From Marathons to Ironmans: The Women Over 50 Redefining Athletic Aging

In April 2025, I completed my first half marathon at age 44. It was a relatively small race, with just 91 finishers. While the racers skewed toward people in their 30s and 40s, there were nearly as many in their 50s and 60s. Distance running tends to suit older runners for a variety of reasons: more experience, greater consistency in training, stronger mental resilience for pacing, smarter injury-prevention strategies, and the ability to learn from past mistakes.

In fact, the woman who finished just four minutes after me was 70 years old. The only two people in their 70s who ran the half marathon were both women.

Watching her cross the finish line—looking strong and exhilarated—inspired me. I started to wonder about other women, older than I am, who are continuing to pursue athletic achievements.

Women Over 50 Are Still Achieving Incredible Physical Feats

In my research, I discovered that there are so many women over 50 who are continuing to challenge their bodies and do incredible things as they age.

The message here isn’t that all women should embrace elite athleticism as they get older. Instead, what all of these women have in common is a desire not to go quietly into old age, as culture has long expected and preferred of women. It’s less about performing at an international athletic event, like the Olympics or the Boston Marathon, and more about continuing to do what you love for as long as you can. When interviewed, many of these women say something along the lines of, “Why would I stop doing something I love just because I’m getting older?”

Their achievements are also a reminder that age doesn’t have to hold us back from trying new things, learning new skills, challenging our bodies, and doing what brings us joy.

The Oldest Woman to Run a Marathon

Mathea Allansmith

Mathea Allansmith was 92 years old when she became the oldest woman in the world to run and finish a marathon in 2022. Two years later, she became the oldest woman to run and finish a half marathon at 94, in 2024.

Allansmith didn’t start running until she was 46, but she was instantly hooked and ran her first marathon—the Boston Marathon—five years later.

In interviews, Allansmith has said that running was never just about physical fitness; it was about feeling more alive.

Even into her 90s, she says that staying active through running has dramatically improved the quality of her life.

“I’m living independently, driving, participating in many active social circles, working on my spiritual program, learning new things such as applying new technology to track my runs, and doing adventure travel.”

Learn more about Mathea Allansmith here

The Oldest Woman to Complete the Kona Ironman Triathlon

Natalie Grabow

Natalie Grabow made headlines in October 2025 for becoming the oldest woman to complete the Kona Ironman Triathlon at age 80. Completing an Ironman triathlon is already an incredible feat, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, followed by 112 miles on a bike and a 26.2-mile run. Kona is considered particularly challenging because of its intense conditions: saltwater and choppy waves during the swim, high winds on the bike, and a brutal run through lava fields that reflect heat and make racers feel as though they’re in an oven.

But at 80 years old, Grabow finished in 16 hours and 45 minutes.

What’s wild about her accomplishment is that she didn’t even know how to swim until she decided to learn at age 60.

Her advice to other women about trying new things later in life is this: “If you are motivated and willing to work hard, it’s never too late to take on a new challenge.”

Grabow says she was fairly active throughout her childhood and young adulthood, despite limited sports opportunities for girls. She started running in her 40s and taking fitness classes, and her competitive spirit eventually led her to racing and sprint triathlons once she learned to swim.

For fellow athletes of all ages, she offers this wisdom: “Listen to your body, take time off when you need to, and most importantly, enjoy the journey. The day-to-day training is what I love the most.”

She plans to compete in Ironman triathlons for as long as she’s able and shorter races for the rest of her life. “Triathlons benefit my mind and body. I am very focused during a race and feel a huge sense of satisfaction when I cross the finish line. After a good workout, I know that I’m getting stronger each time. Movement is an essential part of life if you want to avoid health problems as you age.”

Learn more about Natalie Grabow here.

The Oldest Woman to Hike the Appalachian Trail

Betty Kellenberger

In 2025, Betty Kellenberger completed her thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, making her the oldest woman ever to accomplish this incredible feat of physical endurance.

The Appalachian Trail spans 2,190 miles across 14 states and traverses difficult, often rocky terrain. Typically, it takes five to six months of daily hiking to go from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Because large sections of the trail were damaged by Hurricane Helene in 2024, Kellenberger hiked part of the trail that year and completed the remainder in 2025.

She first became enamored with the idea of hiking the AT as a young child, but it took surviving COVID and reflecting on how much time she had left to finally take the leap and begin training. She says:

“I think we were made for movement. We were made to think. We were made as spiritual beings. It doesn’t mean they have to go out and hike the Appalachian Trail, but they have to move… Make use of the time that you have been given.”

It’s also worth mentioning Grandma Gatewood, the first woman to solo-hike the AT at age 67 in 1955. A survivor of domestic violence and a mother of 11 and grandmother of 23, Emma Rowena Gatewood hiked in Keds with a homemade sack over her shoulder. She completed the trail three times and became a pioneer of ultralight backpacking.

Learn more about Grandma Gatewood here.

The Oldest Woman to Bike Across the United States

Lynn Salvo

Lynn Salvo didn’t start riding a bike until her early 50s, after running and swimming both left her injured. On a bike, she found both community and passion.

She rode coast to coast in 2016 at age 67, creating a new Guinness World Record category, then went on to bike across Canada and Europe as well. When her U.S. record was broken, she went back seven years later and reclaimed it—just six days shy of her 74th birthday.

“It’s amazing what the human body is capable of,” she says. “It’s amazing how the body can adapt once you start.”

Learn more about Lynn Salvo here.

The Oldest Women to Compete in the Olympics

In 1972, Lorna Johnstone competed for Great Britain in equestrian dressage. She was 5 days past her 70th birthday at the time. She first competed in the 1956 Olympics and was a 13 time British national dressage champion, prior to appearing in the 1972 Olympics.

49 years later, an Australian woman named Mary Hanna, also an equestrian competitor, competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

In 2022, Claudia Pechstein became the oldest woman ever to compete in the Winter Olympics, representing Germany in the 3000 meter speed skating race, just shy of her 50th birthday. She did not win any medals, coming in dead last in her race, but she was thrilled nonetheless. “I was not too fast, but I smiled [after crossing the finish line] because today I got my goal to race in my eighth Olympic Games,” she told reporters at the time.

In competing in her 8th Olympics, she also tied the record for most appearances in the Winter Olympics – which in of itself is an incredible feat.

Lastly, Oksana Chusovitina made history appearing in her 8th Olympic Games when she represented Uzbekistan on the vault during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Chusovitina participated in every Summer Olympics since 1992 at the age of 17 and was 46 when she competed in Tokyo.

While not over 50 at the time of her participation, I think her accomplishment is noteworthy because gymnastics is not a sport that rewards age. Still, Chusovitina was good enough at 46 to compete against women significantly younger than her.

At age 49, she qualified for the Paris Olympics, but declined to participate as a result of an injury. The following year, the day after her 50th birthday, she won the silver medal for the vault at the Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Tashkent, coming in 2nd to a woman 32 years younger.

When asked why she continued to participate in gymnastics, a notoriously demanding sport, she replied, “I could have stopped at 25, 19, or 30, but I didn’t. I realized with age I didn’t get worse, I only got better, like a fine wine.” She added, “I just realized, I felt that I can do this. Why should I leave the sport if it brings me joy.”

She will be 53 for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and is not ruling out a 9th trip to the games.

The Oldest Female Competitive Powerlifter

Edith Murway-Traina

At 91, Edith Murway-Traina tried weightlifting after a friend from dance class encouraged her. She went on to become a competitive powerlifter and was recognized by Guinness just before her 100th birthday as the oldest competitive powerlifter in the world.

“I was enjoying it, and I was challenging myself to get a little bit better and a little bit better,” she said.

Murway-Traina remained active until her death at 101, leaving behind a powerful reminder that strength is not defined by age.

Learn more about Edith Murway-Traina here.

What These Women Over 50 Have in Common

With the exception of the Olympians, most of these women were not elite athletes their entire lives. Many picked up swimming, weightlifting, cycling, or distance hiking later in life.

What unites them is a desire to challenge themselves at a time when women are often encouraged to slow down. They prove that age doesn’t automatically indicate weakness and that we can still do incredible things with our bodies, if we choose to, as we get older.

And most especially they show that staying active can make aging a lot easier on our bodies and a lot more fun. —Naomi