71-year-old Sarasota runner has placed in 300 races

Ellen Jaffe Jones has advice for people looking to enjoy a long life of running.

By Ryan Kohn
| 5:00 a.m. May 9, 2024

Ellen Jaffe Jones has competed in Senior Games events, but is just as happy to run local events. To her, getting to run at all is the whole point.

Sarasota
Sports

For a moment, Ellen Jaffe Jones stopped and stared.

She couldn’t stop for much longer than that. She was in the middle of a race, after all — the SUP and Run 5K, held May 4 at Nathan Benderson Park.

But she felt compelled to stop.

Jones looked at the park’s lake, and at the clear sky. In that moment, Jones said, she thought about how lucky she was to be where she was, doing what she loves to do.

Then she continued the race, and finished it. Jones, 71, finished third in her age group (38:43.6) despite switching between running and walking to keep her heart rate below 180 beats per minute, a side effect of a recent thyroid problem she’s been managing.

Ellen Jaffe Jones, 71, believes anyone can start running at any time — and she's the proof. Jones has placed in 300 races, most recently at the 2024 SUP and Run 5K at Nathan Benderson Park, and does not plan on stopping.

The race was the 300th that Jones has placed in since 2006, when she started keeping track. Jones keeps the results in a spreadsheet and the medals in her home. Jones has reached out to Guinness to see if the number is a record for a person her age, she said, and is waiting to hear back.

A record or not, the milestone is one Jones is proud to achieve — and she has no plans to stop now. She’s having as much fun as ever.

“Being happy with yourself is about feeling good,” Jones said. “Do what you can to wake up with a positive attitude in the morning. Stay alive.”

Jones began running as a method of staying healthy. Family members have dealt with things like breast cancer, Jones said, and she saw how they struggled. She wanted to live the healthiest lifestyle possible.

Jones is also a proud vegan and has written several books on the subject. She loves nothing more than proving her athletic ability to anyone who believes vegans cannot sustain the athleticism necessary to run like she does, she said.

Sometimes, Jones has a goal in mind when entering a race. Other times, like at the SUP and Run 5K, she just wants to place. That’s because Jones is nursing a broken rib — an injury suffered not at a running race, but at a swim meet, when she accidently walked into the path of a water hose and fell. She was forced to take “three to four” weeks away from running, she said, which was agonizing.

As impressive as Jones’ feat is, she believes everyone has the ability to begin a running-filled life if they do desire. Here’s a handful of tips from Jones on how to get started, and how to sustain it:

Ellen Jaffe Jones' running tips

1. Age is just a number

Jones is firm on this. Though she had been running in some form since the 1980s, she only became competitive about it in her 50s. She has the medal from her first race, held at GT Bray Park, hanging on her rearview mirror as a reminder that it is never too late to try something new. Simply put: you won’t know if something is for you until you try it, so you might as well try.

“Age is just a number” goes both ways, too: the SUP and Run 5K had a 0-9 division for young runners.

2. Mix up your routine

Cross-training can be a great way to keep things from getting stale. Riding a bike or going to the gym will get your juices flowing while giving your brain a different experience. And as runners, Jones said, it is important to keep your bones strong to prevent injury, particularly for women. Find activities that you enjoy and can do on a regular basis, and work them into your routine.

3. Don’t stop when things get challenging

Everyone goes through something at some point, Jones said. With her current rib and thyroid issues, Jones is proof of that. But she is not taking those things as a sign to stop. On the contrary, Jones will see her doctors to determine the fastest way to be back doing what she loves. Figure out your weak points and work on them, Jones said, and be proactive about it.

4. The dreaded “R word”: Rest

Though Jones doesn’t enjoy taking time away from running or other exercise, sometimes it is necessary.

After recovering from her broken rib, Jones said, she took weeks away from the gym, letting the muscles around the rib stretch back into place, before returning on May 7. To her surprise, the exercise felt great upon her return, she said. Time away from activities can reignite a passion for them when you return. That goes for races, too: if you’re feeling burnt out, take some time off, then return when you miss them.

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Ryan Kohn

Ryan Kohn is the sports editor for Sarasota and East County and a Missouri School of Journalism graduate. He was born and raised in Olney, Maryland. His biggest inspirations are Wright Thompson and Alex Ovechkin. His strongest belief is that mint chip ice cream is unbeatable.