George Hirsch at 92: what six decades of running taught him about aging well

9 hours ago

3 min read

George Hirsch is 92.

He has run 40 marathons. He helped create the five-borough New York City Marathon alongside Fred Lebow. He ran his fastest marathon at 44, came back from a hip fracture in his late 80s, and took up boxing at 90.

He still trains nearly every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-xW0Rv0Q24

I spend most of my clinical life looking at numbers: VO2 max, DEXA scans, lipid panels, grip strength.

This conversation was a good reminder that the numbers describe healthspan. They don't create it.

George has spent six decades doing the thing that actually works, and he's never once obsessed over the metrics.

Here are the parts I keep coming back to.

1. "If in doubt, do"

This is the philosophy that gets George out the door.

Not motivation. Not a streak on an app. Not a data point he's trying to move.

When he isn't sure whether to train, he trains.

It's the simplest possible rule, and it's the one most of my patients are missing.

Consistency beats optimization every time. And consistency mostly comes down to what you do on the days you'd rather not.

2. His real week at 92

This is not a highlight reel. This is his actual routine:

Treadmill intervals
Rowing
Weights
The stationary bike
Boxing

What struck me is how well it maps onto what the evidence says matters most as we age: aerobic capacity, muscle mass, power, and coordination.

George didn't build his week from a research paper. He built it from what he enjoys and what keeps him feeling good. Which is exactly why he's still doing it.

3. Coming back from a hip fracture in his late 80s

A hip fracture at that age is often the beginning of a steep decline.

For George it was a setback he worked through.

The difference wasn't luck. It was very likely the six decades of fitness he brought into the injury, plus the expectation that he would get back to training.

That expectation is its own form of medicine.

4. "Never make a decision on the uphill"

This is George's rule. It started as a running rule before it became a life rule.

When you're in the hardest part of anything, that's the worst moment to decide whether to keep going.

Get to the top. Catch your breath. Then decide.

I've been thinking about this one in contexts that have nothing to do with running.

5. Why he doesn't obsess over metrics or nutrition

George is not tracking his macros. He isn't wearing three devices.

He has friendships, optimism, a reason to get up, and a body he's kept moving for 79 years.

I'm not suggesting anyone abandon their labs.

The mindset George describes is the foundation the labs sit on. It deserves at least as much attention.

6. His advice if you think you're too old to start

George took up boxing at 90.

Not as a stunt, and not because he'd run out of things to do. He was curious, it looked like fun, and he saw no reason his age should be the thing that decided it.

Two years later it's a regular part of his week.

That's the whole answer to "am I too old to start."

If a 90-year-old can pick up a sport he's never done and make it stick, the barrier for the rest of us is not our age. It's the story we're telling ourselves about it.