Don McGrath’s epiphany: Mystery of masters sports solved?
Don McGrath has achieved his goal of interviewing 50 athletes over 50, preparing a book on the project. I introduced him last May. Thanks in part to this blog, Don found plenty of masters trackfolk willing to spill the beans about their athletics lives. His list includes about 20 tracksters, fieldsters and runners, including world-classers such as Sid Howard, James Morton, Jim Broun, Weia Reinboud, Jerry Smartt and Kim Williams. But he’s not just taking notes; he’s diving deep into their psyches — trying to figure out why they do what they do. And in a recent blog post, he suggests the answer is in our genes. Sounds plausible. But then why does only a small fraction of humanity over 50 engage in sports? That’s the tougher question.
Don wrote October 4, 2009:
Last Thursday I went to a talk by John Ratey, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard University. Dr. Ratey was talking about his book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. I went to this talk because it is something I know very little about and I thought maybe Dr. Ratey could shed some light on the question of Why.
Among other things, Dr. Ratey talked about how we come from a lineage of hunter-gatherers and endurance predators. He said that 10,000 years ago, our ancestors would travel on average about 14 miles a day. Since then, we have created technology at an amazing pace through our ability to reason, and have eliminated the need for such physical activity for our survival.
Dr. Ratey explained that our genes have not changed much in the last 10,000 years, and we still carry with us many instincts from the millions of years of evolution that brought us to where we are today.
Dr. Ratey went on to explain that play is one of those instincts, and that it is an essential nutrient for our survival. All animals play, and this is well documented. This instinct to play has a crucial role in preparing the participant for the unpredictable and ambiguous challenges that survival throws our way.
Bingo! That is it….That is why we love our sports. The instinct to play is a deeply ingrained instinct! I now believe that the athletes I’ve interviewed have harness the primal gift of the instinct to play. The reasons that they love to play is very complex because our bodies response to play is very complex. Play is supposed to be complex in order to prepare us for the . This is a major revelation for me. I believe that I now understand Why.
Like anyone who has a Ph.D., now that I understand why we love our sports, I have to ask why we all don’t have the same level of love for physical activity as the athletes over 50 that I interviewed. Now my quest for the answer to that question begins, and I think I have some ideas already. I want to find some scientific data to back up or refute my ideas, so I will be working on that next. I would love to hear what you think about my latest revelation, whether you agree or disagree, and whatever else you have for me as feedback. Again, I see this as a major personal revelation, one that will probably influence my book significantly.
Thanks Dr. Ratey!
7 Responses
I guess “40 athletes over 40” doesn’t have the same ring as 50. Nice job on allienating the 40-49 group though, but what’s new in masters track, right? In my opinion, the whole hunting-gatherer thing is more directed to the younger athlete. For the over 50 athlete it is more of a survivial instinct to keep physical and mental health somewhat intact or a chance to show the tribe, “Look at me, I’m still relevant!” More likely the reliving of ones youth and vigor to remind and give the brain of the over 50 athlete of that faint glimmer of youth, just as Oxytocin hormone when it is released to the brain when we are in love or having sex. It’s stimulation man! We’re addicts of something that we can create in our own bodies… lab rats on a track instead of a wheel. 10,000 years ago an older hunter would have been a snack or toe jam for wild game, being a liability to the group in moving too slow for the hunters and saying, ” Heh, what’d you say…did he get’em ?!” every five minutes and scaring off potential wild game. Hehehe, just kidding a little there at the end. Don’t lose that humor gene or hormone Silver Surfers!!! Good luck on the book though doctor!
Entering my new age group M50-54 this year I have been competing in Masters Athletics for 10 years now as a race walker. I also race xc-ski racing. I also raced xc skiing, track and cross country in college. I keep doing this because I love the rush of competing against other people of my age. I love to exercise, most people do not like to exercise, but with me I love it, I crave it every day. I have abundant energy. Being in shape is linked to my self image. I do not like myself when I am out of shape. In my 50 years of life I have been overweight, but I have never had a pot belly! Now at 50 I realize intense exercise, right eating and intense weight lifting and high spirits is all the ammunition I got against aging and bodily and muscular decline, but if you use it regularly and systematically it is top notch munitions
Wow I’m going to print this blog entry for my Mom. I never thought I’d be referred to as World Class. Sorta NOT, but I’ll bask in the false glory.
At the risk of being chastised by the evolutionists, the truth is that we were all CREATED by God. We did not evolve from an animal. Unlike the animals, we have a soul and we are able to reason. God entrusted all of us with individual gifts in varying degrees. Many are gifted with athletic ability. Many are gifted in music, in the arts, with high intellect, et cetera. God also gave us free will. We use our free will to choose, among other things, when, how long and to what degree we use our various gifts. We all have the free will to choose how to live each day. I choose to run or jump or throw at age 50+ because I enjoy it and I am thankful for the opportunity that God has given me. I recall a famous line from the movie Chariots of Fire where Eric Liddell, an Olympic champion said “God made me for a purpose (to serve as a missionary), but he also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure”. I am sorry there is no “science” in my comment here, but with all due respect I would rather feel His pleasure every day than rely on a scientist to tell me why I do what I love to do.
I dont know about the chemicly asspect but for me I was always A very fast runner.After geting cut from 4 differnt profootball teams and playing minerleadge football stoping at the age of 49 years old out running very meny younger DBs on the football feild going back to track and feild fulltime seam to be A good deal,my only problem was all the big masters meets was relays and I ran the 400 this is not my event so training for A event that I dominated in in collage was A new start for me the will to be the best at my age came very easy.alltho my midwest titles dont mean very much I some one to cope with.after only 2 hurdle racees I have beat 2 world champs and 2 national champs but due to hambstring problem last year it put A holt on my states,2010 LOOK OUT FOR MR MCQUITTER IN THE HURDLE,LJ ,PENT,DECA,OVER 50 thank you
To paraphrase Eric Liddell, I always believed that the reason I love to run is because I am celebrating the talent that God gave me.
like keith, i realized at a young age that i was fast. i won a footrace of about 100 yards over about fifty other fellow 2nd grade all wags pee wee league baseball players in paterson nj 1962. the race was across a field with everyone starting at the same time ( no heats ). i won a silver dollar, and can still remember the feeling i had as i kept getting faster. i felt so fast that i thought that i would start to fly. in sixth grade 1966, my grammar school, st rose of lima school freehold nj had a track and field day.there was the first time i long jumped. i won the 100 and the 220, and flew over 16 feet.(i even beat the 8th graders )there have been a few instances in my many years of long jumping when everything went right and while in mid air i knew i was in flight.that was my first. i was blessed with gifts and at an early age i realized it and acted on it.i put up a photo on facebook of my first band in st rose gym may 1967. i love to sing and have done so professionally,still fronting a cover band. i put a smile on “tony soprano “… james gandolfini happened in on a gig at a seashore bar a couple of years ago. he lifted his glass, stayed for our whole second set, about an hour. i also performed in front of fellow freehold guy bruce springsteen who happened to stop in at the worldfamous wonderbar asbury park nj where the flathead dave band had steady early sunday nites. he gave us a nod of the head and a lift of his beer. i am a master refinisher. i’ve been in business for over 31 years.(painting since age 12 ) refinishing cars, guitars…i’ve done pianos, coke machines, furniture, and have had my artwork on guitars exhibited at sothebys.and sold at the dallas guitar show…..just today i took tremendous pride in the work i did. when my mom died dec 5 2004, my wife and i took care of my dad, who had alzheimers, for three years until his death dec 27 2007. for relaxation,i have been restoring our civil war era house ( for twenty five years )do physical labor… i garden, mow, cut paths,dig…dig ,move dirt… dig…patios…walkways…this summer i moved over thirty tons of recycled concrete by hand shovel. if it weren’t for my impending arthritis and lack of lubrication in my joints, i’d say i was in the best , strongest shape of my life…at 55. my point is, the people who compete as sub masters and masters are a special breed. they have to be, just to contest the events. i believe that dna most likely has the most profound effect on succcess in athletics,and a major factor is heart. not the organ, but the soul..we masters cheat time every day. the other major part is durability…they say don’t use it ? lose it ! my hat’s off to all my fellow track and field lovers for continuing to show up. that’s the most important part…being there on the starting line. this was the first year that i missed the nj state meet. i went to landover in march and gave it my best, but i needed to rest my knees, and missed outdoor.i’m hoping to mend and continue my pursuit of the “next age group ” i’ll continue to try to make the most of life..be kind to others…never pass judgement ( there but for the grace of God go i )and not only respect my elders, but i’ll respect our youth…show them that before they know it , they’ll be masters soon. albert
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