Episode #45. Running and taking M.E.Ds at 90: Sir Christopher Ball’s recipe for longevity
How long can you keep running?
At 67, Sir Christopher Ball had never been a runner. A doctor told him he was slightly overweight and needed more exercise, so he started jogging. That decision led to 7 marathons in 7 days, a world record for 10 marathons in 10 days at 72, and the creation of the Brathay 10in10 Challenge - all proving movement really has no age limit.
Now, at 90, he’s still running and planning his 100th birthday race. In this episode, we talk about mindset, movement and why ageing should be an adventure - not a decline.
“Age should be an adventure. It’s an adventure like going into a jungle. It is quite dangerous. And you never know what’s going to leap out from behind the next tree. But approach it as one of the great adventures of life - positively.”
Sir Christopher Ball’s view on the world is truly inspiring and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this conversation and you cannot fail to either.
Chapters
00:00 Early Experiences with Movement and Exercise
05:36 The Importance of Lifelong Learning
11:10 The Role of Choice in Life
18:36 Taking Up Running in Later Life
25:56 Founding the 10 in 10 Challenge
27:39 The Importance of Movement and Mindset
41:32 Reframing Aging: An Adventure, Not a Tragedy
45:30 Creating a Personal Regime for Longevity
49:30 Setting Goals for a Fulfilling Future
About this week’s guests:
Sir Christopher Ball
Sir Christopher Ball is a distinguished British academic, poet, and advocate for lifelong learning and healthy ageing. A former Warden of Keble College, Oxford, he has spent his career shaping education policy and exploring the power of choice in learning and personal development. At 67, he took up marathon running, setting a world record for 10 marathons in 10 days at 72 and founding the Brathay 10in10 Challenge. Now, as co-founder of the Oxford Longevity Project, he promotes healthy ageing, movement, and mindset as keys to longevity, proving that it’s never too late to keep learning and moving.
Connect here:
BRATHAY TRUST: https://www.brathaychallenges.com/about-us/our-team/sir-christopher-ball/
Oxford Longevity Project: https://oxfordlongevityproject.org/
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More about your host, Wendy
Wendy (50) founded Reclaim Movement after a running injury at 40 turned into 4 years of chronic pain. In her search for answers and to reclaim her own movement again she discovered natural movement. The philosophy of training real life practical movements to be able to keep using them as we age, coupled with the benefit of using strengthening and mobilising whole-body movement patterns that are underused in today’s modern world made her realise she had found a way to move for life.
Wendy’s aim is to help people embrace a movement-rich life, at any age, to improve mobility, strength and confidence to keep moving well and doing the things they love for as long as they want.
MovNat Level 1 certified & Functional Range Conditioning certified, she coaches online group classes live & by replay in the Reclaim Movement membership as well as online and in-person private coaching in Oxford.
Find out more about Reclaim Movement:
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