An 82-year-old woman who runs half-marathons shares 3 simple habits that transformed her heart health

An 82-year-old woman who runs half-marathons shares 3 simple habits that transformed her heart health

Getting older doesn't have to mean slowing down. Just ask Wilma King, who started running half-marathons in her 70s.

King completed her first race in 2014 alongside her daughter Andrea as well as her sister, brother-in-law, and their daughter, all of whom had run the event before.

"It just looked like they were having too much fun and I wanted to join in," she told Business Insider.

Now 82, King said she walks eight miles every morning to keep her heart healthy and to stay mentally sharp.

The walking, along with other habits like keeping in touch with family and working out to keep her joints healthy, has helped keep her energized and alert, though she can't imagine doing anything else.

"I don't have a secret," she said. "This seems normal and natural to me, and I just simply don't think about it."

Experts and research suggest you can improve your health by following her lead, even if you don't put in as many miles.

Walking every morning is part of her daily routine

King said she's always had a fairly active lifestyle and has enjoyed bicycling with her family as soon as her daughter was old enough to be brought along in a carrier seat.

In 2014, however, King was diagnosed with pericarditis (chest pain and irritation of the tissue surrounding the heart), pleurisy, and a valve problem. She was determined to do everything she could to stay healthy and took up a regular walking schedule, starting a little at a time.

"It was an effort basically to get out of the house and then to the corner," she said. "I wanted to get back to the way I had been before because those illnesses took a lot out of me."

King started by just walking down the block and back and gradually went further and further as her stamina increased.

"I don't even know why I started doing eight miles, but that's the routine," she said. "And then from the walking, I started running more."

Now, her main form of exercise is long daily walks, totaling 200 miles a month (although experts say most people can benefit from just an extra 500 to 1000 steps a day, especially at first).

"It's good as far as staying alert and certainly my heart function has improved. And then it's good for my mental health," she said.

For her first half-marathon, she used a running plan (she doesn't remember which) to work her way up to longer distances.

She's completed the annual Rock 'n' Roll Washington DC half marathon every year since and has no plans to stop any time soon.

"I'm slower now than I was at one point, but I'm 82, so what can I say?" King said. "I'll do it as long as I can."

King said she suspects the family tradition is also a sneaky way for her daughter to check in on her health over time.

"I think for her it's almost like a cognitive test 'I want to see how mom is moving. I want to see if she's paying attention and things like that.' It's a nice one-on-one, but I think she's watching me to see exactly what I do and how I do it," she said.

And if finishing 12 miles isn't enough of a sign she's aging gracefully, her daughter is " too polite to tell me," King said with a laugh.

Sharing pictures of her walks with friends and family to stay social

King said her morning routine also involves connecting with loved ones as part of her daily stroll — she takes pictures along the route with her phone to pass along as a little check-in.

"I walk for heart health, plus I entertain myself. I have some daily contacts and I send like a 'hello, how are you message' along with the photograph," she said.

There's good science to suggest that King has the right idea since being social can boost both longevity and your motivation to keep exercising.

People in Blue Zones, areas of the world with high concentrations of people who live to 100, are known for having strong habits of building social connections which is beneficial for both mental and physical health.

Weight lifting and mobility exercises to prevent injury

King doesn't just walk to stay active but does some stretching and mobility exercises like deep knee bends to help protect her joints. Being able to prevent injury by staying mobile is key to longevity, a personal trainer previously told BI.

King also taps into one of the best anti-aging exercises we know of just by working out from home.

"It's not much to talk about. I have some six-pound weights and I lift those up, down, side-to-side and swing them back and forth and all of that. Nothing real special," she said.

Even without any fancy weightlifting techniques, strength training is consistently linked to living a longer, healthier life.

For King, the combination of vibrant social life, long walks, and other workouts is paying off, as she's noticed more serious health declines among peers in her age group who don't have a similar routine.

"I think of myself as one of the lucky ones. So far so good," she said.

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