Ready, Set, Move! How to Prepare for Mile for the Ages
By Andrew Walker, MPH; NSGA Director of Health & Well-Being
A runner poses with supporters after a road race at the 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
Something new is coming to the National Senior Games! The Mile for the Ages will debut on Friday, July 25, 2025, at the Iowa State Capitol Grounds as part of the 2025 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
This age-friendly, intergenerational event invites athletes, friends, family, and Iowans alike to move your way. Whether you choose to run, jog, power walk, race walk, urban pole, or simply stroll, this open, “all-comers” event encourages all to experience the joy and wonder of active aging.
The event will occur immediately before the National Senior Games Flame Arrival Ceremony, so stick around after the race for the excitement of lighting the ceremonial cauldron!
- All Ages and Abilities Community Division – for movers of all kinds.
- National Senior Games Division – for medal-seeking competitors ages 50+ by Dec. 31, 2024.
*Online registration for this event closes July 1.
Show Up for Active Aging
Not going for a medal? No problem! Show up for health, connection and fun. Movement is medicine, promoting well-being at any level of intensity.
If you’re already planning to attend the National Senior Games on July 25, take the “path of least participation resistance”: move your way, celebrate your effort and complete the NSGA’s first-ever Mile for the Ages.
Words of Wisdom from a Trailblazer
Kathrine Switzer prepares to light the cauldron at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
National Senior Games friend and running legend Kathrine Switzer—the first woman to officially register and run the Boston Marathon in 1967—recently shared this advice on trying something new:
“The secret to starting an activity is to show up. Just signing up for a few events and then showing up will open a whole new world of friends and fun—and will really spark your imagination.”
We’re proud that women and men participate in the National Senior Games at near-equal levels, and we look forward to a strong turnout of female runners in Iowa.
Prep for the Mile for the Ages
Even if you’ve never participated in a one-mile road race, you still have plenty of time to prepare. With three months until race day, you can be ready to confidently run, walk or roll and earn your t-shirt.
As long as your health permits, the Miles for the Ages provides a low-key, fun opportunity to show up and try jogging and running for well-being. Here is an effective approach based on insight I gained from Roy Benson, my former track coach at University of Florida.
- Beginners with the goal of jogging one mile should start your training by being able to walk one mile nonstop.
- Next, progress to a jog-walk, where you jog until your breathing is at a level where you start to huff and puff, but you are not fully out of breath. Let your breathing return to normal, then start jogging again, repeating the pattern until you gradually and easily can complete a one-mile jog.
- Once you are able to complete one mile at a jog, start jogging the mile every other day, alternating walking one mile the next day.
- A detailed, comprehensive training method can be found at RunnersWorld.com.
Lastly, refer to the previous month’s health and well-being article, “Train Smart for National Senior Games Open Sports,” to learn how to round out your program by including smart training elements, corrective exercise, and strength and mobility training.
- Published in Health & Well-Being
Overcoming Fear by Example
April 2025 Athlete of the Month
By Del Moon, NSGA Storyteller
Ann Hegstrom, 69
De Soto, Iowa
Ann competing at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
The National Senior Games showcases older adults performing impressive athletic feats, but some, like Iowa native Ann Hegstrom, stand out from the crowd with their personality and presence.
Ann captured our attention in Albuquerque in 2019, dressed in festive red, white and blue with a broad smile and swinging pigtails as she competed in her Race Walk, Power Walk and Track & Field events. “I’m your average athlete and was never somebody who got a lot of awards when I was in school,” she says. “My motto is, if you’re not going to win the race, you’ve got to look good. People won’t remember who won, but they will remember my outfits!”
The practice has a purpose, since Ann has always loved helping people through her career as a nurse and then teacher. At 45, she started doing charity 5K races with her late husband Gary, who had quadriplegia. The couple met when Gary was a patient of Ann’s. “He would be in his power wheelchair, and I’d be struggling to keep up with him,” she recalls. “It took some training to be able to go at his pace.”
After Gary’s passing Ann dedicated her activity to his memory. She stepped up her game, joining the all-ages Iowa Games and State Games of America events in her mid 50’s. Normally outgoing, she was shy at first, fearing she would make a fool of herself. However, she drew inspiration from her years teaching and motivating students who are blind at the Iowa Braille School.
Ann and Gary. Photo courtesy Ann Hegstrom.
Blind Inspiration
“I started running seriously to show my students that you can take on a new endeavor and overcome fear,” she says. “Crossing the street when you’re totally blind is just as scary as jumping out of a plane. So I did my first half marathon and actually skydived to inspire them,” she says.
“Once you’re a teacher, you’re always a teacher,” Ann continues. “Even though I now do Senior Games, I will always still do the Iowa Games because I want to see the future. It’s humbling to go out there and be the oldest person on the track, but one day I overheard a girl talking to her mother, and she said, ‘I want to be like her when I’m that age.’”
Ann was delighted to join the Iowa Senior Games to be among more age peers and to have the opportunity to compete on a national stage. She is pleased to have won most of her state events and has collected nine National Senior Games medals, including three gold, since 2019. Not bad for an “average” athlete.
“There’s an honor and a privilege to qualify, and then it’s magic when you get there,” she says. “It’s people from all over. It’s people who are like me. And when you see somebody who has that natural talent, it’s a beautiful thing to behold. And it’s not like the elites have some kind of an attitude. They will share ideas and help coach you. The first time I did a triple jump, somebody who always gets gold medals was telling me how to do it.”
Ann on the medal stand at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
Ann had another fear and challenge to overcome just as she was preparing for her first trip to Nationals in 2019. “I was so honored to qualify and excited to participate,” she remembers. “Registration was completed, housing was secured, and I had procured tickets to fly to Albuquerque, then take Amtrak home because I love trains. Then, I had my annual mammogram and my future didn’t seem as sure.”
Her medical team wanted to have surgery right away, but they consulted and agreed to start medical treatment to slow the tumor’s growth and perform surgery right after her return.
“I wore my breast cancer awareness outfit one of the days in Albuquerque,” she says. “An incredible number of women approached me to share their cancer journey and gave me comfort and hope. I am now nearly six years cancer-free and one of the survivors who can offer hope to women that they, too, may come through stronger.”
Ann is proud and excited that The Games are coming to Iowa. “I’m 20 minutes from Des Moines and an hour from Ames where Track and Field is going to be held, and it’s a great track. Des Moines is special, and I hope people see that.”
- Published in Athlete of the Month