I Raced a 15-Year-Old Yesterday — And Won

Yesterday, I did something I probably had no business doing.

I raced a 15-year-old.

And I won.

Now, before anyone calls Child Protective Services because a grown man is out here destroying teenagers’ athletic dreams, hear me out. 

The race itself lasted only a few seconds.

But what it represented to me was much bigger.

Sometimes You Need to Test the Machine

As we get older, something strange happens.

People begin telling us what we’re supposed to feel like.

You’re getting older.

Slow down.

Take it easy.

You can’t do what you used to do.

Your best years are behind you.

And if you hear that enough, eventually you can start believing it.

Yesterday reminded me that the human body—and more importantly, the human mind—doesn’t always have to follow the timetable society creates for us.

I didn’t line up against that 15-year-old thinking I had something to prove to her.

I had something to prove to myself.

Can I still move?

Can I still compete?

Is the engine still there?

Apparently, it is.

Youth Has an Advantage. But So Does Experience.

Let’s call it what it is.

At 15, you’re supposed to have energy.

Your recovery is faster. Your joints haven’t sent you their first formal complaint yet. You can probably fall down, get back up and continue your day like nothing happened.

When you’re older, sometimes you sleep in the wrong position and wake up feeling like you were involved in a minor traffic accident.

That’s life.

But getting older also gives us something youth doesn’t automatically possess:

Mental toughness.

You learn how to push through discomfort.

You learn how to compete.

You learn that sometimes your body starts negotiating with you before you’ve actually reached your limit.

Most importantly, you learn that the voice saying “I can’t” isn’t always telling the truth.

Getting Older and Getting Old Are Two Different Things

Every one of us is getting older.

That’s mathematics.

Getting old, however, is partly a mindset.

You get old when you stop challenging yourself.

When curiosity disappears.

When competition disappears.

When you convince yourself that certain things are no longer for you simply because of the number attached to your age.

I’m not interested in living like that.

I don’t expect to be 25 forever.

I’m not trying to pretend age doesn’t exist.

I’m saying something different:

I refuse to surrender capabilities I haven’t actually lost.

There’s a big difference.

Don’t Retire Yourself Early

Too many people retire themselves mentally long before life requires them to.

They stop exercising.

Stop building.

Stop dreaming.

Stop taking risks.

Stop learning new things.

Stop competing.

Then they blame age for a decline that inactivity helped create.

Your body changes.

Your responsibilities change.

Your priorities change.

But that doesn’t mean the fire has to disappear.

Sometimes you need to challenge yourself just to remember who you are.

Yesterday, my challenge happened to be standing across from me wearing the confidence of a 15-year-old who probably thought:

“This old man really thinks he can beat me?”

Bad calculation, young girl.

The Race Wasn’t Really Against Her

Here’s the part that matters.

The 15-year-old wasn’t really my competition.

Time was.

The race was against the idea that because I’m older, I automatically have to accept becoming slower, weaker and less capable.

It was against complacency.

It was against the version of myself that could easily say, “Those days are behind me.”

And for those few seconds, I got my answer.

There’s still some horsepower under the hood.

But Winning Comes With Responsibility

Now, I’m not going to take one victory over a teenager and announce my entry into the Olympics.

Let’s behave ourselves.

If anything, the race exposed something else:

If I can still perform like that without being at my absolute best, what could I do if I became intentional about my fitness again?

That’s the real takeaway.

Winning wasn’t the destination.

It was information.

The body was basically saying:

“I’m still here. What are you going to do with me?”

That’s a question worth answering.

Because maintaining strength, speed, mobility and endurance isn’t really about showing off.

It’s about independence.

It’s about longevity.

It’s about being able to work, travel, play, build businesses, enjoy your family and experience life without unnecessarily surrendering your physical abilities.

Challenge Your Assumptions About Yourself

Maybe you don’t need to race a teenager.

Actually, depending on your knees, I strongly recommend conducting a risk assessment first.

But challenge yourself somehow.

Walk farther.

Run again.

Lift something.

Swim.

Ride.

Learn something difficult.

Start the business.

Write the book.

Take the trip.

Do something that makes you confront the question:

“Can I still do this?”

You may surprise yourself.

And even if you don’t win, you’ll discover where you actually stand instead of allowing age, fear or other people’s expectations to decide for you.

Yesterday I raced a 15-year-old.

I won.

But the biggest victory wasn’t reaching the finish line first.

It was discovering that there is still another gear available.

And now that I know it’s there?

It’s time to use it. 

Just so you know also… I almost fell right off the starting line! Hee hee but my mind said hell no and I pushed through and delivered!

What will you deliver today and tomorrow?

— Kerwin Boxill