Finding Running in My 40s: How I Became the Fittest I've Ever Been

I never thought of myself as a runner. For most of my life, the people pounding the pavement looked, frankly, a bit mad. Somewhere in my mid-40s, something shifted and now I’m in the best shape of my life. It didn’t happen overnight, and it certainly wasn’t pretty at the start.

The Wake-up Call

Between running two clinics, being a present dad, and keeping up with an active Australian Shepherd who never stops, life had quietly worn me down. I was waking up with aches I’d never had before. Recovery from a long day took longer than it used to. My body, the same body I spent every day helping other people care for, was telling me something I’d been too busy to hear.

There are conversations in clinical practice we don’t have enough: the hormonal shifts that men go through with age, the cumulative cost of stress, the way fatherhood and work pressure quietly drain you over years. These aren’t small things. They show up in your energy, your sleep, your mood, your strength. And they don’t reverse themselves. You have to actively work on them.

Walking the Talk

I truly believe that movement is medicine. That recovery matters. That small consistent actions beat big sporadic ones. At some point I realized I needed to be the change I was asking them to make. If I wanted to deliver the best care I could, I needed to live it myself.

So I started running. And it was hell.

The first few weeks were humbling. Every system in my body protested. Slowly, gradually, things started to shift. Now? I can knock out a 10K and barely think about it. If you’d told me that five years ago, I’d have laughed.

The Lessons That Kept Me Running

A few things I learned the hard way:

Don’t overdo it. I tried to push too hard, too soon, and it cost me weeks on the sidelines. In your 40s, you can’t bounce back the way you could in your 20s. The body needs more recovery, more sleep, more attention to detail.

Get adjusted, get assessed. I see patients who may benefit from identifying movement restrictions and areas of strain before they become more significant concerns. I had to take my own advice. Regular chiropractic care has been one component of how I manage my overall physical health and training routine.

Look after your feet. Pavements aren’t a natural surface for long-distance running. We evolved to move on softer ground, not concrete. I found that properly fitted running shoes and orthotics suited to my needs made running more comfortable. Your feet are the foundation of everything above them, so treat them well.

The Payoff

Fitness is just the surface. What’s underneath is sharper thinking, better sleep, more patience with my kids, more energy at work, and a quiet confidence that comes from doing something I once thought was impossible.

If you’re in your 40s or beyond and feeling like your body is slipping away from you, I promise it doesn’t have to. You don’t need to be an athlete. You just need to start. When you do, look after the machine, because the machine is you.