Tendons Love Load: 3 Things Runners Can Do to Keep Their Tendons Strong with Age

As runners, we spend a lot of time thinking about muscles, shoes, and pace. But if there’s one part of your body that quietly takes a beating with every step, it’s your tendons—and they deserve more attention, especially as we get older.

Tendons are the tough connective tissues that link muscle to bone. They store and release energy with every stride, acting like springs. But with age, they become less forgiving. They stiffen, heal more slowly, and lose some of their bounce. The good news? You can keep your tendons healthy for decades with the right kind of training.

Here are three evidence-backed things every aging runner should do to protect and strengthen their tendons:

1. Load Them the Right Way—Consistently

Tendons don’t respond to mileage—they respond to load. That means the amount and quality of mechanical stress you apply.

As we age, our tendons become less vascular, less cellular, and slower to repair micro-damage. But they still adapt—especially to structured, progressive load. Think hill strides, tempo efforts, or slow, heavy strength training. These all provide the kind of stress tendons need to stay strong and resilient. On the flip side, too much long, slow running without variety can underload your tendons, making them weaker over time.

Takeaway: Keep easy running in your schedule, but don’t skip regular workouts that challenge your muscles and tendons under control.

Research: Tendon health improves with consistent, moderate loading. Even in middle-aged and older adults, sustained load improves tendon organization and stiffness over time.²⁻⁴

2. Strength Train—Heavy and Slow Is Best

You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s even more important with age: runners need to strength train.

Tendons respond particularly well to heavy, slow resistance work—think squats, lunges, and calf raises with real weight. Eccentric loading (slow lowering) is especially effective at improving tendon stiffness and preventing or treating tendinopathies like Achilles pain or patellar issues.

And no, it won’t make you bulky—it’ll make you injury-resistant.

Takeaway: Aim for 2 sessions per week of strength work, with a focus on slow, full-range movements and heavy loads.

Research: Aging tendons show reduced collagen turnover and impaired healing. Resistance training improves collagen cross-linking, tendon stiffness, and force transmission.⁵⁻⁷

3. Respect Recovery—Tendons Take Their Time

Here’s what makes tendons tricky: they don’t get sore the way muscles do. That means it’s easy to overload them without realizing it—until you’ve got a nagging injury that won’t go away.

This becomes more common with age, when the natural repair cycle slows down. One study showed that changes in tendon structure after a marathon didn’t show up until a full week later.¹ That’s a delayed response most runners miss.

Takeaway: Space out your hard efforts. Sleep, nutrition, and strategic rest days matter more as you age.

Research: Age-related changes in tendon cells and matrix slow down healing and reduce adaptability to sudden increases in volume or intensity.⁶⁻⁸

Final Thought: You Don’t Need to Run Less—You Need to Run Smarter

If you’re over 40 and want to stay healthy, don’t fear your tendons. Train them. Load them wisely. Strengthen them regularly. Give them time to recover. Running isn’t just about heart and lungs. It’s about keeping the tissues that hold you together strong and springy for the long run.

________

1. Rabello LM, et al. Running a marathon—its influence on Achilles tendon structure. J Athl Train. 2020;55(2):176–180. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-49-19.

2. Thampatty BP, Wang JH. Mechanobiology of young and aging tendons: in vivo studies with treadmill running. J Orthop Res. 2018;36(2):557–565. doi:10.1002/jor.23632.

3. Svensson RB, Heinemeier KM, Couppe C, et al. Effect of aging and exercise on the tendon. J Appl Physiol. 2017;123(4):950–964. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00259.2017.

4. Kwan KYC, et al. Effect of aging on tendon biology, biomechanics and implications for treatment approaches. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(20):15183. doi:10.3390/ijms242015183.

5. Korcari A, et al. Impact of aging on tendon homeostasis, tendinopathy development, and impaired healing. Connect Tissue Res. 2023;64(1):1–13. doi:10.1080/03008207.2022.2102004.

#RUNsourceinjyrtips #RUNsourceinjuryhighlight #RUNsourcetracktheresearch #RUNsourceapp #RUNsourcepreventionequalsperformance