How You Run and Train Changes as You Age. Don’t Get Discouraged.

HEALTH FIRST PHARMACY Manager Kim Hunger pictured running the OUC half marathon in Orlando in December. Hunger recently wrote a column about her life as an elite runner for Florida Today. Running after 40 means being more thoughtful about training, nutrition and recovery, she says.

Kim Hunger is a Health First Pharmacy Manager, wife and mother of two. She’s also a former sprinter at Florida Atlantic University who transitioned in her 30s to distance running. In the last two Boston Marathons – both run since turning 40 years old – she’s finished in the top 11% and 15%, respectively, for women. She is the top female finisher in the Vero 5K and 10K and in the “masters” group at the OUC half marathon in Orlando in December.

In a column for Florida Today June 11, 2024, Hunger shares her experiences transitioning from sprinting to distance running, the mental challenges, the strain of so many hours training – and recovering from training – and avoiding a common distance running hindrance, “long, slow legs.”

"I work speed into my regimen. On Tuesdays, I do 1-to-2-mile repeats; they’re not sprints but they are fast. On Thursdays I do shorter, faster intervals with recovery jogs in between. That’s to keep from having 'long, slow legs,' it’s called.

"I don’t want to lose my fast-twitch muscle fibers. It’s important I have that kick at the end."

READ the full column and find out more about Kim at Florida Today HERE.

READ the full feature in Florida Today HERE.