Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life
A podcast for people who refuse to decline quietly. It features conversations with top athletes, scientists, and thinkers who are still getting stronger, sharper, and more capable with age. The show explores what changes, what breaks, and what actually works as we age. Hosted by Kush Khandelwal, a rock climber, athlete, and entrepreneur.
Episodes
What Worked in Your 30s Starts Costing You After 50 | Joe Friel, 82
Joe Friel is back.At 82, Joe is still training, still lifting, and still paying close attention to what aging actually does to an athlete’s body. In our first conversation, we talked about the moment the old rules stop working. This time, we go deeper into what to do next.Joe explains why sleep may be the first place to look, why consistency in the gym matters more than heroic workouts, why fast-t
She Stopped Lifting Heavy for 2 Years — What Happened Completely Changed Her Mind | Kit DesLauriers, 56
📺 Watch on Youtube! Twenty years ago, Kit DesLauriers skied from the summit of Everest, completing her goal of becoming the first person to ski the Seven Summits. Today, at 56, she’s still asking a compelling question: how do you stay strong and capable enough to keep doing the things you love as you get older?A two-time World Freeskiing Champion, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and U.S
Strong at 40, Fragile at 70? The Bone Health Blind Spot | Dr. Belinda Beck, Bone Health Expert
📺 Watch on Youtube! Dr. Belinda Beck has spent much of her career studying a part of the body most active people barely think about until something goes wrong: bone.We train our muscles.We train our cardiovascular systems.But are we actually giving our bones the stimulus they need to remain strong across decades?In this episode, Belinda explains why simply “being active” does not necessarily mean
He Was Dean Potter’s “Secret Weapon” — But This Was Never a Death Wish | Timmy O’Neill, 57
📺 Watch on Youtube! Dean Potter once called Timmy O’Neill his “secret weapon.”With Dean back in the spotlight through Dark Wizard, I went back to this conversation with Timmy — and realized how much of it deserves to be heard again.Timmy shares stories from their extraordinary years climbing together in Yosemite, but this conversation goes somewhere deeper: how our relationship with risk changes a
Train The Same After 50 — And You’ll Lose Strength, Power & Resilience | Cherie Gruenfeld, 82
📺 Watch on Youtube!At 82, Cherie Gruenfeld is still racing IRONMAN. She’s a 14-time world champion and is considered a GOAT of the sport. Wildly, she didn’t even start running until 42 or triathlon until 48. Her lesson after four decades of training: if you want to preserve strength, power, and muscle as you age, you can’t keep training the way you did when you were younger. We talk about what Che
The Surprising Skill You Need To Live Past 100 - And It's Not Diet or Exercise | Allison Aubrey
📺 Watch on Youtube!Allison Aubrey has spent more than two decades reporting on health and science for NPR. But when she put herself through a longevity assessment, some of the results caught even her off guard. In this episode, we talk about what she learned from that experience, why being active and lean doesn’t necessarily mean you’re as prepared for aging as you think, and the health markers t
You’re Going to Die - Stop Postponing Your Life | Paul Pritchard, 59
📺 Watch on Youtube!Paul Pritchard is one of the most significant figures in British climbing. He became one of Britain’s leading rock climbers and mountaineers, with major first ascents across the UK, Patagonia, Baffin Island, Yosemite, Kyrgyzstan and the Karakoram. His first ascent of the West Face of Mount Asgard in 1994 remains one of his defining achievements. He was also the first author to h
Exercise First, Sex After — Intimacy, Aging & the Next 40 Years | Joan Price, 82
We spend a lot of time preparing our bodies for the next 30 or 40 years.Strength. Mobility. Sleep. Recovery. Longevity.But almost nobody prepares for how sex, desire, intimacy, and pleasure may change over that same stretch of time.In this conversation, I speak with Joan Price, one of the best-known voices on sex and aging, about what changes, what can actually get better, and what we should under
You Are Losing Physical Abilities Over Time — Even If You Train Strength Today | Dan Edwardes
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨You can train hard, stay fit, and still lose physical abilities you are no longer asking your body to use.Dan Edwardes has spent more than two decades at the forefront of parkour as a practitioner, coach, and movement educator. His work has helped shape parkour into a global movement practice, with coach educ
Training Secrets of the World’s Best Athletes Over 50
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨What do the world’s best athletes over 50 do differently?After more than 140 conversations with elite climbers, cyclists, surfers, runners, mountaineers, and coaches, I went back through the Ageless Athlete archive looking for the patterns.The sports are different. The principles are surprisingly consistent.I
Building Muscle Isn’t Enough — How to Stay Capable as Your Body Changes | Rob Lea
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨If you’re over 40, one of the hardest truths to accept is that the body and training approach that got you here may not be the one that carries you forward.In this episode, Rob Lea, 45, shares what it took to become the first person in history to complete the Double Seven — climbing the highest summit on ever
Faster In His 60s - The Training That Took Him To A World Record | Joe Barr, 67
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨At 66, Joe Barr rode 2,448 miles along Route 66 in just over ten days and set a new world record.What makes that achievement even more remarkable is that Joe believes he became a better athlete in his sixties.In this conversation, Joe explains how experience changed the way he trains, recovers, manages fatigu
Your Gym Strength May Fail You — What an Everest Guide Knows About Staying Ready | Luis Benitez
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨The fittest people do not always reach the summit.Luis Benitez has climbed Everest six times and spent years guiding on the world’s highest mountains. What he learned is that success depends on more than strength. Patience, judgment, adaptability, and the ability to stay steady when the plan falls apart often
Stop Living in the Gray Zone — The 80/20 Rule for Training and Life | Matt Fitzgerald
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Most athletes know how to train hard. Far fewer know how to go truly easy.Matt Fitzgerald is one of the most influential writers and coaches in endurance sports. After developing severe long COVID, Matt lost the ability to run for nearly three years. Then, despite the risks, he committed to running a 100-kilo
Melatonin, Naps, and Tracking: What You're Getting Wrong About Sleep | Dr. Martin Kawalski, Stanford Sleep Expert
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Sleep is not just about feeling tired tomorrow.In this episode, Stanford sleep researcher Dr. Martin Kawalski explains why sleep often gets harder after 50, why older adults do not simply “need less sleep,” and why getting the basics wrong for long enough may affect how well we age.One of the biggest ideas fr
Keep Winning Into Your 80s — What This Elite Athlete Does Differently | Bob Becker, 82
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Most people don't notice they're declining until it's too late.Bob Becker offers a very different model.He didn't discover running until he was 57. Twenty-five years later, at age 80, he returned to Badwater 135 — a brutal 135-mile ultramarathon across Death Valley in temperatures above 12
The Truth About Strength No One Tells You | Ethan Pringle
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Ethan Pringle has climbed some of the hardest routes in the world. But this episode is about the kind of strength climbing does not train you for.After his father suffered a devastating stroke, Ethan found himself living two lives: pro climber on the road, and son/caregiver back home.We talk about grief, fear
The Scientist Trying to Stop Aging — What Most People Still Don’t Understand | Dr. Bill Andrews, 74
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Most of us think aging happens slowly in the background. Dr. Bill Andrews thinks we may be aging faster than we need to.Bill is a molecular biologist, founder of Sierra Sciences, and a longtime researcher in telomere and telomerase biology. He has spent most of his life asking whether aging itself can be slow
The Uncomfortable Skill You May Be Avoiding - It May Set You Free | Beth Rodden
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Beth Rodden is one of the most influential climbers of her generation—known for major Yosemite free climbing, multiple free ascents on El Capitan, and routes that helped push standards forward. I came into this conversation expecting more about training, aging, and climbing goals. Instead, Beth took us somewh
Anti Decline Mindset — Playbook to Stay Capable | Mike Wardian, 52
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Some guests make you want to train harder. Mike Wardian makes you want to live wider — and stop postponing the things that matter. Mike is 52, a runner, adventurer, and lifelong “yes” person. What stood out here wasn’t a race résumé. It was how he builds a life where training fits inside the day, curiosity st
Seven Things 70-Year-Old Athletes Understand That Most of Us Learn Too Late
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Two weeks ago, I attended Vitalist Bay in Berkeley, surrounded by scientists, doctors, founders, and researchers exploring the future of longevity.A few days later, I was in the Eastern Sierra, recovering from ankle surgery, mountain biking instead of climbing, soaking in hot springs, and thinking about a dif
You Start Losing Muscle After 50 — Stop Making These Mistakes | Joe Friel, 82
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Joe Friel is 82, still training, and still paying attention. In the last five years, he felt the shift—power fading on climbs, muscle disappearing even with a lifetime of lifting—and he’s not sugarcoating what that feels like. This episode is about the mistakes that quietly accelerate decline after 50: traini
Fear Is Stealing Your Life | Caroline Paul, 62
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Caroline Paul has spent decades doing things most people stop doing after 50 — flying experimental planes, surfing, skateboarding into Yosemite at 57. Her new book, Why Fly, is built around a question that follows her everywhere: what changes in us when the world suddenly feels bigger than our problems?Astron
The Discipline of Not Dying — This Survival Code Kept Him Alive for 18 Years | Ed Viesturs, 66
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Ed Viesturs was a childhood hero of mine. When I was younger—dreaming about mountains—his story helped shape what I thought “greatness” actually was: more than bravado, but also patience, judgment, and the discipline to come home.In this episode, Ed takes us inside an 18-year mission: climbing all 14 of the w
Still Getting Faster in his 60s — The Marginal Gains System | Greg Benning, 64
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Greg Benning is a masters single sculler outside Boston — and at 64, he’s still finding ways to get faster. I came into this conversation not knowing much about rowing, but that’s exactly what made it powerful: once Greg translates the sport, what emerges is a universal framework for longevity performance.For
She Won the World’s Toughest Races — Then She Rebuilt | Amelia Boone
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Amelia Boone rose to prominence in the early 2010s as one of obstacle racing’s most dominant competitors — known for thriving in long-format, high-suffering events and earning the “queen of pain” reputation. But this conversation is less about grit-as-identity… and more about what it takes to stay capable for
Stop Waiting for the "Perfect" Season As You Age | Cedar Wright, 51
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨What happens when the moment that changes your life doesn’t come from the “dangerous” thing… but from an ordinary day at home?Cedar Wright has spent decades in the vertical world—professional climber, storyteller, and filmmaker whose adventures helped bring climbing culture to a wider audience. But in this co
How to Stay Calm Under Extreme Stress | Amy Gubser, 56
Ageless Athlete Newsletter. Weekly longevity insights + behind-the-scenes. No spam ever. 🚨Amy Appelhans Gubsers (56) is a nurse at UCSF, a mom and grandma, and the first person to swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands—nearly 30 miles and roughly 17 hours in cold Pacific water, in what many consider shark territory. This is more than an epic swim. It’s a practical conversation ab
Don’t Try to “Fix” Your Shoulder Pain — Do This Instead | Dr Tyler Nelson
Overhead motion is everywhere — in sport and in life. This episode is a practical deep dive on shoulder pain with Dr. Tyler Nelson, who works primarily with climbers but applies the same principles across overhead athletes and active adults: build tolerance with smart progressions, manage volume, and avoid getting trapped chasing “perfect fixes.”What to expectThis is more technical than a typical
Your Training Has to Adapt as You Age — Or You’ll Stall | Susan Hunt, 68
What if staying athletic for life isn’t about doing one thing really well — but learning how to start over, again and again?Susan Hunt has spent the last four decades doing exactly that.She describes herself as “very average” — yet she’s completed Ironman triathlons, raced the Eco-Challenge in Borneo, run the Marathon des Sables across the Sahara, and summited Mount Everest at 53.Now at 68, she’s
3 Things You Must Do Differently After 40 to Stay Strong and Agile | Jason Hardrath
What does it take to stay capable through the years?Jason Hardrath is one of the most creative endurance athletes in the mountains today.An ultrarunner, climber, and mountain linkup specialist, Jason is known for massive single-push adventures that combine running, climbing, swimming, biking, and even paragliding. He has completed the Bulger List — the 100 highest peaks in Washington — in record t
Why Some People Stay Capable Into Their 70s — And Others Don’t | Jack Tackle, 72
What happens when the thing that defines you is suddenly taken away?For legendary American alpinist Jack Tackle, climbing wasn’t just a sport — it was identity.For more than five decades, Jack has explored remote mountains across Alaska, the Himalaya, and the Karakoram. He spent decades guiding in the Tetons and helping shape an era of bold American alpinism built on patience, partnership, and res
10 Rules for People Who Refuse to Decline With Age (2026 Edition)
It’s March.The January energy has faded. The motivation posts are quieter. And this is where the real long game begins.In this episode, I lay out 10 non-negotiables for athletes who plan to keep performing — not just this year, but for decades.This isn’t about hype. It isn’t about biohacking. And it definitely isn’t about chasing trends.It’s about durability.Drawing from over 100 conversations wit
What Happens When There’s No Escape — 271 Days Alone at Sea | Jerome Rand
Why do we avoid the very feelings that might help us grow?In this conversation, Jerome Rand shares what it’s like to spend 271 days alone at sea—crossing oceans with no easy way out, no distractions, and nowhere to hide.But this is more than just a story about sailing.It’s about what happens when you sit with discomfort long enough for it to change you.We talk about: why real growth often feels li
Most People Don’t Know What Freedom Feels Like — Until It’s Taken Away | Johan Nylander
What does running feel like inside one of the most controlled countries in the world?Johan Nylander entered North Korea shortly after it reopened—joining a small group of foreign visitors to run the Pyongyang Marathon.At 52, he found himself on a starting line few outsiders ever experience.But this story doesn’t start there.After years covering geopolitics across Asia, Johan was burned out—physica
How People Learn to Keep Going: Best of Ageless Athlete 2025 (Part II)
This episode brings together moments from conversations recorded throughout 2025 with athletes who have spent decades working inside uncertainty — in the mountains, on open water, on the road, and in daily training.What connects these excerpts is more than accomplishment or outcome. It’s how each person has learned to operate when conditions narrow, when simplicity, judgment, and restraint matter
Your Knees, Ankles, and Hips Are Ready for a Second Act — How Modern Science Can Help You
What if the story you’ve been told about aging joints isn’t the whole story?In this episode of Ageless Athlete, I speak with orthopedic surgeon and researcher Dr. Kevin Stone about what’s recently changed in orthopedics — especially for athletes over 40 who’ve been told to slow down, live with pain, or prepare for joint replacement.Dr. Stone shares how modern approaches are shifting from simply re
He Stopped Taking Supplements at 62 — And Got Fitter | David Green (Ran Across Europe)
At 62, David Green did something most endurance athletes wouldn’t.He stopped taking supplements.Not as a statement—but as an experiment.What followed wasn’t a drop in performance. It was the opposite.More clarity. Better training. And eventually, the fitness to run across Europe.In this conversation, David shares what changed when he stopped outsourcing decisions and started paying closer attentio
How Athletes Adapt Over Time: Best of Ageless Athlete 2025 (Part I)
This episode brings together moments from conversations recorded across the first half of 2025 — voices from different sports, environments, and stages of life, each describing how they continue to train, move, and stay engaged as conditions change.These clips span endurance running, climbing, paddling, cycling, swimming, and exploration. What connects them is more than performance level or accomp
Why Stopping Is More Dangerous Than Slowing Down | Buzz Burrell at 70+
What does “use it or lose it” actually mean after 60 — when recovery slows, strength is harder to regain, and stopping even briefly can change what’s possible?Buzz Burrell is one of the quiet architects of modern mountain and trail culture, to talk about consistency — not as motivation, but as survival.Buzz ran his first ultramarathon nearly six decades ago, long before endurance sports had langua
Long Game: Why Most People Get Food Wrong — What Top Athletes Do Differently
What do world-class athletes actually eat — not in theory, not on Instagram, but in real life, day after day?After more than 100 conversations with elite climbers, ultrarunners, surfers, and endurance athletes, I started noticing a pattern I didn’t expect.It wasn’t about optimization. It wasn’t about trends. And it definitely wasn’t about eating something new every day.It started with breakfast.On
The Skill of Starting Over — How Deborah Hammett Built a New Life at 60
“When I tell people I started sailing at sixty, they’re shocked.”We don’t often think of our sixties as a time to begin something new—which is part of the problem.In this New Year’s Eve episode, I sit down with Deborah Hammett, a former school principal who learned to sail at 60, moved onto a boat, and now travels solo by sea.But this story isn’t really about sailing.It’s about what happens when i
Stay Strong Into Your 70s — Lessons From Five Decades on the World’s Highest Mountains | Steve Swenson, 73
What does it really take to stay strong into your 70s — physically, mentally, and emotionally?In this episode, I sit down with Steve Swenson, one of America’s most respected alpinists, to talk about endurance, aging, and the habits that have kept him moving for decades.Steve has climbed Everest and K2, completed first ascents in the Karakoram, and summited Everest without supplemental oxygen — an
Your Brain Changes With Age — What Actually Keeps It Sharp | Dr. Tommy Wood
Why do some people stay mentally sharp as they age while others experience a much steeper decline?Dr. Tommy Wood studies brain health, cognitive performance, and the factors that help the brain remain adaptable throughout life. His message is surprisingly hopeful: the aging brain can continue to respond—but only if we keep giving it reasons to.In this conversation, we explore what actually helps p
Getting Stronger in My 40s Isn’t What You Think — Here’s What Changed | Kush Khandelwal
This week’s episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a legendary athlete or coach, I was invited onto the Adventure Sports Podcast to talk about the questions that many of us — everyday athletes, weekend warriors, late bloomers, and lifelong learners — wrestle with as we get older.If you come to Ageless Athlete for honest conversations about aging, movement, and staying curious in a
Still Climbing at 66 — What Russ Clune Changed to Keep Performing
What happens when a life in climbing spans five decades, multiple eras, and some of the most surprising moments in outdoor history?In this episode, legendary climber Russ Clune takes us inside the world that shaped him: the Shawangunks (“the Gunks”) of the 1970s and 80s — an unlikely counterculture just two hours from Manhattan where artists, dirtbags, misfits, and pioneers built the early soul of
How Harvey Lewis Recovers After 5 Days of Nonstop Running — Injury, Sleep, and What Breaks First
What happens after you run for five straight days — 466 miles, 111 hours, two broken ribs, a torn hamstring… and then go right back to teaching high-school civics on Monday?In this rare, intimate conversation, ultrarunner Harvey Lewis shares a front-row look into his healing journey after Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra — widely considered one of the toughest and strangest endurance races in the world.Th
“You’ll Never Run Again.” At 70, Loree Bolin Reversed Her Arthritis, And Finished Her 11th Ironman
When Loree Bolin was told she’d never run again, she didn’t just defy expectations — she redefined them.At 70, Loree completed her 11th Ironman triathlon after years of battling knee osteoarthritis. But this isn’t just a story about sport. It’s about service.A retired dentist and lifelong endurance athlete, Loree sold her practice at 60 to launch a nonprofit bringing medical and dental care to und
Aging, Injury, and the Comeback Mindset — Best of Q3 2025
This quarter on Ageless Athlete brought together some of the most surprising and meaningful stories of the year — from record-setting endurance swimmers to rebel skateboarders, alpinists, paddlers, big-wall climbers, and athletes redefining what’s possible in their 60s and 70s.Across ten very different conversations, one theme kept surfacing: Courage in uncomfortable places.Not the loud kind — but
At 77, He Still Chases Big Waves — Why Curiosity Beats Comfort as You Age | Jock Sutherland
What happens when you mix psychedelics with some of the most fearsome waves on Earth? What does it take to stay curious, joyful, and deeply alive—well into your 70s?In this wide spanning conversation, legendary surfer Jock Sutherland joins Ageless Athlete to talk about the radical experiences, deep values, and spiritual practices that shaped his life—from surfing Pipeline in the 1960s to climbing
Stronger for Life: The 5 Strength Markers That Matter Most After 40
After 60 years in the weight room, Dan John has distilled fitness down to its essence: Move well. Lift often. Walk every day. Recover deeply.In this conversation, Dan joins host Kush Khandelwal to share the universal rules for staying strong and mobile through every decade — especially for climbers, runners, and outdoor athletes looking to balance performance and longevity.They unpack how fit lite
She Walked Away From a “Safe” Life — And Never Looked Back | Kitty Calhoun, 65
Imagine growing up in the conservative Deep South, where young women were expected to play it safeNow imagine trading that world for Himalayan storms, frozen walls, and a seven-year stretch of living out of a Subaru to chase something bigger.Kitty Calhoun did exactly that. She became the first North American woman to summit Dhaulagiri and the first woman to climb Makalu’s West Pillar—two of the ha
Most People Get This Wrong About Protein — Simplify Your Nutrition
Nutrition advice is everywhere — and most of it overcomplicates what should be simple. In this replay, EC Synkowski, founder of Optimize Me Nutrition and creator of the 800-Gram Challenge, shares a refreshingly practical approach to fueling performance, recovery, and longevity.She’s coached CrossFit athletes, corporate teams, and everyday movers — and she’s one of the most grounded, science-based
Crossing the English Channel at 59 — The Mental Game When Your Body Wants Out | Charlotte Brynn
At 59, Charlotte Brynn has swum across some of the world’s most punishing channels — in pitch black, in near-freezing water, and even after being bitten by a shark. But her story is more than toughness.It’s about what happens when you don’t reach your goal — not once, but five times. It’s about staying in the fight for 12 years to complete the English Channel. And it’s about discovering that real
At 56, He’s Still Choosing the Unknown — A Life Beyond Limits | Erik Weihenmayer
What does it take to climb into the unknown — when you can’t see the way forward?Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most accomplished adventure athletes of our time. The first blind person to summit Mount Everest, he has since climbed the Seven Summits, led expeditions around the world, and kayaked the full 277 miles of the Grand Canyon. Now 56, Erik continues to seek awe and discomfort — from the sto
Winning in Their 70s — What Most Athletes Learn Too Late | Doug & Joan, 75
What does it look like to age curiously, train smarter, and build a life of meaning—together?Meet Joan Weisberg-Beyerlein and Doug Beyerlein: partners in life, love, and adventure. At 75, Joan is training for a 10-mile open water swim in Vermont. Doug is still running ultramarathons and logging 3-hour trail runs for fun. Between them, they’ve overcome addiction, burnout, injury, and the daily cult
Going All In — Reverse-Engineer the Goals You Will Risk Everything For | Sonnie Trotter
What does it take to bet everything on a dream? To live out of a van before it was fashionable, to commit to hard lines with no guarantee of success, and to walk away from risk when the stakes are too high?For Canadian climber Sonnie Trotter, it has always come down to conviction. From iconic ascents like Cobra Crack and The Path to bold multi-pitch routes on El Capitan, Sonnie has built a career
Sixteen Knee Surgeries — And a Return to Skiing When It Should’ve Been Over
What does it take to come back after a body-breaker of an injury—not once, but sixteen times?Chris Anthony is a legendary ski athlete, filmmaker, and adventurer who has stared down more than his fair share of wipeouts, surgeries, and life-altering setbacks. But instead of fading quietly from the spotlight, Chris rebuilt. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually.In this episode, we explore what it really
What It Costs to Live Boldly — Partnerships, Sacrifice, and Risk at 82 | Jim Donini
Last week in Part I, we began our journey with legendary alpinist Jim Donini — exploring his surprise cancer diagnosis, his early days in Yosemite, and the philosophy that has defined his career: “Getting to the top is optional. Getting back down is mandatory.”In this second part of our conversation, we turn from the mountains themselves to the human side of Jim’s story. At 82, Jim reflects on:The
At 82, He Still Chooses the Hardest Path — A Life Where Survival Is Never Guaranteed | Jim Donini
For more than five decades, Jim Donini has defined what it means to be an alpinist. Not by chasing the tallest mountains or summit glory, but by seeking out the hardest lines in the world’s most remote ranges — places where storms, hunger, and survival itself are never guaranteed.Now at 82, Jim is still climbing, still dreaming, and still teaching us what resilience looks like. In this first of a
Whales, Bears, and the Will to Return — Lessons in Survival From Two Solo Voyages Through Alaska
At age 49, Susan Marie Conrad paddled 1,200 miles—alone—through the remote, storm-swept waters of the Alaskan Inside Passage. Twelve years later, at 61, she went back and did it again.In this powerful conversation, Susan shares what it means to return—not just to the same wild coastline, but as a different person. We unpack what changes when you chase something bold later in life, how nature resha
From Teenage Rebel to World Champion at 65 — How She Keeps Winning | Judi Oyama, 65
At 65, Judi Oyama is still lining up at the start gate — not in a “Masters” category, but shoulder-to-shoulder with athletes half, or even a quarter her age. She’s a World Champion slalom skateboarder, a Guiness record holder, a Hall of Fame inductee, and a pioneer who’s been breaking barriers since she first picked up a board in Santa Cruz in the early 1970s.Back then, women’s divisions barely ex
Strong Hips, Ankles & Feet — The Movement Basics We Lose With Age | Andy McVittie
Physiotherapist, coach, and lifelong climber Andy McVittie is back for the final chapter of our three-part deep dive into aging well, moving well, and living without fear of injury.If you haven’t listened to Part I (The Movement Optimist: Knees, Shoulders, Elbows, Hips, Bulletproof Yourself! Never Late to Get Strong!) or Part II (Aging Joints & Grateful Bodies: Elbows, Fingers, Sleep, and the
The Lifelong Pursuit of What Matters Most - Best of Q2, 2025
Every few months, I pause to reflect on the conversations that left a mark—ones I keep thinking about long after the recording stops. This episode is a curated collection of those moments from Q2 2025.You’ll hear stories that go beyond performance. These are reflections on resilience, identity, aging, and the human drive to keep exploring what’s possible—physically and emotionally.In this episode:
The Deep End: Cold Oceans, the Edge of the Map, and the Mind’s Breaking Point | Andy Donaldson
In Part II of our deep conversation, Andy Donaldson takes us into the heart of open water swimming—where the body aches, the mind wanders, and sometimes… things go wrong.We pick up the story after his return to the sport. But this time, it's different. Andy isn’t chasing medals—he’s chasing meaning. And the path leads him through shark-infested waters, swollen throats, and swims so long and c
The Comeback: From Accountant to the Pinnacle of Open Water Swimming | Andy Donaldson
What does it take to walk away from something you’ve trained for your entire life… and then find your way back — stronger, wiser, and with a whole new purpose?In this two-part conversation, we sit down with world-record-holding swimmer Andy Donaldson. But Part One isn’t about records. It’s about the reset — the season of burnout, career shifts, mental struggle, and the slow, imperfect process of c
He Sailed to the Dawn Wall — Why Values Make Hard Goals Deeper | Seb Berthe
Seb Berthe didn’t just train for a legendary big-wall objective — he built the entire pursuit around a constraint: no flying. So he and his partner sailed across oceans, lived simply, trained creatively, and arrived at the wall already shaped by the journey.This episode isn’t only about climbing. It’s about what happens when your values become part of the plan — and how the “how” can change what t
When a World Champion’s Body Betrayed Her — And What Came Next | Jamie Whitmore
What happens when your life as an elite athlete is stripped away—and you’re forced to rebuild, not just your body, but your identity?In this powerful and personal episode, we sit down with Jamie Whitmore—a world-class endurance athlete whose story is less about podiums and more about persistence.Jamie was once one of the most dominant XTERRA racers in the world—winning races across continents, cli
Lexicon, Boldness, and the Long Game — Training Smarter and Peaking Later | Neil Gresham
What does it take to climb your hardest route at 50—and then hold the rope while someone else pushes that same line even further?For Neil Gresham, that moment came on Lexicon, a bold and beautiful E11 route he developed and climbed later in life. In this conversation, Neil shares the full story—from discovering the line in the Lake District to the deep personal shift that allowed him to reach a ne
From Olympian to Freeskiing Pioneer — How One Woman Rebuilt Her Identity | Wendy Fisher
Wendy Fisher was once one of the fastest women on skis. A U.S. Ski Team racer and 1992 Olympian, she seemed destined for a long career in elite competition. But by her early 20s, she was burned out, struggling with identity and disordered eating, and quietly unraveling inside a system that prized performance over well-being.This could’ve been the end of her story. Instead, it became the beginning
When the Consequences Are Final - Climbing a Death Route at 74 | Rob Matheson
At 74, Rob Matheson climbed one of the UK’s most serious routes: The Bells, The Bells! — a sea cliff climb in North Wales known for poor protection and real consequences - a fall can mean catastrophe, even death. This isn’t a nostalgic story about what he used to do.It’s about what he’s still choosing to do now.In this conversation, we talk about what it means to stay bold as you get older—not by
Why Some Athletes Keep Going Into Their 70s, 80s & Beyond | Bob Babbitt, 73
Why do some people keep racing, training, and showing up well into their 70s and 80s—while others gradually stop?Bob Babbitt has been part of the endurance world since the earliest days of Ironman. Now in his 70s, he is still racing, training, and surrounded by athletes who have kept going for decades.In this conversation, Bob shares what he has learned from a lifetime in endurance sports about st
What One Impossible Swim Can Teach You About Identity, Grit, and Starting Over | Sarah Thomas
At midnight, Sarah Thomas stepped off the coast of England into darkness—swimming into history as the first person to complete a four-way crossing of the English Channel, nonstop. That alone would be astonishing. But what makes her story unforgettable is what came before: a breast cancer diagnosis, grueling treatment, and the slow, painful journey of rebuilding trust in a body that no longer felt
He Outperforms Climbers Half His Age — Still Improving at 65 | Bill Ramsey
What if your best climbing wasn’t behind you—even at 65?This episode is a masterclass in longevity, discipline, and duality. Our guest is a rare figure who has spent decades pushing hard at the edge of two very different worlds: as a tenured philosophy professor and a lifelong climber still sending 5.14s.Bill Ramsey started climbing before sport climbing existed. He trained on treadwalls before th
What Actually Improves Metabolism as You Age — Ketones, Fasting, and Fueling for Endurance | Dr. Brianna Stubbs
Ketones and fasting get marketed like shortcuts. This conversation is the opposite: a grounded look at how your body actually produces energy—and what changes as you age.Dr. Brianna Stubbs is a researcher at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and a world-class endurance athlete. We talk about metabolic flexibility (your ability to switch fuels), what ketones can and can’t do, and when fastin
In His 80s, He Runs 100-Mile Ultras — What Keeps Him Going | Bob Becker, 82
Bob Becker didn’t start running until his 50s.Now, in his 80s, he takes on 100+ mile ultramarathons—long, lonely efforts where the real challenge isn’t fitness. It’s staying steady when everything hurts, the clock is closing, and quitting would be easy.This isn’t an episode about “defying age.” It’s about why people keep going—what purpose does to pain, how community changes endurance, and the qui
Facing Fear in Big Waves — And Building a Second Act | Bianca Valenti
What does it take to paddle into a 50-foot wave—and then keep choosing that life after burnout, setbacks, and real fear?Big wave surfer Bianca Valenti has built a career where the consequences are immediate. But this conversation goes beyond surfing. It’s about what happens when you commit to something that demands your whole self: the training, the recovery, the mental discipline, and the identit
Cold Oceans, Chemo Miles, and the Body’s Breakthrough - Best of Q1 2025
In this special highlight reel, we revisit the most unforgettable moments from the past few months of Ageless Athlete. These are stories that stuck with me—narratives that challenged how I think about fear, recovery, aging, and what the human body (and spirit) can do when fully committed.You’ll hear:A nurse in her 50s swimming 30 miles through 43-degree water toward the Farallon Islands—without a
Fighting Fit in Your 60s — He Keeps Running While Everyone Else Slows Down | Dean Karnazes
Dean Karnazes has been called one of the fittest humans on the planet — and he’s not slowing down. In his 60s, he’s still running ultramarathons on the weekends, living part-time in Greece, and exploring the historical roots of endurance itself.In this episode, Dean takes us through:What running looks like for him todayWhy Greece has become his spiritual and physical homeThe true story of the mara
Your Joints Hurt More as You Age — Does That Mean You Should Stop? | Andy McVittie
Physiotherapist and coach Andy McVittie returns to the podcast for a deeper dive into the aging body — what breaks down, why it happens, and how to keep moving through it all.In this episode, we move from big-picture thinking to the specific joints and patterns that affect everyday athletes most: shoulders, elbows, fingers, and knees. Andy shares how to work around pain, when to push and when to p
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