Why do some women who run look so much older than they should? I know some 35-40 year old females who look 55.

Same could be said for guys. Not sure why you are singling women out.

Lots of time in the sun

Smoking

Heavy drinking

Lack of sleep

Weather makes leather.

High carb diet and overtraining...same for men.

Thin, gaunt faces.

Fat around the eyes, cheekbones, and mouth, even the slightest amount fill-in and hide wrinkles. Please excuse the non-medical layman's description.

I think it's sun exposure more than anything. I have known a couple women who look insanely good for their age (late 40s to mid 50s), and they are all very careful to wear spf pretty much any time they're in the sun at all.

The pros spend a lot of time at altitude where the air is extremely dry. Add some sun damage to that, and you will look old by your late 30s.

I am on the Gulf Coast. The women who do ironman tris do get sun damaged skin. But the women who are top age groupers in their late 30s, early 40s look normal.

This is not exclusive to women.

Being 35 and looking 55 apply perfectly to Kipchoge, if he is really 35....

Leaner face = signs of aging show more, plus a lot of them don't protect their face from the sun while running and get sun damage which is probably the biggest factor of all.

Precious Roy wrote:

The pros spend a lot of time at altitude where the air is extremely dry. Add some sun damage to that, and you will look old by your late 30s.

I am on the Gulf Coast. The women who do ironman tris do get sun damaged skin. But the women who are top age groupers in their late 30s, early 40s look normal.

The women on the Gulf Coast are also blessed to have the higher humidity that Houston and other cities there are blessed to have. The high humidities are great for the skin.

Opinionated guy wrote:

Thin, gaunt faces.

Fat around the eyes, cheekbones, and mouth, even the slightest amount fill-in and hide wrinkles. Please excuse the non-medical layman's description.

This. It is the extremely low body fat combined with sun/wind exposure. Fat under the skin is youthful. As a person ages their skin thins, their lips thin, etc. Extreme fat loss has the same effect as aging. You can look at any very thin female runner and they have almost no top lip, like old women. Hasay, for example, but even koko, who is so young, is losing hers. Thin top lip = old looking.

Funny, most women I know that are runners age unbelievably well. Especially if they combine it with some weight training. Too much sun will age some prematurely and ultra runners (male or female) all look a little bit like skeletons. This is not exclusive to one gender or the other.

joedirt wrote:

Funny, most women I know that are runners age unbelievably well. Especially if they combine it with some weight training. Too much sun will age some prematurely and ultra runners (male or female) all look a little bit like skeletons. This is not exclusive to one gender or the other.

Most are probably at the healthy lean rather than super skinny of a pro. It should be pointed that lots of nonRunnees also look a couple decades older. Seriously look at 45 year old woman on tinder. Some look great. Some look like 65 year olds.

Caitlyn Jenner hasn't aged well.

It is low body fat and sun exposure, but mostly low body fat. In the past year, I increased my mileage from 20 mpw to 40 mpw and lost 7 lbs. I’m a 36 year old female. My face is thinner and shows more wrinkles now. Women pay big bucks for “injectables” which is basically shots of plumping fluid to make your face fill out and look fatter. Fat women in their 40s have younger looking faces than their thin counterparts. It’s sad but true.

Mounty Pylon wrote:

Weather makes leather.

Black don't crack.

low body fat wrote:

Opinionated guy wrote:

Thin, gaunt faces.

Fat around the eyes, cheekbones, and mouth, even the slightest amount fill-in and hide wrinkles. Please excuse the non-medical layman's description.

This. It is the extremely low body fat combined with sun/wind exposure. Fat under the skin is youthful. As a person ages their skin thins, their lips thin, etc. Extreme fat loss has the same effect as aging. You can look at any very thin female runner and they have almost no top lip, like old women. Hasay, for example, but even koko, who is so young, is losing hers. Thin top lip = old looking.

You are confusing fat with collagen. Low protein = low collagen = poor facial structure and skin.

elon is musky wrote:

Mounty Pylon wrote:

Weather makes leather.

Black don't crack.

Um, ever heard of Eliud Kipchoge?

This is so fracking tasteless and off topic you should be banned from this message board and running in general.