The Original Later-In-Life Athlete with 96-Year Old Betty Lindberg (096)

Seasoned Athlete

In this episode I had an amazing chat with Betty Lindberg, an incomparable 96 year old runner and race walker. Betty has made an art form out of her ability to slowly build up her body and stamina and not let mental distractions get in the way.

We discuss:

- Betty calls herself the original ‘couch potato’

- Betty proves everything is possible when you keep your body moving

- The optimistic attitude from Betty has served her well in live and in athletics

- Betty’s workouts include lifting weights which is very important for women as we age

… and more!

Here are some highlights.

Girls were never supported in sports growing up

“When I was growing up girls didn’t do anything except maybe Jacks or Hopscotch,” says Betty. “That was about as wild as we got. It just isn’t the thing that young ladies did. So, no, I didn’t really do anything. I was the original couch potato. I don’t recall any girls in high school doing athletics and I didn’t get to go to college because of World War II, it was 1942. Girls just didn’t do that sort of thing.”

Betty breaks records without knowing it

“It’s amazing when I look back because I have some of the records from back then,” Betty said. “People in their 60’s, 67 and 68, there was nobody older than us racing. So in the last 30 years we have got it up to the 90’s. In USA Track and Field you compete in the 5 year age groups. Because they know that a you get older you get slower and you get less strength. So it’s always fun the the women’s 90-95 year age group! There are some others in my age group because I have records I’m trying to beat. There are some women in their 100’s!”

You just need to show up

“Something that has always inspired me is the quote ’98% of winning is getting to the start’ “ says Betty. “You don’t have to worry about how many people will finish ahead of you or are going to be faster than you. You have trained for this and you’re going to do the best you can and that’s going to be it.”

The true test of a runner

“The major long distance I do is the 10k, which is 6.2 miles,” Betty said. “The most recent time I did it I was about halfway through and I kept telling myself “this is it, this is the last time you’re going to do this race.’ And it was my 30th time doing that race. The last 3 miles of that race are mostly uphill and you just keep telling yourself that you’re never going to do it again. And then the moment you finish and all you can think is ‘next year I’ve got to train a little bit harder.’ “

Betty keeps her body strong enough to do more races

“And I spend time with personal trainer 3 times a week,” says Betty. “And I do everything while there at the gym from lifting weights to working my legs to stepping. I’ll also do lunges and sit ups and the last thing every session is planking! I once did a 4 minute plank. Your body has to be strong to do these races from your legs to your core and your arms. But most especially, your brain.”

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