a running introduction

Hello! My name is Andrea and I'm new to the Society. I'm not quite sure what to say, but everyone seems great, and this looks like a pretty interesting place.

There was an article in today's New York Times that I caught my eye and I wanted to share. The writer is a runner, and noticed that in races, the winners in the men's divisions were younger, in their 20s, but the fastest women runners were older, 30 and above. She found similarities like this in other races across the country, women had faster times the older they were.

Ralph Vernacchia, who directs the Center for Performance Excellence at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., has worked with elite runners including Olympians. And with elite runners, there is no question about competitive drive.
But with average runners, he said, older women may be faster because, oddly enough, they are trying harder than younger women and discovering for the first time what they are capable of.
Most middle-aged women grew up when track and cross-country teams were for men only. Some of those women, who had no opportunity to race when they were young, are just learning to be athletes and are running faster than younger women who may not care as much.
He described the experience for women as “a kind of wakening, an epiphany.” .

I'm not a runner, or any sort of athelete, but it made me wonder about the areas of my life that I'm not trying my hardest. Will I look back and be disappointed in my current self? I hope not.