N is the new 30?

Nyad (2023)
Director: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

When do we pack everything up and call it a day? Is there a time frame within which we are expected to pursue our dreams, complete our bucket list and prepare our souls and minds to meet the Maker? Should there be limits to our wants, and is there a limit to the number of attempts one should give to an endeavour before calling it quits? Is age ever a deterrent to our effort to succeed? Should we give up and give it a go on another day when the going gets tough? Or surrender to let your descendants do it, or attempt it at the next birth?

Most societies advise individuals to cool off after a certain age. Setting ambitions and fulfilling personal aspirations is left to when they are younger. Just how old is old?

Things have changed drastically over the years. With increased longevity and the general well-being of the populace, we can live to push our bodies and minds beyond societal-sanctioned limits.

Some expertise only comes with experience and time spent in the School of Hard Knocks.

Many prolific writers and participants in extreme sports are usually in the older spectrum of society. Still, when is it then the faculties give up on the person? The logical guess would be multifactorial, ranging from genetics to lifestyles.

We should continue executing our plans like we will live forever while planning our future like there is no tomorrow.

Fauja Singh

Octogenarian Fauja Singh must have thought this when he retired from farming. Burdened with the loss of his wife and son, he was forced to migrate to the U.K. Rather than waiting till the end of days when the Grimm Reaper would do his rounds, Fauja Singh worked towards the debut at his first full marathon at 89 in the London Marathon. After becoming a beacon of hope to many, being featured as Adidas' mascot and PETA's poster boy (as he was a vegetarian), Singh hanged his boots at the ripe age of almost 102.

Diana Nyad was a distance swimmer who failed to swim the 180 km between Cuba and Florida. Thirty years after immersing herself deep into her daytime job of journalism and motivational speaking, someone toyed with the idea of revisiting her 'Cuba to Florida' challenge. She was told she was mentally more robust than her 28-year-old self when she attempted the first swim.

The movie is basically about the preparation, execution, frustrations, and failures that she had to slay as she challenged the marine life-laden hostile sea unaided by a shark cage. 33 years after her first failed attempt, with three further tries, at the age of 64, Nyat successfully swam across the Florida Straits in 53 hours. Unfortunately, the governing bodies did not recognise her feat because no independent observers could ratify her swim.

(P.S. Note: Many of these super achievers who live to tell the stories of feats at mature ages are outliers. Even if one is in the pink of health, or seemingly so, a word of caution is deemed necessary. Of course, one should do the appropriate due diligence. Sure, even after dotting the i's and crossing the t's, the naysayers around you will bring you down to the extent that you start doubting yourself. Their intentions may be innocent, but the damage is done. You begin imagining imaginary conditions. Of course, these outliers can be the yardsticks we hope to attain. "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars," they say; a good adage to remember.

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Never say never!

I guess a felicitation note is due for my partner in crime. This post is dedicated to his tenacious path to glory, paved with shrapnels of thorns, aches, pains, strains, and even fractures.

I met SK at a dinner party of a mutual acquaintance. That was more than 10 years ago. After the usual pleasantries, our conversation went to recreational running. He was intrigued that I ran, which, at that time, felt, to him, like a marathon. In reality, it was a mere 10km.

Fast forward, we, and a few friends, became weekend warriors. From 10, the distance becomes longer and longer. Then someone came up with the idea of doing the full monty, not the British type but the Phillipedes type - the crowning glory of running - a full marathon, the whole 42.195km of them.

When SK puts his mind to something, he puts his whole soul into the shebang. He would want to know all the nitty-gritty of the basics. He would not want any stone unturned to the extent of obsessiveness. Just like that, all the research landed his name in the annals of 1% of the world population that completed a full marathon.

Then some gang members with restless leg syndrome started toying with the idea of cycling. Like the children of Hamelin, everyone just played to the tune of the Piped Piper. So cycling it was. What started as an easy, relaxing 30km weekend ride morphed into gruelling 1000m climbs and diabolical six-hour rides in the heat of the tropical high noon. Then came the out-of-state and international rides. During one of those practices, SK received his badge of honour. He was christened a true cyclist after sustaining a clavicular fracture. He went on fine-tuning into the subtleties of road cycling until he became restless again. Perhaps, he wanted to realise his deep inner desire to make it to the 0.1% category of the population.

I guess that was when the talk of swimming started floating (pun unintended). After having two near-death experiences in the domain of Neptune, yours truly gave a pass. I tried to venture into playing a musical instrument instead. That is another story for another day.

Many group members put one foot into the water, but only SK, with his compulsive desire to beat the waves and re-wire his survival instincts to connect with prehistoric ancestors; from a non-swimmer, he grew fins to fight the choppy waves of an open sea.

This has been the story of SK's journey thus far. I can bet my bottom dollar that it is, by no means, the end of it all. He completed his Iron Man Competition. The echoes of SK's whining, grumbling and cursing still reverberate in everyone's ears. Do not be fooled. Like a parturient mother who screams, yells and pledges never to do it again but sheepishly presents at her Obstetrician's office before the baby can walk, with yet another pregnancy, be forewarned. SK may turn up again with another crazy venture.

Congratulations, my friend! Keep the flame aglow and keep the fire burning. Cheers!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.