Running News Daily

How is it possible to become good at something when you’re already far behind and time isn’t on your side?

That was the question pressing against my brain in April 2018. I was four months shy of my 47th birthday and had just completed my first obstacle-course racing competition, something called a Spartan Race. My age put me at the rock bottom of the well-known U-shaped curve of life happiness, bracketed on either side by younger and older adults. I was content enough, but my days were clouded by sameness—the same work routine, same circle of friends, a narrowing of interests skewed to my competencies.

Trying to interrupt my midlife slump with this race was predictable, I suppose. What happened to me after that day was not.

As an unathletic desk jockey glued to my screens, training for the competition seemed like a way to fight back against inertia and a body heading past its prime. Obstacle-course racing combines endurance running in often difficult terrain with military- and hunter-gatherer-styled obstacles: crawling under barbed wire in mud, lugging heavy sandbags up mountains, climbing ropes, scaling walls. You even throw a spear. A version of the sport will be included in the 2028 Olympics as part of the modern pentathlon.

As someone who’d chosen bowling to fulfill my university’s physical education requirement and earned the nickname “Bones” in junior high for her physique, my goal was simple: Finish and don’t die. Then I’d go back to my sitting and screens, with my race T-shirt tucked in the drawer—a sartorial red sports car to don when midlife seemed bleak.

But in the days after crossing the finish line—a middle-aged athletic nobody who fell 10 feet off a rope during the competition into a crumpled heap of humiliation—all I could think about (apart from how much every part of me hurt) was: When can I race again? And how can I get better—a lot better?

I’d taken my first step on the road to mastery—a journey that has been profoundly humbling, and one that I’ll likely never finish. 

I n today’s culture, we celebrate “life hacks” and shortcuts to good health and happiness, whether through supplements, fad diets, five-minute workouts or the short-lived dopamine hit of social media likes. In the workplace, completing goals by setting and achieving KPIs (key performance indicators) often determines our professional value. These expectations can make it difficult to start something new and hard in midlife, when we tend to gravitate toward what we’re already good at and the rewards that come with completing it. 

At first, I certainly fell into this mindset. Closing in on age 50, “mastery” seemed vaguely absurd. Haunting me was the much-discussed 10,000-hour rule popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers,” where he suggested that it usually takes that much specialized practice to become an expert in a discipline. Even with two hours a day of training—if I could manage that with a full-time job and loads of middle-aged responsibilities—it would take more than 13 years to hit the mastery mark. I’d be 60. Mastery, I felt, was a journey for those who start young.

But my experience and research over the past six years show that I was wrong to see the challenge in such stark, age-bound terms. As I discovered, pursuing something difficult at any age can have profound benefits for health and happiness, even if you never become a master or an expert. 

Becca Levy, a professor of epidemiology at Yale, examined data from one of the country’s most detailed studies of growing older, the Ohio Longitudinal Study on Aging and Retirement, and overlaid it with mortality data. She found that older people with more positive perceptions of aging live 7.5 years longer, on average, than those who are less positive.

One factor believed to fuel this longer lifespan is a “will to live,” which can include pastimes that excite and push us. This doesn’t mean we should be occupied all the time. There’s a lot of creative and mental good to be gained from putting down our smartphones, turning off the TV and letting the mind wander. But chronic boredom and a general lack of purpose have been correlated with anxiety, depression and risk of making mistakes. 

That feeling began creeping into my life before I discovered obstacle-course racing. But humbling myself among younger people in gyms, training nearly every day no matter how busy or tired, having the goal of racing in new places (like the Arabian Desert)—it has ignited in me a renewed will to live. I am constantly learning, relearning and unlearning.

I am also constantly having to be OK looking dumb.

The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus mused that if you want to improve at something, you need to “be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” I’ve channeled his wisdom, flailing about on playground monkey bars as impatient children commented on my technique and their amused parents (my peers) watched. Neighbors can see me crawling around my backyard like a wounded animal, performing mobility exercises with stiff middle-aged limbs. 

I have felt the sting of finishing races almost dead last, and I once quit a competition midway because I was too cold. I’d never quit anything in my life until that point. Showing up at my gym the next day with everyone else clad in their finisher T-shirts felt like not getting invited to prom.

On the other hand, it’s very hard to be bored slithering under barbed wire in mud, hurling spears and learning to pull yourself up a 17-foot rope. And with improvement has come a mental shift to believe the file labeled “me” isn’t finished—that I can still add to it. 

These benefits are available on a variety of fronts as we age. The Seattle Longitudinal Study, started in 1956, is one of the most comprehensive research projects on how we develop and change cognitively throughout adulthood. Among its key findings: Some abilities, such as word skills, may increase into our 60s and beyond, particularly for women, while others, such as spatial abilities—think assembling furniture or reading a map—hold up into our 80s for men. That’s a lot of opportunity for later-in-life learning and journeys of mastery.

Here’s the thing about trying to achieve mastery later in life: You may not reach your destination. And I’ve come to believe that’s a good thing. Because unlike the enjoyable activities we pursue that have definitive endings—taking a walk, eating a great meal, going on vacation—training to get good at something hard is ongoing, incomplete. And that’s the beauty of it: There’s always something to look forward to.

Regardless of what you’re trying to master—fly fishing, chess, pickleball—experts say that regular movement of some sort is critical for maintaining the physical and cognitive health you’ll need. Starting a new exercise program, particularly in midlife, when noticeable decline often begins, “can really interrupt the pace of those not-good changes, those negative changes, and turn them into positive changes,” says Steven Austad, senior scientific director for the American Federation for Aging Research. New research, he adds, shows “physical activity is one of the best ways to avoid later-life dementia.”

Six years have passed since my first race. After some 4,000 hours of practice, I’ve advanced on the five-stage “Dreyfus model” of skill acquisition from “novice” to “advanced beginner” to “competence.” I now race competitively in my age group and have under my belt 19 top-three podium finishes and two world championship competitions. Some days, when everything is clicking, I may even touch the fourth stage of proficiency.

It’s a far cry from childhood, when I cowered behind my best friend during dodgeball and warmed my school’s bench in soccer games. Longevity is never guaranteed, but I’ve made strides to keep functioning independently as I age—lifting my suitcase into the airplane’s overhead bin, hiking three miles in snow if our car breaks down. I’m also more confident off the racecourse. Not long ago, I took a job with a tech start-up where I’m one of the oldest employees. Younger workers teach me about AI; I took a crew of them on their first Spartan Race.

Admittedly, I’m still coming to peace with the idea that I’ll never reach the final stage of “expert” at this sport I now love. I’ve met people who are experts: They possess natural talent I don’t, or have spent time training that I probably can’t at this point. There remain obstacles I fail during races more than I’d like; now that I’m 52 years old, I don’t know if that will change. 

These reminders of my limitations and mortality are what’s been most humbling about the experience. But “never finished” may be the best medicine when life seems to be making a turn toward endings. I interviewed a woman in her 80s nicknamed “Muddy Mildred” who ran obstacle-course races. How far can I get with the time that is left to me?

1. Intrinsic motivation gets you farther than extrinsic motivation. Motivation from external factors—money, a promotion, a medal—can be short-lived. “I can probably get someone up from the couch to run a 10K if I give them enough money,” says Chad Stecher, a behavioral health economist and assistant professor at Arizona State University. “But after that 10K, unless I provide additional incentives or support, their physical activity won’t persist.”

Instead, look for a pursuit where you are motivated to engage because of personal satisfaction or a deeper drive. One place to start: childhood. What did you want to be or do when you grew up, but it hasn’t yet happened? My experience of being a gawky kid still drives me.

2. Cultivate a “growth mindset.” Believing your success is tied more to hard work than innate talent is critical on the mastery journey. The well-known Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck talks about one Chicago school’s unorthodox but effective grading protocol, where instead of a failing grade, students would get a “Not Yet.”

You’re not going to become a good diver without landing a lot of belly-flops, or a competent fly-fisherman without the line occasionally getting wrapped up in a tree. It doesn’t mean you won’t get there; it just means you haven’t gotten there yet.

3. Locate edges and equalizers. Crystallized intelligence—your stored-up body of wisdom—can make age a secret weapon. The older you are, the more you’ve tried, failed, succeeded and learned. Draw from that bank. I can’t rely on a 25-year-old body to perform well, so I’ve turned to information: intel on gear, clothing, weather, hydration, terrain, sleep.

“When you’re older, you can see the bigger picture more than you could when you were 17,” says Alex Hutchinson, bestselling author of the book “Endure.” “It’s really easy to get excited about big goals, but to actually achieve them takes patience to take care of details, patience to stay on track when obstacles arise.”

4. Prioritize what’s essential. You can’t hack your way to mastery. It takes time and the “disciplined pursuit of less,” as Greg McKeown explains in his book “Essentialism.”

To include obstacle-course racing in an already full life, I trimmed my Instagram feed to mainly follow accounts helping me learn about the sport. After analyzing how much of my workday was spent in inefficient, hour-long, weekly one-on-one meetings, I cut most of them back to 25 minutes and set clear agendas. I declined all social invitations that weren’t from my closest friends and stepped away from many boards I served on. With every “no,” I got back a few more hours to devote to this new journey.

5. The mastery journey can be never-ending. And that’s fine. Finishing only that first race would have given me short-lived bragging rights and an awesome social media photo. But then it would have been over—extinguishing a source of meaning in my life.

It wasn’t until I firmly entered the realm of “never finished” that I realized how electrifying it could be. Which sure feels like a far cry from being stuck at the bottom of a U curve.

The prospect of seeing one of athletics' biggest stars back on the track is growing stronger, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen reportedly targeting a return to competition later this summer following his recovery from Achilles tendon surgery.

According to comments made by his agent, Daniel Wessfeldt, in an interview with Norwegian media, the double Olympic champion could make his long-awaited comeback at one of three major European meetings in July. The leading options under consideration are the Monaco Diamond League on July 10, the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix on July 14, and the London Diamond League on July 18.

For athletics fans, the possibility of Ingebrigtsen lining up in London would add another layer of excitement to an already highly anticipated Diamond League meeting. The Norwegian middle-distance sensation has become one of the sport's most dominant figures in recent years, collecting Olympic, world and European titles while consistently rewriting record books.

His 2026 campaign was put on hold after he underwent surgery on his Achilles tendon earlier this year, forcing him to focus on rehabilitation rather than competition. Since then, questions have surrounded when the 24-year-old would be ready to return to racing.

The latest update suggests that decision will largely depend on how his training progresses over the coming weeks. If recovery continues according to plan, July could mark the beginning of his return to elite competition ahead of the latter stages of the season.

A comeback at either Monaco, Budapest or London would immediately place Ingebrigtsen back among the sport's biggest storylines. Each meeting is renowned for producing world-class performances, and any appearance by the Norwegian would attract significant attention from fans eager to see how quickly he can regain top form after his injury setback.

While no final decision has been confirmed, the signs are increasingly positive. After months away from competition, Jakob Ingebrigtsen appears to be edging closer to a return, with London's Diamond League meeting emerging as one of the most intriguing possibilities on his road back to the track.

Should his recovery continue smoothly, athletics could soon welcome back one of its brightest and most influential stars.

What should have been the defining moment of Emad Bashir-Mohammed's young running career instead turned into one of the most talked-about controversies in American road racing this year.

The 23-year-old crossed the finish line first in the men's citizen's race at the prestigious Bolder Boulder 10K on Memorial Day in Colorado, stopping the clock at an impressive 29:50. His performance was not only a commanding victory but also one of the fastest winning times ever recorded in the event's long and celebrated history. Bashir-Mohammed finished eight seconds clear of his nearest challenger and appeared to have secured a breakthrough triumph.

For nearly two hours, he was the undisputed winner.

Then everything changed.

Race officials announced that Bashir-Mohammed had been disqualified after determining that he had started in the wrong wave. According to Bolder Boulder regulations, he had been assigned to the AA wave but lined up with the faster A wave, which began earlier. Event rules allow runners to move backward into a slower wave, but prohibit athletes from advancing into a faster one.

As a result, Bashir-Mohammed's victory was erased from the record books.

The citizen's title was subsequently awarded to Nickolas Scudder, who crossed the line second in 29:58. The promotion handed Scudder back-to-back citizen's race victories, while Bashir-Mohammed was left to grapple with the disappointment of losing a win he believed he had earned on the road.

The disqualification has since ignited widespread debate across the running community.

Bashir-Mohammed maintains that he did not intentionally violate the rules. He claims that after collecting his AA bib, he spoke with race personnel and was permitted to start with the A wave after presenting evidence of his recent performances. In a statement shared after the race, he expressed frustration over the decision, arguing that his goal was simply to compete against the strongest field available and produce the fastest time possible.

Race organizers, however, stood firmly behind their ruling. Officials stated that wave-assignment regulations are clearly communicated in pre-race information and reiterated during packet collection. They also noted that hundreds of participants are disqualified each year for moving into faster start groups, emphasizing that consistent enforcement is necessary to maintain fairness for all competitors.

The incident has divided opinion among runners and fans alike. Some believe the rules must be applied equally regardless of an athlete's finishing position, arguing that wave assignments are a fundamental part of race organization. Others feel the punishment is harsh, particularly if Bashir-Mohammed genuinely received approval to move up before the start.

What remains undisputed is the quality of his performance. On the roads of Boulder, Bashir-Mohammed demonstrated the fitness and speed required to outrun the field by a significant margin. Yet in road racing, crossing the finish line first is only part of the equation. Compliance with race regulations carries equal weight.

For Bashir-Mohammed, the day will be remembered as a painful lesson in the fine margins that can define elite competition. A remarkable run delivered a memorable victory, but a dispute over wave placement ultimately overshadowed the achievement, leaving behind a controversy that continues to fuel discussion throughout the running world.

A fast race, a costly administrative error, and a debate that may linger long after the finish-line tape has been packed away.

The men's 100 metres at the 2026 Rome Diamond League is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated sprint races of the season, with an exceptional field featuring some of the fastest men in the world.

Scheduled for Thursday, June 4, at the iconic Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the race will bring together reigning stars, established champions and emerging talents in a contest that promises fireworks from the moment the gun goes off.

Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala headlines a world-class lineup that includes American sprint sensation Noah Lyles, Botswana's Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, Jamaica's explosive Ackeem Blake, South Africa's ever-consistent Akani Simbine and Italy's hometown hero Lamont Marcell Jacobs. With personal bests ranging from 9.77 to 9.97 seconds, the field is packed with athletes capable of producing something special on the Diamond League stage.

Omanyala, the African record holder with a blistering personal best of 9.77 seconds, arrives in Rome eager to continue his strong early-season form and prove he can challenge the very best on the global circuit. The Kenyan star has built a reputation as one of the fastest starters in world sprinting and will be looking to make a statement against an elite field.

Standing in his way is world champion Noah Lyles, whose personal best of 9.79 seconds places him among the fastest athletes in history. The American remains one of the sport's biggest attractions and will be determined to add another Diamond League victory to his impressive résumé.

The race also marks a major test for Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo. The Botswanan star has rapidly become one of athletics' most exciting talents, while Ackeem Blake continues to establish himself as a serious contender on the international sprint scene.

Adding further intrigue is the presence of Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs. Competing on home soil, the Tokyo Olympic champion will enjoy passionate local support as he seeks to deliver a memorable performance in front of the Roman crowd.

South Africa's Akani Simbine, Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme, Great Britain's Jeremiah Azu and rising American talent Jordan Anthony complete a field that boasts remarkable depth and quality.

Men's 100m Entry List – Rome Diamond League 2026

Ferdinand Omanyala (Kenya) – PB: 9.77

Noah Lyles (USA) – PB: 9.79

Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Italy) – PB: 9.80

Akani Simbine (South Africa) – PB: 9.82

Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) – PB: 9.86

Ackeem Blake (Jamaica) – PB: 9.88

Jordan Anthony (USA) – PB: 9.91

Emmanuel Eseme (Cameroon) – PB: 9.96

Jeremiah Azu (Great Britain) – PB: 9.97

With multiple national record holders, global champions and Olympic medal contenders sharing the same start line, the Rome Diamond League men's 100m could deliver one of the fastest races of the year. For sprint fans around the world, all eyes will be on Rome as a stellar cast battles for supremacy over athletics' blue-riband distance.

Audrey Werro announced her arrival as one of the early stars of the 2026 outdoor season with a commanding victory in the women’s 800 metres at the Rabat Diamond League, producing a performance that exceeded even her own expectations.

The Swiss middle-distance talent surged to victory in a brilliant 1:56.56, breaking the meeting record and delivering one of the fastest times recorded worldwide this season. In a race packed with quality, Werro displayed exceptional composure, confidence, and finishing strength to separate herself from the field and stamp her authority on the event.

What made the performance even more remarkable was the athlete's surprise at the level she had already reached so early in the campaign.

"I was not expecting such a strong start to the season," Werro admitted after the race.

The race unfolded at a relentless pace, but Werro remained perfectly positioned throughout. As the athletes approached the bell lap, she glanced at the clock and immediately sensed something special was within reach.

"When I saw the time at the bell, I felt really confident," she said. "I'm really happy with the Meeting Record and looking forward to the rest of the season."

Her confidence proved justified. Maintaining her rhythm over the final 400 metres, Werro powered down the home straight to secure the victory and rewrite the Rabat meeting record books in the process.

The performance sends an early warning to her rivals ahead of a season that promises major championships and high-profile Diamond League battles. Beyond the record-breaking time, Werro's display highlighted her growing maturity as a racer, combining tactical awareness with impressive speed and endurance.

With the outdoor season only beginning, the 1:56.56 clocking suggests that even faster times could be on the horizon. If Rabat is any indication, Audrey Werro may be poised for the biggest season of her career.

Her emphatic victory in Morocco was more than just another Diamond League win—it was a statement of intent from an athlete determined to challenge the world's best throughout 2026.

The city of Boston is set to welcome back one of its most celebrated champions as Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi headlines a world-class field for the 2026 B.A.A. 10K presented by Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute on June 21.

Fresh from another remarkable victory at the Boston Marathon in April, Lokedi returns to the streets of Boston and Cambridge carrying both momentum and confidence as she aims to defend the title she captured in dominant fashion last year.

The two-time Boston Marathon champion has developed a special connection with the historic race city. In 2025, she produced a course-record performance of 2:17:22 to win the Boston Marathon before returning this year to claim another victory in 2:18:51, the second-fastest winning time in the event’s storied history. Her success has cemented her status as one of the premier road runners in the world.

Lokedi will be making her first competitive appearance since her marathon triumph and arrives as the reigning B.A.A. 10K champion after clocking 31:39 over the challenging 6.2-mile course in 2025.

“Boston has become a very special place for me,” Lokedi said ahead of the race. “The atmosphere created by the fans and the community is unlike anywhere else. I’m excited to return and give everything I have to defend my title.”

The women’s race promises to be highly competitive. American Olympian Rachel Smith, who finished second at the Boston 5K in April, leads the domestic challenge. Kenya’s strong contingent includes African 10,000m champion Gladys Kwamboka, former B.A.A. 10K runner-up Stacy Ndiwa, and experienced road racer Viola Cheptoo. British Olympian Jessica Warner-Judd adds further international depth to a field packed with proven performers.

The men’s race is equally impressive, featuring elite athletes from 13 nations.

Ethiopia’s Dawit Seare enters as one of the leading contenders after capturing the 2025 Boston 5K title and bringing the fastest 10K personal best in the field at 27:21. Kenya will be represented by an accomplished group led by Alexander Mutiso, winner of the 2024 London Marathon and runner-up at last year’s New York City Marathon.

Patrick Kiprop also arrives in outstanding form after securing victory at the prestigious BolderBoulder 10K on Memorial Day, while Alex Masai returns looking to continue his strong record in Boston. Masai recently finished ninth at the Boston Marathon and has earned three top-ten finishes at the B.A.A. 10K.

Among the international stars making their mark is South Africa’s Adriaan Wildschutt, who makes his race debut after an impressive season highlighted by victory at the NYC Half Marathon in 59:30. Ethiopia’s Olympic bronze medallist Hagos Gebrhiwet adds further quality to the field, bringing a wealth of championship experience and previous success in Boston.

Canadian national 10K champion Andrew Alexander, two-time U.S. Olympian Hillary Bor, marathon standout Ryan Ford, and reigning USA 25K champion Andrew Colley complete a field stacked with talent and depth.

With defending champions, Olympic finalists, national champions and rising stars all converging on Boston, the 2026 B.A.A. 10K is shaping up to be one of the most competitive editions in recent memory. For Sharon Lokedi, however, the mission is simple: return to the city where she has repeatedly excelled and add another memorable chapter to her growing Boston legacy.