Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Running vs. aging

I heard a statistic today that really made me think.

Runners typically age at a rate of 0.5% per year.  Compare that to non runner who typically age at a rate of 2% per year.  Since it is my birthday, I wondered how 'old' I really am.  For the first 31 years of my life, I was basically a non runner.  There were bursts of activity through high school....basketball and track, but that was about it.  In the past year, I would consider myself a runner.  (I even get offended if someone refers to what I do as 'jogging.')

So, if I aged at a rate of 2% each year for 31 years (with maybe a slight downward adjustment for high school athletics), and for the last year I have aged 0.5%, I have two questions.

1)  How 'old' am I?

2)  How long will I need to be a runner to counteract 31 years of non running?

This is more algebra that I am qualified to tackle.  But I know that someone out there is smart enough to figure this out.  I know enough math teachers!

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