After finishing the long-awaited Senior Games last Monday, I want to take a moment to say thanks for all the notes of encouragement and to share some learnings and stories from the amazing experience.

It does take a village to prepare for the event and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my Humana teammates and my wife, Janine who was supportive and patient throughout the long months of training. As usual, she was my rock.  

Here’s a video to help tell the story, but it doesn’t do it justice. That’s because it’s hard to put into words all the stories of the people and their “whys” for getting involved in the Senior Games. Most were about recovering from something they’d lost, from physical impairments to mental health struggles to life without a loved one, using their physical health to change their lives and to heal.

For instance, I met a 90-year-old veteran who was there for the pole vault competition. He shared what got him started was the lack of direction he was feeling after retiring in 1988. He told me that from 1988 to 1995, he did nothing but sit around the house. He recognized that wasn’t sustainable and decided to change, which is how he got involved in the Senior Games. Now, 20 years later, he’s still at it. Getting active changed his life. He found a whole community of people with similar interests he’s now part of. For him and many of the other athletes, the Senior Games is just one of many events they participate in throughout the year.

I also met an 82-year-old who took up swimming decades ago to help overcome an alcohol addiction. She was in amazing shape. She looked decades younger than her age. Having a purpose and a community of support are what helped her turn her life around. Same goes for the senior I met who started biking in her 60s. She did it to make friends and find social connection. She now rides with a group who’ve become her lifelong friends. They recently completed a 50-day bike ride across the country.

For me, while I’ve been cycling for over 25 years, competing in the Senior Games (20 & 40K cycling races) was a first. Like the seniors I’ve described, I also had my “whys” for participating. For practical purposes, I wanted to see how I’d do against others in my age group. Cycling, like many other sports, comes down to seconds (I was 2 seconds behind the first-place winner in one of the races). My other reasons for participating ranged from wanting to hold on to my health as long as possible to being able to do the things I enjoy for a long time to helping manage my stress levels so I can be at my best for the people around me. In my experience with exercise, even small accomplishments of improvement help boost confidence and increase resilience in dealing with stressful and uncomfortable times. Like those I met in Pittsburgh, I’ve found physical exercise to be a healer of many things.

Some learnings and reminders from my experience at the Senior Games …  

• It’s never too late to start. Whether starting a new sport or physical activity or starting a new job or taking a course to learn something new, it’s never too late to start.
• Making health a priority. Related to getting started, staying consistent and making it a priority pays off. As was the case with those I talked with, their success had less to do with what they did and how long they did it, rather it was about how consistent they were in doing it.  
• Human connections put the color in life. While everyone had a unique story, what was similar across all was the need for social connection and how events like the Senior Games enable people to find themselves by finding others (and meeting lifelong friends) with similar passions.
• The power of purpose. The greatest driver of all is having a sense of purpose, a reason to get up and out of bed in the morning. Having a physical challenge gives structure to the body and the mind and provides a sense of accomplishment whether it’s doing something large like training for a competitive race or simply taking a short walk outside. It all counts.

As for what’s next, I’ve got the racing bug and have signed up for another one. Let’s see where this road leads.