Runners I Know: Nancy Martin

A conversation with our favorite subscriber

This week we’re talking to our oldest Running Probably subscriber, 98-year-old Nancy Martin. She describes herself as a “frustrated jock” who grew up in a time when sports opportunities for women were not common. “Growing up, some girls just sat around playing with paper dolls,” Nancy says. “I was roaming around barefoot!” 

Nancy also happens to be Lena’s grandmother, so she’s going to handle this week’s Runners I Know column. 

Nancy, out on her daily walk.

RP: First off, happy 98th birthday! How does it feel?

Nancy: About the same as 97. You wake up and think you’ll feel different, but aging doesn’t happen that way. 

RP: If people moved more when they're younger, do you think it would give them more mobility as they age? 

Nancy: Yes. And don't you think younger women now are moving more than my generation? 

RP: Absolutely. You weren't afraid to start sports like skiing later in life. The list of sports that you've done more than once is quite long. You rode horses, did swimming, tennis, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, sailing, basketball, football, golf, tree climbing, etc.

Nancy: Yes, I did all of those. I also went parasailing for my 60th birthday! My husband was aghast and did not join me. [laughs]

RP: I would say you're an adventurous spirit, which is pretty cool. There’s also the mental sport of bridge. Just to let the readers know, you’re quite a card shark. And you committed to exercise classes three days a week for more than 30 years!

Nancy: Yes, door-to-door it took almost two hours, three days a week. 

RP: Because that's one of the other things people say, ‘Oh, I don't have time for this, I don't have time for that.’ And the thought is, if it's really important to you, you make time for it. 

Nancy: Yes, and it was very, very useful when my husband was in hospice at home. I was his primary caretaker and I didn't feel I could leave him for more than 30 minutes or so at a time. But I adjusted the schedule and went to aquarobics. It helped with the stress fantastically.

RP: I know you’re the coolest nonagenarian around, but I wanted to talk to you today about exercise, aging, and what you get out of reading Running Probably. I’m guessing that society’s view of exercise is quite different now versus when you were growing up in Tennessee, yes? 

Nancy: Oh yes. You know when I was young, women didn't exercise. It wasn’t “in.” The idea of jogging didn’t come in until the 1950s or 60s and I was young in the 30s and 40s. Women just didn't exercise. Like my mother, I learned how to ride a horse and swim at a young age.

RP: Right, but those were life skills, you didn't do those for health. When did you start playing sports? 

Nancy: Well, in grammar school. At that time it was all completely unorganized. In junior high, the first organized sport I ever played was basketball. I was awkward and not very athletically inclined. And the funny thing was I was a real jock. I loved sports. I wanted to do them. I was just terrible at it. I was always skinnier and littler. 

RP: When did you start playing tennis? 

Nancy: I learned tennis when I was a teenager at camp, but I only played occasionally. Later on, some of my friends were beginning to play tennis while our children were in school. We would play on the neighborhood tennis courts. Once we got started, we'd play two or three times a week. 

RP: Did you ever do jogging or walking as exercise? 

Nancy: Never. When I had my knee problem the doctor said, ‘Do not walk for exercise. Walk when you need to walk, but exercise in the water.’ So that’s when I started at the YMCA with the aqua aerobics classes. I did that for over 30 years. I really did go to the Y three days a week for an hour to do the deepwater aerobics class up until COVID. So up until I was 94. 

RP: Wow. I remember going to some of those classes with you when I was in college. So after COVID, when you stopped going to the Y, what did you start doing for exercise? 

Nancy: That's when I started walking. It was the only exercise I could do. I also did a fantastic FaceTime exercise with family members. My daughter put together a program of exercises from both shallow and deep water aerobics that could be done on land. It was lifting your arms, just moving your body, and exercising your hands. That's when I got my hands strong so they could shuffle cards again. 

RP: You started seeing real improvements after doing the exercises consistently? 

Nancy. Yes. Although I did tear a tendon in my upper arm by using too heavy a weight.

RP: You were too hard core. 

Nancy: The doctor said they would normally operate, but not on someone my age. So I stopped using weights with my right arm. We practiced other good things like getting out of a chair and lifting your legs, squatting and turning around. It only took 20 minutes and it was just fantastic. We did the exercises every day at 3 o'clock because it was during COVID and no one was doing anything else. 

RP: That’s awesome. It gave you some structure and accountability. I think you're a great example because what you've done is you've adapted your exercises for your circumstances. Instead of saying, well, I can't go to the Y anymore … you figured out what you could do, and you did that. 

Nancy: Right. 

RP: When you walk, do you go around the block once? 

Nancy: Yes, once is a challenge for me. The last 100 feet is uphill when I go around the circle. But if I go the other direction, I get a higher hill. So I've chosen the direction with the lower hill, but it does come at the end rather than in the middle. Sometimes I will walk halfway, which is mainly level and then turn around and come back. It's about the same distance, but without the hill at the end. 

RP: You adapt it to how you’re feeling?

Nancy: Every time I walk, when I get to that point, I make the decision. Am I up to doing the full circle or should I turn around and go back? Recently there have been many days when I've turned around and come back. 

RP: You've said before that you can relate to the themes of Running Probably. Can you tell me more about that? 

Nancy: Well, it's this business of motivation. Sometimes (Paul) talks about the motivation of getting back in the habit when he’s been hurt or something and has to get in the habit of running. Of course, I have my illnesses and need to do the same thing. It’s hard. He also talked about the regularity of the exercise and the planning of it. I realize that's what I need. 

RP: Developing a plan that works for you? 

Nancy: Yes. That planning and then actually doing it. I intend to do the arm exercises everyday, but I only do them occasionally. I'm better about walking. But I relate to how he talks about motivation. 

RP: One of the other common themes in Running Probably is the relationship between exercise and aging. What are your thoughts on adapting what you can do as you age? 

Nancy: Well, it’s incremental. First you give up skiing. You realize, ‘Okay, maybe this year we shouldn't go.’ And then you give up tennis, and then it just keeps going from there. 

One of the things that you observe older people doing, at least when you're with them, is their reluctance because of pride to use what they need to help them. They would rather fall than use a cane or a walker or wheelchair – whatever the next stage is. 

And they just won't do it. And because they don't do it, they don't exercise. Now, you see, I'm doing this walk around the block now with my walker, but I move my legs pretty fast! 

RP: Is adaptability the key? 

Nancy: Yes. And also admitting the limits of your ability and trying to maximize what you can do. 

RP: Why do you think it's important to keep moving? 

Nancy: If you stop moving then you will lose that ability. You have to keep adapting and moving. 

RP: Is there anything else you want to talk about as it relates to the newsletter?  

Nancy: I like how Paul talks about the outdoors. For me, I've enjoyed the outdoors. A lot more than a lot of other people. I was just wild as a kid. I mean, I played out outdoors. I climbed trees. It wasn’t organized sports, but it was very active. 

RP: So you've kept that going throughout your entire life. What are your exercise goals for the coming year? 

Nancy: Well, to be able to keep walking around the circle, which is about a fourth of a mile. 

RP: And what about the hand and arm exercises? 

Nancy: Oh, yeah. I should do both of them once a day. 

RP: If you had advice for somebody who was in their 40s or 50s reading this, what would you tell them? 

Nancy: I'd say to start some sort of exercise program. If your legs go bad then maybe the water would be better. Or if you can’t run then walk. Choose something.