who enjoy running, probably have some talent and have come to the knowledge of their gifts later in life. My subtitle on Strava (a social media website for athletes) is "Middle-aged, mediocre athlete". I'm probably not going to train hard enough to ever exceed a 12 minute mile and I will never give up cheesecake. The book did contain some golden nuggets near the end. In her chapters Older and Legacy she chronicles the activities of a few female octogenarian athletes still running amazing times. What!?! Is it possible to not respect an 85 year old woman who competes in ironman triathlons in between ministering to the community, known as "The Iron Nun"? Or the 94 year old that coaches track and teaches yoga in between her races. To be sure, I would have loved more information about those spectacular women.

Webb's book seems to have targeted her equally or slightly less talented running friends. There are many moments in her book intending to be self-deprecating that come across as condescending. Her assumption seems to be that any woman choosing to run after 50 must be a driven, talented athlete who only seeks to get faster. She does not connect with the mediocre athlete who is simply trying not to get injured, wants to be challenged but doesn't intend to be anywhere near a podium and is actually doing things for the experience. Athletes like me who have to train hard just to attain a 12 minute mile (which according to Webb's findings makes me 30% more likely to have heart disease as I age). Since I'm not in love with running, it’s a chore to train. I'd like it to not be. Reading Webb's book has not helped me much on my journey. I applaud Webb's ability and drive and talent, but this book is not written for me nor frankly, anyone I know.

3 iffy Stars

Webb is a good writer and I think her intent was earnest and parts of the book were truly inspirational; but some of the information imparted appears inaccurate and/or misinterpreted and potentially harmful.

Read on kindle.

[Yodamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author did some serious research into the benefits of exercise over 50. The results are amazing. You don't have to be young to change your future, 50, 60, 70 and even 80 is a perfect time to rebuild yourself. It is all about believing in you, not what others think you are or should do. You are never too old, never give up, never give in. Read this book follow your heart and be better for it.
Where did my athletic hyper me go ? That was the question I asked myself on my 50th birthday. I had been almost maniacal about exercise, I have to move, to push myself farther until everything burned. I was competitive plus, and had the endurance to keep going. I had problems keeping weight on. So what happened ? Here at 50 I was overweight, sitting on the couch for hours a night watching others exercise on TV feeling like complete trash. I was miserable in my own skin. I got off the couch and started running, at first I could only make it 20 yards but I did this everyday and added more distance and started feeling better. I stopped getting sickening headaches and started sleeping better. I began to find my clothes too big, and my attitude more positive.. This book was a wake up call to get moving for me I hope it works for you as well.

[Debi Stout · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a 54 year old runner, I was hoping I’d find a book to motivate or encourage me. Mostly this book seems to be about the author versus helping me in my own running. What ended up happening instead, was that I felt “less than” after reading this book. She talks about her “snail pace” being 10 – I’m coming back from a near-fatal car accident and I’ve shaved it down to 13! Then there’s the section on food – she rants about “Big Food” way too long, it seemed almost weird.

I then got to the part of the book that talks about the less you weigh it’s better for runner due to the impact on your knees. As I noticed another reviewer said, the author states that she “larded on 8 pounds”. I am one of those overweight menopausal women who continues to struggle daily with how the scale isn’t moving despite clean eating and exercise.

She quoted someone in the book who said if you run over 8 minute miles you have a 30% likelihood of dying. Really? So now I’m fat and slow, and I’m damaging my knees and I’m going to die soon. Geez!

I stopped reading the book because it certainly did not motivate me or encourage me, and in fact, it did the opposite.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley without cost in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this motivating, emotional, accurate, and surprisingly well-written. I'm already a runner so I enjoyed poring over all the data here. The book is packed with descriptions of VO2, endurance measurements, the latest research about aging. At the same time Webb tells her own story of discovering running as she was approaching fifty and of how she becomes a pretty serious athlete defying stereotypes about women and aging. She's especially good at describing racing events, running practices, the physical experiences of her own body. An inspiring read after all the books about aging and dying I seem to have read this season (e.g. eldercare, Roz Chast's graphic memoir, and Gawande's important but oh how depressing Being Mortal).

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me forever to get through this book. The last third of the book earns the 3 stars. The first 2 thirds felt like a vague personal diary that repeated over-and-over "I'm faster than most, but I want one last hoorah." The practical advice is near the end, but did not really redeem the book. This would have made a great magazine article or a 20 page training manual.

[Jane Spiteri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a lot to say about this book. None of it is good. I have never read a book that enraged me as much as this one. This woman has nothing to teach me, and in fact her advice and methods could prove harmful to a new, inexperienced runner. For context, I am an experienced marathon runner. I have completed 15 marathons and although I have never had a super-fit year, I have worked hard to drop my marathon time from 4:40 to 4:07 over a period of 5 years

First, Telling a slow runner that if you can’t run a 12 minute mile you are at a 30% risk for having and dying from heart disease? (P 75) Not helpful and I suspect not true.

Next, Her goal of competing in the world masters half marathon, with 10 months of prep, starting from an injury and Increasing her distance from 30 km to 90 km a week? (the reader does not know the time frame of this increase). (P 151) my coaches have always been adamant about the 10% rule to avoid injury. 30 to 90 km would take 10 weeks, if you follow that training advice. I question the time frame to go from a self proclaimed injured porker to world masters almost podium( sorry for the spoiler).

Her obsession with her weight and obsession with diet. P 51 “the pudgy me”; P. 52, she “ larded on 8 lbs”; p. 69. She drops from 126lb to 118 then 115. Then shames her partner for losing weight more gradually because she only goes to the gym 4 times a week for 45 minutes, compared to her 10-12 hours of training each week; on page 78 she “ slims down pudgy me”;P. 89, 116lbs, after she “gained muscle while losing nearly 10 lbs of fat…..lopped off 10 lbs of fat” ( these two statements IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH; Page 154 she is 113; p157 she is 25 lbs lighter. She repeatedly talks about skinny upper bodies of runners. How does this obsession with body weight help any woman, let alone one in menopause?

This along with her obsession with aging. “ I want to stall aging”. You are going to age, Margaret. Deal with it. You can’t stop time or go back in time. Why can you focus on aging gracefully, and work at being the healthiest 51 year old year old you can be? In the chapter titled older she constantly compares herself and other fast runners to 20 year olds, in fact is obsessed with 20 year olds throughout the book. She is pissed when the 85 year old runner has better metrics in the lab than she does ; she weights 116, 5lbs more than BJ. But BJ has lower body fat, compared to her “ puffier 28.7%”. Then she decides to be like BJ and walk to the train “even though my bulging knapsack feels as much as my body fat”. Maybe she is trying to be funny? She’s not

She waxes poetic about building relationships with women runners, yet is obsessed with being faster than all of them. She wishes her competitors bad luck. She is obsessed with being faster than men. Her friends. With everyone, even 85 year old BJ “…I can run considerably faster than she can now.” (P218). No shit Sherlock. The woman is 85. Her muscles have aged, as you acknowledged She even talks about running In Kenya, “leisurely loping along while the Kenyans struggled to keep up” (who were school children, but still)

Her relationship with Mary comes across is especially toxic P. 115 Mary was her height but a few lbs lighter ; her greatest fear is actually getting faster than Mary and losing her training buddy. Her glee in passing Mary at the end of a race and beating her by2\100 of a second,but only coming in 11th over all.

The ultra runner Pam and the description of her anorexia was very disturbing. Not to mention Pam’s interactions with the husband Jim.

Twice she converts 10 miles to 17 km (it is 16.09344). This might be the most shocking part of the book for a distance runner!! Conversions are very important!

I will Acknowledge that much research went into this book. She interviewed many experts in the field of sports and aging women. She writes about amazing masters women athletes. But in the end, There are so many great books about running and/or how women can get older, faster and stronger. Find those books and avoid this one.


Sent from my iPad

[Teri-K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read that's part memoir, part science, about a woman who reaches 50 and decides to see if training harder can make her as fit as she was in her athletic 20s. The book suffered from some repetition and also a few out of sequence bits that I didn't think were necessary. If you're telling the story of a year in your life, it's probably better to keep things sequential rather than always saying, "Two months ago when I was preparing for a different race..."

I felt the book also lacked cohesion. Is it the personal tale of one woman's struggle to fitness or a scientific look at the little we know about aging and exercise? The balance seemed off to me. I'd get very interested in the scientific side of things only to find myself reading page after page about her self-doubt and personal demons. Then the book would skip to a fairly detailed look at mitochondria, for instance. It felt a bit like running a trail blindfolded - I never was quite sure where I was or what was coming next.

To be honest I would have liked a deeper look at the science. I was surprised to find no footnotes or appendix, and the author happily assumes cause and effect when the evidence for her conclusions seems lacking.

Still there aren't many books out there looking closely at women 60 and beyond, and this is a good start. The stories of many women Master athletes were often inspiring, and at other times reminded me of why I'll never be one. :) But that's OK, too. I can recommend this to people interested in learning more about the links of exercise and aging as well as those who like to contemplate pushing the boundaries of how were "supposed" to age. And if you're an older person or a woman thinking about taking up running you'll probably find some good motivation in this book.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book blurb: One part personal quest to discover running greatness after age 50, one part investigation into what the women's running boom can teach athletes about becoming fitter, stronger, and faster as we age.

This book is part memoir, part research reporting, and in many ways so inspiring. I loved learning about some of the older elite runners - some in their 90s! And while I have no plans to become an elite runner, I found some nuggets that were very useful to me.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Webb turns 50 and embarks on a quest for her "fittest year ever." As part of her quest, she does extensive research into aging athletes and especially aging female athletes. This book presents both her personal story and her research.

The research itself is fascinating. (Spoiler alert: exercise more.) Webb adroitly handles quite technical data--the composition of muscle fibers, what happens to our lung function as we age, biomechanics. She interviews some amazing older female athletes.

Webb's personal narrative suffers somewhat in comparison. It was an interesting story in its own right, to the kind of person who would read a book like this, and she sells it somewhat short. Because Webb uses her own story largely to transition from one research study to the next, the chronology is extremely jumpy.

What I found the most deeply irritating, though, to the extent that I almost docked my fourth star, was the ceaseless gender stereotyping. On one hand, Webb presents scientific data about things like the role of estrogen in fat storage. On the other hand, she trots out an endless variety of truisms like "women are afraid of competition" or "women are better at group activities" or (cue retching noises) "women like to hug before races." This mixture made me extremely uncomfortable, because I'm somewhat afraid that Webb's science will lend credence to her cardboard cutout version of Women Who Run.

[Jennifer O’Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, she inspired me to amp up strength training and think twice about some things in my diet. On the other, her obsessive focus on race times and pace (and her self-aggrandizement over her acquired speed) really turned me off and reminded me why I stopped running road races 20 years ago. What she doesn’t credit enough in explaining her vast improvements at age 50 is that she had relatively young legs, having started running only at age 48. You try running long ultras for decades, like Pam Reed, and see if you don’t develop a “weird little jog” or have difficulty shaving minutes off your PRs! I had hoped to learn how I could slow my age-related decline, but I’ve been running for over 30 years and have a lot of accumulated issues. A story of someone my age who has just started running and finds the improvement ALL newcomers do when they get serious did not have the answers I was hoping for.

[Maria Losee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in living into your 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, or even 90's while continuing to enjoy physical fitness and competing as a master's level runner, this is a must read. I have marked up this book as if it were my college bio textbook the week before finals. Webb shared not only her personal story, but practical tips for training as a master's runner. As icing on the cake, she's a gifted writer. She's a smart, humorous, kind, humble, and courageous woman. I'd like to meet her someday. For now, I'll have to settle for hearing her words through her book. Highly recommend to any woman forty or over.

[Janet Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited by the idea of a book specifically about women runners over 50, but it turned out this is not the book I had hoped for. If you're a highly driven and competitive performance athlete like Webb, you'll probably love this. If you're a casual, recreational runner like me, it's more intimidating than inspirational.

You can read my full review on my fitness blog, here: http://www.theoldbroadruns.com/?p=374

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw this book, "Older, Faster, Stronger" recommended and I was excited to read it because there's not a lot in fitness for us older women.

Guys, I'm having trouble getting past page 60 to get to anything about running. The author starts on a chapter about eating smarter, but there are so many reddened to how fat she was at 130 pounds (and how she needed to get down to 115) that I, many pounds heavier, found to be triggering.

I've gained a lot of weight during the pandemic. It's not coming off. And I've had to do a lot of thought work around that. I STILL have to do a lot of thought work around that. And for this author to spend enough time focusing on her weight and restrictive diets is not helping. I started feeling bad about my flab and wondering if maybe I should only eat 2 meals a day.

For a book for older women's fitness, I recently finished "Fit at Mid-life", which focused more on finding activists you enjoy and coming up with your own measurements of fitness.

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly probably 3.5 stars.

There was a lot I enjoyed: being introduced to many women runners, such as the Iron Nun who competes in triathlons in her 80's, Pam Reed the ultra marathoner, Katherine Switzer who was the first woman to publicly race in a marathon...

But, her tone, especially the fat-shaming elements of it, made me cringe. As another reviewer mentioned, she frequently talks about her weight disparagingly and also kind of humble-brags.

I read it, I enjoyed it, probably could have been edited to be shorter/denser.

[Joni Sensel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book and it does has some inspirational value, but it sure would have been better, provided more useful and practical information, and felt applicable to more of us if the author had interviewed a wider spectrum of older athletes—such as those who *weren't* competitive athletes when they were young, those who prefer running solo and aren't interested in the running clubs she touts so highly, some who aren't as privileged and can't take sabbaticals to train or have access to sophisticated fitness testing equipment, and especially a few like me who struggle with injuries or joints not up to the training levels they once were. It's sold as an inspirational self-help book but reads more like a mature woman's sports memoir. As long as that's what you want, you'll like it.

[Becca L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing reminder it’s never too late to try something new, particularly when it comes to fitness for those of us who weren’t athletes in our teens and twenties

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. Inspirational. Women are amazing!

[Jody · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting combination of memoir,exercise and aging science, and profiles of older athletes. I feel like I should have liked this more, but the author's tone just really didn't do it for me. From the extremely self-critical way she talked about weight ("larding on" extra pounds) to the way she talked about swilling wine, to the incredible amounts of free time and money she seemed to have available to follow her pursuits - it just didn't resonate with what I was looking for.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good, the author was grating. Her focus on weight really spoiled the earlier sections. At 140 pounds, she referred to herself as obese, but given that this results in a BMI of 26.1, she was barely overweight. She refers to “larding on the pounds” at ~130.

I also did not appreciate the sex and gender differences that she repeatedly hammered on. I understand the physical differences: larger muscles and lungs on men, increased angle of femur in women. But the psychosocial differences? These can be explained by socialization. This is especially disconcerting from a woman who looks to running as an egalitarian sport, who wants to break down gender barriers.

I found the portraits of older masters runners the best part of this book.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you over 40? Then you're a master athlete. Webb is a marathoner who decides to spend her 49th year training to run at a professional level. This book is her journey. She loses weight, switches diet, trains with many coaches and takes up meditation. She becomes a big fan of cross training, rather than increasing mileage. She interviews many very mature athletes to learn their secrets. I liked this book and will read it again.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I prepare for my first half marathon at age 59, Margaret Webb's book has been incredible! It is packed with inspiration, education, information, encouragement, statistics, nutrition advice, and practical tips.

I learned a tremendous amount and highly recommend it!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a runner, so this book spoke to me. I wrote a full review for my blog, which you can find here: http://oldrunningmom.blogspot.com/201...

[Sandy Andry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good motivator and would have been especially inspiring for a runner. It's a good read to find out how someone is exercising and what it's doing for them.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

sets out to take a year in her early 50s to focus on her fitness, with the final exam so to speak being world masters games (in Turin, Italy) half-marathon. spoiler alert: she finishes 4th in her age group in 1:45, being happy with place and unhappy with time (but it was hot and hilly, so......).

in the course of the year she gets in better and better shape and improves her times at wide range of distances. Celebrates the enjoyment of striving for improvement alongside her training partners, dispenses some training wisdom, and profiles some outstanding women masters.

Pretty quick and enjoyable read, and i could certainly relate to her reaction to turning 50, having at the time [now, um, fairly far in the rearview mirror] also set a series of racing goals for myself, but......as a reviewer I feel obligated to ID a couple quibbles:

1. not well-edited. Kind of repetitive in general, but also sometimes in the [exasperatingly] specific. For instance on pp. 174-176 we get a detailed intro to the amazing 90+ track and field superstar Olga Kotelko of "What Makes Olga Run" fame, and then on p. 204 there's an introductory passage explaining who......Olga Kotelko is. As someone who forgets whom I've told what, I get it, but come on, editor, little help!

2. very specific/technical at times......but then not seemingly a reliable narrator and as such not confidence-inspiring. Examples: (a) p. 203 someone's marathon time "age-grades to 2:14:70" -- at the risk of being pedantic, there are no 70-second minutes. Maybe 2:15:10 would convey the idea! (b) she has a back-and-forth duel with an Italian guy in the finale half-marathon and falls "a good 100 meters" (p. 281) behind him with "just 500 meters" to go (p. 281), but then digs deep and walks him down, catching with "30 meters to go" (p. 282) and puts 9 seconds on him by the finish.

Um, what? Did this guy stop and visit a port-a-john with 30 meters left in the race? At her average pace for the race, it would have taken her 8.95 sec to run those last 30 meters. Let's assume she sped up with all this adrenaline and ran it in, say, 7 seconds (speeding up to 6:15/mile from her 8 minute pace). So this guy took 16 seconds to cover it, at 14+ mins/mile pace, having dusted her on the uphill shortly beforehand?

Video or it didn't happen!

Anyway, I shouldn't obsess over small details. It's a fun book, and good for her for setting high goals and going after them in her early middle years.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Older, Faster, Stronger” earns a 3.5 star rating. This book focuses on female runners over age 50, with the author’s quest for a fitter self as a guiding thread. There were several things I enjoyed about this book, primarily that it is focused on female athletes. Only when reading a book that deals with the unique aspects of female runners does it become apparent how male centric many running books are. I really appreciated that the author not just focused on the physiological but also on the developmental, emotional and social aspects of being a female athlete.

For anyone interested in science, this book reviews relatively recent research on master runners and I thoroughly enjoyed this detailed look at our aging physiology and the impact exercise has on it. Margaret Webb’s presents this information in an engaging manner and overall this book is an easy read. She covers a myriad of topics anchoring each within her own journey towards a healthier self and introducing us to some inspiring older lady runners along the way. She herself is no slouch in that she managed to complete a 3:38 marathon at age 50 and competed in the Master World Games half marathon event.

Although learning about these master super-athletes is inspiring, it also makes this information less accessible to the average runner. Perhaps because the author focuses on such outlier athletes, there were some issues commonly facing aging runners that were not addressed in this book. Foremost, there wasn’t much discussion about increased injury proneness and age related strategies of injury prevention. In addition, I am always curious about performance plateaus. Although the author mentions that a plateau in older runners actually equals a fitness gain, I would like to have learned more about fitness growth vs maintenance.

So overall an informative, detailed and inspiring quick read that leaves some (pretty important) questions unanswered. If you’re on the fence about this book, I’d still give it a go.

[andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

i rarely write reviews but as there are some fairly harsh reviews for this book at the top of the goodreads page, well, here's my two cents:

i started running last year right after i turned 43 and now, a year later, still running and considering training for a half-marathon, I have begun wondering what my (running) future can really hold. isn't it too late? isn't it too pointless? won't it just eventually be depressing? a morose cherry on the cake-that-is-aging? i don't even like the running itself that much - i like much more that i *have* run (though there are moments, especially after the first two miles or so where it can feel pretty wonderful for a minute or two). still, i keep wanting to run so i do -- but for what?

and that is where this book came through in spades. i learned a lot about running strategy, the history of women running in north america especially, and about how running can impact aging. all three topics inspiring and impactful, both to my running and to my life generally. i love the connections runners make with their sport to life - which since i was never an athlete, is news to me. more importantly, i got little snapshots of all these different female runners, ranging between their 40s to almost 100. amazing! also, the author always told us at what age the various women began running, which i found especially inspiring.

the final chapter where the author has reached her long-awaited half-marathon at the world masters, is going through her four motivational words to help her mental game - "fun", "stronger", "faster", and "fearless"-, and is remembering what her previous year building up to that race was like, was touching and rang very very true. this was some hard-won and important wisdom, all distilled into the good stuff for us lucky readers. if the author is generous enough to share, i am more than happy to receive.

[Shayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book for so many reasons, the celebration of aging athletes, the research into how getting older doesn't mean you can't compete, but it was mostly irritating and sometimes entertaining.

First, the good, the stories of other older athletes are fun and inspiring. That part is great.

Second, the bad, apparently Margaret thinks that women can't get through the day without a glass of wine. That is all I will say about the constant promoting of alcohol in this book.

It also would have been more readable if it wasn't for the constant, "as women do, rah rah, women are so much better than men" I think that this type of gender division doesn't help anyone.

I was disappointed because the results of her year were inspiring and she was fitter, stronger and faster, but by that time I couldn't care and was wishing it had more about the evidence of aging and performance.

[Jen Heininger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was so informative and inspiring. I loved the premise especially, that aging does not in any way mean that you need to hold back or slow down physically. I see so many people as young as in their 60's start making excuses for why they can't do "harder" things and the ideology behind Margaret Webb's book is that our immobility and slowing down IS what hastens our immobility and slowing down. Obviously there are certain cases where this is just not an option but I'd say for the vast majority of Americans there are A LOT of excuses floating around out there. Lots of testing and science related research. MW is very into her stats which can get a little old but is pertinent to her task at hand. While this book focuses on running it can appeal to any one and any activity.

[JaVo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book because I felt that the author celebrated women runners. I felt motivated by the stories of the older women runners in particular. I am not a new runner, but don't read much about the sport so I thought the book gave a well-rounded amount of information.

I think it's hard to be a writer without sounding "boastful," and women athletes are often accused of that. I took that into account while reading and appreciated Margaret Webb's honestly in presenting her own struggles, which may seem like nothing to others, but for her, they were her personal challenges to overcome. For that, I admire her, just as I admire all women trying to set athletic goals even as we encounter obstacles.

[Emily Mellow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this is just an ego boost project by the author. She needs to compare herself (favourably!) to every other older and more famous runner out there. It doesn't really go over well.
Two stars because I did learn some useful things, but I had to suffer through a lot of self aggrandisement to find them.
What did I learn? Definitely some inspiring facts about older runners and how well they're holding up, compared to inactive older people. Just to keep running, essentially. Also the author changed her diet early on, to only eating real foods and no added sugar, I believe, and that seemed to have a huge impact on her health over the year that she's mainly writing about.