Can I be like them when I grow up?

This coming weekend, Colleen De Reuck will be honored as the Masters Athlete of the Year. At the age of 45, she came in second overall in the Twin Cities Marathon with a time of 2:32 (a time I can only dream of) and won the USA Masters Marathon Championship. Joan Benoit Samuelson (who won Boston twice and a gold medal in the first women's marathon in the Olympics in 1984) is breaking new masters records as well at the age of 50. She ran the 2008 Olympic Trials in 2:49 and the 2009 NYC Marathon in 2:49 as well.

These two women are incredible, because they have managed to dominate the marathon arena for decades and continue to break new records and raise the bar higher as they gracefully age. If you look at their pictures, they look incredible - excellent form, well-shaped muscles, and they make their running look effortless.

Now, I don't think I'll ever look quite like that or run that fast - running is a passion of mine, certainly, but it is not my career, like with them. But they give me a lot of hope. This means I can keep working at running the marathon for decades. Sure, you peak in your 30s, but these two women (among other masters in all sports) have demonstrated that you can continue to excell in the sport way beyond your 30s. There are no limits in running.

I still have a lot of growing up to do, but when I do, I want to be like them.