Octogenarian U.S. Masters Track & Field athlete Jeanne Daprano is very careful of what she expects of herself to continue to compete. With a meticulous diet and diligent coach she no longer hammers out distances on the track but instead saves her legs while training on the rowing machine; for which she also holds records for her age group.  She focuses on core strength and swimming for cardio, and for the most part saves her running for the races.  Jeanne’s local club is the Atlanta Track Club Masters which she has been a member of for almost 20 years.  Growing up on a farm in Iowa she has always been active from riding her horse to school and helping on the land.  Jeanne played basketball in high school and college in Nebraska, but didn't take up running until she started jogging on the beach while working on her master's degree in California. She was 45 before she started taking running seriously and five years later she was competing internationally. She holds the current world records in the W70 mile, W75 400 metres, 800 metres, in addition to the pending W75 mile record. Indoors she hold the W75 records in those same events and is on the W60 4x400 metres relay. She also holds the American records in the W70 400 metres, W65 and W70 800 metres, and W70 1500 metres. In the summer of 2012, she became the first woman over 75 to run under a seven minute mile with a time of 6:58.44.  Chris Stafford spoke to Jeanne at her home in Atlanta, Georgia before she went on her daily walk.


This episode was first released in 2019.

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