What 60-year-old Ironman athletes tell us about our longevity
Recently I read this article from Tara Bahrampour at the The Washington Post that starts, “Americans over 50 are doing extreme sports their grandparents never imagined.” What she captures so well are the diverse reasons why people get into or want to continue doing extreme sports like marathons, rock climbing, and even the Iditarod! Some want to prove to their families (and the world) the ridiculousness of ageism. Some just want to land the big ski jump and feel that feeling of accomplishment and “being stoked.” And some want to continue being a part of something bigger than themselves.
These are all uniquely human wants - to be seen, to feel alive, and to contribute. These desires don’t just go away once you hit your 50th birthday, nor should they. Longevity science will return this vitality to all stages of our lives, including the latter decades previously assigned to “being old.”?
Imagine a life where you can relish the freedom of choice as you enter your golden years, where completing an Ironman at 60 is an attainable goal or, perhaps, indulging in more leisurely activities such as gardening, hiking, or cherishing time spent with loved ones suits your preference.? This is active living, and it is powered by longevity science.?
What makes this active living longevity possible?
Active living means being active in the way that makes the most sense for your life. This doesn’t mean you have to go do an Ironman! Rather, it is the ability to stay involved in your hobbies, your family, your work, and your physical wellness. This ability is the direct result of longevity science. Longevity science differs from traditional healthcare in that it doesn’t see vitality as something that slowly trickles away - it is something that can be protected and even increased throughout our lives. Longevity science is already somewhat mainstream as “healthy aging.” These advancements make competing in sports completely doable in your fifties, sixties and even seventies.?
This results from significant investment decades ago in cutting-edge aging research and development. Visionary investors, from venture capitalists to pension funds to university endowments, began investing in biotech science. Their investment is just now beginning to pay dividends, giving us all more informed medical training, care and treatment on aging.
Longevity is not just up to you
It’s tempting to say that your ability to do a marathon at 75 is completely up to you - how active you are in your younger years, how healthy you are, your diet, the supplements you take, etc. But this is not the whole truth. Active living requires an intricate combination of healthy lifestyle choices, high-quality medical care, and education. This means active living starts not just in the laboratory, but in the grocery store, the doctor’s office, and our schools. You can’t out-maneuver a society that doesn’t support healthy aging with the right supplement or exercise routine.?
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How we commit to active living
The prospect of enduring longevity is undeniably enticing - a future where age-related limitations become a thing of the past. However, achieving this goal is not solely reliant on our individual efforts.?
We need the continuous progress of science and cutting-edge advancements at the nexus of biology and technology focused on improving the quality and duration of our lives. The investment made now by venture capitalists, sovereign wealth funds, family foundations, pension funds, and universities will power the active living we experience 10, 20 and 30 years from now. If you are involved in these efforts, please reach out to me at any time. I spend a good part of my week advising investors who are new to biotech, AI and longevity on where to start in evaluating these companies.
What we can do as individuals is continue to ask our medical professionals for care that is oriented around keeping us ready for our next adventure. This will give the “push” to our health systems and care providers to seek out the research and treatments that will support us.
Longevity brings us the luxury of choice in our golden years. As our lifespans extend, we find ourselves riding a wave of possibilities that earlier generations never had the opportunity to seize. We can then approach them with greater wisdom, experience, and insight. Longevity, thus, enables us to enhance the landscape of our later years, enriching our lives with experiences we could only have dreamt of in the past.?
What do you want to do at 50, 60 and 70? What is holding you back? If you’re comfortable sharing, leave a comment. If we know of a company doing this work, we’ll share it - otherwise, we’ll add it to our list of companies we’re seeking to fund.?