EP 333: It’s Never Too Late to Start an Endurance Sport—or Change It Up

Podcasts
1

There are so many questions people want to ask about how others are not only entering endurance sports – but sustain it across the lifespan. Help newcomers and existing forum users by offering guidance on one of these frequently asked questions below:

  • How do injuries affect entry to and sustainability in sports?
  • What type of community support or personal life adjustments are required for various levels of competition?
  • How are people affording this – is everyone sponsored, or do they have jobs outside of their sport to fund this lifestyle?
  • What are the different perspectives about investing in the gear needed for sports – some start cheap, some go all in at the beginning.
  • How do people balance an intense desire to compete with a track record of serious injuries?
  • How does one pivot from being a full-time athlete or adjust to other major life changes like becoming a parent?
  • Is it best to start with group runs and rides right away, and how do you find community?
3

I enjoyed this episode - as I do most of your episodes - and was compelled to get an account to be able to make a comment on it. So: long time listener, first time commenter.

Which is to say: it seems to me that most of the interviews were all with people who are or were all elite athletes, which is valid - just not the conversation I had been expecting. With episode’s title, I had been expecting the discussion to be more around people coming to endurance sport later in life, less about changing it up. (Probably my own fault - I likely focused more on the first part of the title and less on the second.)

An elite athlete moving to endurance sports and the reasons why they might do that are likely quite different than the average person who is not an athlete or has less of an athletic background. While some guests did bring up interesting thoughts along those lines - nice job, Adventure Detroit, and TriDoc’s origin story - I feel that there’s an interesting conversation to be had around how and why people come to sport later in life, and how to make it welcoming for them.

Love the podcast, do keep up the good work.

Remi.