By Isabel To, Riderwood Wellness Coordinator
ERICKSON TRIBUNE

It’s common to see people my age running. I’m 24 and the streets and trails of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area are full of young and middle-age runners.

With every race I’ve run, there is inevitably someone older who challenges the rest of the pack to pick up the pace. When I see someone older than me running alongside me in a 5K, 10K, or any race for that matter, I hope that when I reach their age I will be just as healthy. A second later, I snap out of it and my legs shift to a higher gear. After all, when someone two or even three times your age passes you, you need to kick it up a notch.

Encouraging example
Recently, I’ve discovered many older Americans challenging people like me to be more aggressive in achieving their physical fitness goals. Unknowingly, the lives they lead inspire their children, their grandchildren, and the rest of the younger generation to keep exercising. They’re making all of us “kids” keep up with them by running faster, longer, and farther.

My inspiration
Meet Frank Pierce. He’s 84 and a member of the Riderwood fitness center where I work. When I see Frank, I always ask, “How far did you run yesterday?”

Late bloomer
Remarkably, Pierce has not been running all of his life. Like many, he began exercising for health reasons as he got older. “I was 58,” he says. “I went for a physical and my doctor looked at me with a disapproving eye and he said, ‘You should get some exercise.’