Welcome to 40plussports!

This site is designed to encourage, inform, and entertain those over 40 who are contemplating arising from their couches and competing; or those who are already deeply committed to sports competition; or those who are somewhere in between -- the sometime weekend warrior.

WHAT'S NEW ON THE SITE

• A brief summary of two articles from The Journal of Aging and Physical Activity (click on "Research" and then click on the April 2012 article)

• My reflections on "winning" (click on the "Aging Athlete")

• The national champions and the number of competitors for each competitive class and age group for the 2011 national championships have been posted. The 2012 schedule for each sport has also been posted.

• A chronological list of National Championship events for 2012 (click on "Sports"), showing the sport, event, date, and location. For a listing by sport, check the page for the sport you are interested in.

I still recommend an excellent article in the Sunday New York Times Magazine (November 28th 2010) by Bruce Grierson titled "The Incredible Flying Nonagenarian." It's a wonderful profile of 91-year old Olga Kotelko, a world class track and field athlete, as well as a summary of some of the latest research on aging and fitness. Read it!

MASTERS ATHLETES NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF May 13, 2012

• Long Distance Running Fauja Singh, the world's oldest marathoner at age 101, announced his retirement after completing the London Marathon in 7 hours and 49 minutes. He has completed 8 marathons in the last 12 years. When turned 100 he received a congratulatory letter from the Queen. He is pictured above.

• •Track and Field At the World Indoor Masters Track and Field Championships in Jyvaskal, Finland, three Americans set new world records. Robert Lida M75 in the 60 and 200 meter dashes, Bill Collins M60 in the 60 meter dash, and Phil Raschker W65 broke her own record in the pentathlon. Details at National Masters News. Congratulations for these outstanding performances.

• Canoeing Although I don't make it a practice to include obituaries on the site, I wanted to note the passing of Phil B. Cole, a fixture on the marathon canoeing racing circuit for decades. He was a modest, determined paddler and a great guy. One of his last races was the General Clinton 70 miler which he raced at the age of 87. He died on March 29, 2012.

WHAT'S ON THE SITE
For those of you who are new to the site, here is an overview of the six sections which will be up-dated regularly.

1) The Aging Athlete -- My reflections on growing older as I compete in various sports.

2) Data Analysis -- A page devoted to an examination of the data contained on the sports pages of this site. You'll find an Introduction to the Data . At the bottom of the page you can access an article on Female Competitors in 2009 National Championships and an article on Competitors over 70 in 2009 National Championships .

3) Research -- A summary of articles and research on aging and sport performance that I have found provocative and informative.

4) Sports -- A page for each of 27 sports which present a schedule for upcoming national championships, a list of the national champions in each sport, a list of the number of "competitors" in each event, and a summary table. Note: These tables are ONLY for competitors in the over-40 age group classes.

5) Buy the Book -- A blatant commercial appeal to purchase the book on which this website is based.

6) Links and Resources -- Interesting and relevant websites, books, DVDs, and other media. I've just added a link to Forever Athletes which has many of the same goals as this site.

I welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions. You can e-mail me at 40plussports@gmail.com

Tom Jones