By Julie E 
Photo Credit ( Pixels )
For some elders, growing older is an opportunity to push their bodies and minds rather than a sign of aging. In the last three decades, the chances of surviving to be 90 years old have tripled, with about two million Americans accomplishing that milestone in 2010. Reaching that milestone isn’t just about rocking on the front porch for some incredible seniors. Rather, they advance daily, setting a positive example for anyone who believes that volunteering, running the next mile, or even touching their toes are unachievable feats.
Five incredible seniors aiming for excellence
to sag as a willow
Puducherry, India’s Tao Porchon-Lynch is a small, slim, polite, articulate woman who still bends and twists with the grace and agility of a youthful ballet dancer. The 100-year-old yoga instructor, who started her studies at the age of eight in 1926, is a global celebrity who can be seen on YouTube, her own website, and television programs. This incredible senior still teaches multiple sessions a week in New York, participates in yoga retreats and workshops, has written two books, and when she’s not teaching yoga, she dances ballroom. “There is nothing you cannot do,” is her motto.
A single route through America and back
It took three years for Ernie Andrus to make history as the oldest person to traverse America on foot. Beginning in San Diego, the ninety-year-old WWII veteran concluded his journey on August 20, 2016, at the age of ninety-three, at St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. He still exercised three days a week, but he was in need of a change of pace. He made the decision to cross the previous bridge backwards. Starting on March 16, 2019, he intends to walk west to San Diego and complete the journey by the time he turns 100. Fundraising was done at both crossings. The first one generated funds for a WWII ship to be sent to the D-Day 75th anniversary celebration of the invasion of Normandy. The second is for the preservation of Evansville, Indiana’s last surviving Landing Ship Tank (LST). Andrus spent the war serving aboard a ship just like this.
Happy in a depressing location
Although he recovered from his heart attack at Delray Beach (FL) Medical Center, Charles Carroll never truly left. The WWII veteran is the facility’s oldest volunteer, having volunteered for 55 years. He greets patients and guests, brings wheelchairs and flowers, helps with emails and paperwork, and offers consolation and guidance. He claims that his supporting family and active lifestyle keep him going. Over the years, he has volunteered over 3,000 hours at the hospital because he believes that compassion is a daily requirement for people.
A knack for taking risks in the air
Betty Goedhart, 85, is included as the oldest trapeze artist in the world in the Guinness World Records 2019 list. Her prior involvement in polo, rock climbing, ice skating, and horseback riding may have contributed to her unexpected delivery. She tried trapeze after receiving training from a buddy, who had been a professional skater for many years. At the age of 78, the remarkable senior began practicing with a coach, and today she frequently participates in public performances at Trapeze High in California. What is her go-to proverb regarding life? “Doing the impossible isn’t it fun?”
Ignore the years and continue to accumulate miles.
Roddie Larsen, a runner from Wisconsin, recently finished the 5K Iola Trail Run in a little over 54 minutes. In her retirement years, the 82-year-old has covered more kilometers than many runners accomplish in a lifetime of pounding the pavement. Over the course of 25 years, runners have completed a range of distances, including ultramarathons and half and full marathons. Her extensive collection of medals and trophies only begs the question of what running has truly given her: a competitive spirit she believes will carry her into her nineties, as well as a sense of camaraderie and social connection.
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