Episode 35 — Andy Jones-Wilkins (AJW) | 58 Years Old, Two New Hips, Zero Plans to Stop

In this episode of Run Long After 60, I sat down with Andy Jones-Wilkins — known throughout the trail and ultrarunning world simply as AJW — for a conversation rooted in the history of ultrarunning, the growth of the sport, and what it really means to evolve with it.

AJW is a ten-time Western States finisher with seven top-ten finishes. He has written AJW's Taproom, a weekly column at iRunFar.com, every Friday for 16 years. He hosts the Crack a Brew with AJW podcast. He spent 34 years as an educator before stepping away. He coaches senior-level athletes at CTS. And in 2023, at 57 years old, he had both hips replaced with ceramic implants — and went right back to running 3,000 miles a year.

But what makes AJW genuinely rare isn't the résumé. It's that after 30 years in and around this sport — as a competitor, a writer, a commentator, a coach, and a volunteer — he remains one of the few people willing to say out loud: I had a strong opinion, and I changed my mind.

In this conversation:

• How the Phoenix desert trail community in the mid-90s gave him his foundation — and why community has always mattered more to him than competition

• Western States at 53: the race as living history, what it looks like from inside the ropes and outside them, and why showing up for 26 years as a regular person has taught him more than racing ever did

• The DNF debate: 20 years of strong opinions on paper, and what finally shifted

• Both hips replaced at 57 — and the patience and acceptance that brought him back stronger

• What the runners who keep going into their 60s have in common

• Walking away from 34 years in education, managing a running store, and rebuilding a life around the things that matter

• The question a friend asked on a long training run in the Oakland hills — and why AJW's answer is exactly the same today as it was 20 years ago

• What running into his 60s actually looks like: not a comeback, not a slowdown — just the next chapter

This is a conversation about knowing when to hold your ground, knowing when to let go, and understanding that the wisest people in any community are usually the ones most willing to do both.

If you'd like to watch the full conversation, it's available now on the Run Long After 60 YouTube channel.

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📍 Hosted by Mark Vega

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