Aging is inevitable; acting and feeling old are not. We can give in to what we think getting older means or keep doing what we want and love to do. You may think that is easy for me to say, but I am speaking as a 75-year-old who has had a challenging life. I don’t come from a family with any athletic background, and the only thing that I really inherited was a work ethic. That work ethic served me well when I started running in high school. I loved training, and I continued to run through high school and college, and even in Latin America when I lived there. When the running boom began, I immersed myself in it and trained harder and raced more than ever. Only a bad car accident kept me from achieving what I was capable of with running.
The foundation for my current health and fitness comes from the discipline that I developed in those years. After the car accident, because of health issues, I couldn’t run like I did, so I became an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and helped other people with their fitness and health. Eventually, I was able to run again and moving to New Mexico helped. Then I became a Beachbody/BODi coach and, with my Howtobefit.com website, I had a career.
Even though I am nowhere near what I was as an athlete with the accident and age, I still train like I did before. I still get ready to run every morning, and I still fit in strength workouts (even though I did take a summer break, which I am paying for now).
I could give in to age and engage in activities more appropriate for my age, but I don’t. I do what I want to do regardless of my age. This morning, I was in the Corrales Bosque for two hours, running and hiking, and never gave it a thought that I should be doing something less taxing. I finished off another great month of training in July (the details are below), and I am starting off in August where I left off in July.
Check out my Health Retirement Fund Checklist for some good ideas on how to keep going at any age.
Polar July 2026 Log & Activity Report
Rich Dafter is the founder of HowToBeFit.com, a lifelong runner, former ACE Certified Personal Trainer, BODi Coach since 2007, and Polar Athlete and Ambassador for 39 years. At 75, he continues to run, hike, strength train, and share practical strategies for healthy aging, fitness, and longevity. Learn more about Rich Dafter on the About page.
