At the 2016 Penn Relays, Ida Keeling ran the 100-meter dash in 1 minute and 17.33 seconds to set the world record for women age 100 to 104—then dropped to the track to do pushups as the crowd roared. In her new book, Can’t Nothing Bring Me Down, Keeling, now 102, talks about thrilling moments like this, but also her struggles: growing up poor in Harlem, working in factories during the Great Depression to raise four kids as a single mother, and losing two adult sons to unsolved cases of drug-related violence.
This last one sank Keeling into a depression at age 67. So her daughter Shelley, a track-and-field and cross-country coach, took Keeling to a local 5K. Miss Ida, as she’s known, felt clumsy at first, but ultimately uplifted. “The good part was that the sad part left,” she says. “Running to me is like medicine.”
Since then, the 4-foot-6, 83-pound dynamo has raced all over the world and set multiple world records. “Every day is another day forward,” Keeling says. Miss Ida had her sights set on the 100-and-older 60-meter record, and set it in February . Here, she spoke with us about how she maintains her incredible endurance.
Did you ever imagine you’d write your own book?
Well, I didn’t expect so much, but I’m very happy it turned out this way. I was just exercising, and now I’m all over the world.
Published: Mar 14, 2018 7:30 AM EDT?
I wrote about it, but it’s over. The past is sometimes kind, sometimes horrible and miserable. Feeling miserable is a bad thing; it slows you down. I don’t like to slow down. I want to be ready to move.
Is there anything different about being active now that you’re past 100?
Your balance is more off than normal. You have to think everything through before you make your steps. So you pay more attention to things, stay alert.
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You fell in your house and broke your femur last year, preventing you from running in the Penn Relays. How did you recover?
That was terrible, but I said, “Well, I got to get up from here.” I’ve been doing well; I just don’t want to overdo it. People make mistakes, they say, “I won’t pay the pain no mind.” That’s a stupid statement. The pain—you better pay it some mind. It’s telling you something.
We hear you’re back to working out three or four days a week. Tell us more about your routine.
I go to the gym, take a strengthening class that has some dance steps. Other days, I got my bike and my running and my three-pound weights. I squat with them, stretch my arms out. I try to do 10 minutes, three times a day—then it’s nap time. When a race gets closer, I also go with my daughter to the track for a 40-minute session of warmup drills and a single 60-meter run.
Things No One Tells You About Running as You Get Older?
Stay strong, love yourself, and do what you need to do, not what you want to do.
Miss Ida’s Keys to Lifelong Running:
Morning Motion
A Renewed Relationship With Running legs in bed—“I’m up, they got to wake up.” She also squats as she cooks and cleans.
Rest
She suggests breaks before races. “If you get tired, don’t push it. Put your legs up on the couch.”
Good Nutrition
Her diet includes greens, fruits, nuts, Did you ever imagine youd write your own book.
Hennessy
Three or four times per week, “I put a little bit in my coffee or in some water” to aid circulation.
Cindy is a freelance health and fitness writer, author, and podcaster who’s contributed regularly to Runner’s World since 2013. She’s the coauthor of both Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart and Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, a book about the psychology of sports injury from Bloomsbury Sport. Cindy specializes in covering injury prevention and recovery, everyday athletes accomplishing extraordinary things, and the active community in her beloved Chicago, where winter forges deep bonds between those brave enough to train through it.
