Trail running is surging in popularity and its offer of scenic, traffic-free settings and joint-friendly terrain is fuelling the sport’s rise among older outdoor enthusiasts. According to data from RunRepeat in partnership with World Athletics, trail running participation has increased by 231% over the past decade, and the average age of trail runners has reached an all-time high of 39.5 years.
“I didn’t take up running until I was 48,” explains Robert Duncombe, a pharmacist from Chelmsford, Essex. “Before that, I’d never run a race or attended a . In 2016, I decided it was time to change that.
” Working as a chief pharmacist at the Christie Cancer Hospital in Manchester, Duncombe decided to apply for a charity place in the London Marathon through Cancer Research. “I secured a spot and that marked the beginning of my journey,” he says. By 2019 that journey had taken him across the Sahara Desert on the multi-day ultra that is the .
“That opened the door to a new world of trail marathons and ultra marathons. I’ve since done events like Race to the Stones multiple times, as well as ultras in Costa Rica, Tanzania and Jordan. This year, I tackled the in Peru.
” Taking up or returning to running in later life doesn’t necessarily mean you’re playing catch-up in the health stakes either. suggest that competitive athletes in their 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s tend to have more and healthier muscle mass, stronger hearts and much less body fat than non-athletes o.