How old is too old to run?

Adam Tenforde, a sports medicine physician at Mass General Brigham and director of running medicine at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, has logged plenty of miles himself: He was an All-American long-distance runner at Stanford University and a competitor in the 2002-2004 Olympic trials. We asked him how long the aging body can withstand a regular running regimen.

I certainly have a bias as someone who has competed and who continues to enjoy running as my primary form of exercise, but, in general, running can be done safely over the course of a lifetime. Which doesn’t mean it won’t sometimes hurt. 

When you break down pain, there are a few different patterns. One question to ask: Does this pain improve or get worse with activity? Pain that improves with activity — we refer to that as a warm-up phenomenon, and it’s usually a sign that this is a less significant injury. On the other hand, pain that builds during movement can be a sign that the runner is experiencing cumulative stress and damage to tissue that could lead to a more significant problem. 

Another key issue: Is the pain causing biomechanical changes? Is someone moving in a way that leads to compensatory movement that stresses other joints or tissues in an abnormal way? Pain that starts with one region of the body and moves to a second part is a sign that the runner has to modify their activity and figure out the source of the pain.

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