By Jason Wu — Slow runner. Got humbled. Kept showing up anyway.
Last updated: April 2026
I was running a local 5K. Small race. Mostly amateurs. I was near the back, where I belong.
Somewhere around the second mile, a woman passed me. Gray hair. Lean. Running smoothly. She was not breathing hard. I was gasping.
She lapped me. Lapped me. In a 5K. That should not even be possible in a 5K.
I felt embarrassed for about ten seconds. Then I realized: she is 70 years old. She laps people. That is not a problem. That is a goal.
I finished the race. She was already drinking water and talking to friends. She did not look at me. She did not judge me. She was just running her race.
I was the one who felt embarrassed about my own pace.
What That Race Taught Me
No one is watching you.
I thought people would notice I was slow. They did not. They were running their own race. The 70-year-old was not thinking about me. She was thinking about her own run.
“Old” does not mean slow.
I assumed older people would be slower. That was ageist and dumb. Many older runners are faster than me. They have been doing this for decades. I have been doing this for months.
Excuses are for people who are not trying.
Before that race, I told myself: I am slow because I am new. I am slow because I am busy. I am slow because I do not have good shoes.
The 70-year-old lapped me. She has more excuses than me. She is older. Her body is older. She probably has aches and pains I do not. She was still running. She was still passing me.
That shut me up.
What Changed After That Race
I stopped complaining about my pace.
I used to say things like “I am not a natural runner” or “I am just built for strength, not speed.” Those were excuses. The 70-year-old did not need natural talent. She just ran.
I stopped looking at other runners as competition.
I am not racing them. I am racing my past self. If I finish faster than last time, I win. If I finish slower, I learn. Other people’s times are not my business.
I kept showing up.
That was the main change. I did not get faster overnight. But I stopped skipping runs because I was tired or slow or not feeling it. I just went. Even when I was slow. Especially when I was slow.
What I Am Not Saying
I am not saying everyone should compare themselves to a 70-year-old runner. That is silly.
I am not saying you should push your body past its limits. The 70-year-old was healthy. She had been running for years. She built up to that.
I am just saying: if you have an excuse, ask yourself if it is real or just comfortable.
“I am too busy” might be real. Or it might be an excuse to stay on the couch. Only you know the difference.
A Few Lessons Worth Remembering
| Excuse I Used | What I Realized |
|---|---|
| “I am not a natural runner” | Neither is she. She just runs. |
| “I am too tired” | She is 70. She is probably tired too. |
| “I will never be fast” | You do not need to be fast. You just need to move. |
| “People will judge me” | They are not looking at you. |
The Bottom Line
I got lapped by a 70-year-old. I could have felt bad. Instead, I felt motivated.
She was not trying to embarrass me. She was just running. The embarrassment was my own. I was the one who thought being slow was shameful.
Now I know: being slow is fine. Not showing up is the only real failure.
I still get lapped sometimes. By older people. By younger people. By people pushing strollers. I do not care anymore. I am just glad I showed up.
About the author: Jason Wu is a slow runner. He has accepted this. He still runs anyway.
This article reflects personal experience. Different bodies have different abilities. Run at your own pace. Do not compare yourself to strangers.
