Old? Watch Me Ride: Redefining Aging with My 86-Year-Old Masterlete Mom

In this warm, story-driven episode of The Masterlete Podcast, co-host Wendy Lutter sits down with a very special guest: her mom, Judy Mahle Lutter—a true Masterlete in every sense of the word.

Judy was part of the first wave of women runners in the 1970s, carving out space in a world where there were no women’s running shoes, almost no women on starting lines, and even people yelling from car windows, “Are you a girl?” She shares the very human story of how her running journey began on a cold March night as a stressed grad-school mom of three—and how, by “day three,” running had already become part of her identity.

Wendy and Judy laugh and reminisce about sub-3:00 marathons, the early women’s running scene, founding the Melpomene Institute for Women’s Health Research, and groundbreaking studies on running and pregnancy that helped shift the conversation for generations of women. Judy also tells behind-the-scenes stories of support from icons like Joan Benoit Samuelson and Billie Jean King.

Now 86, Judy is still biking thousands of miles a year, returning to triathlons after a shattered ankle, and using movement to navigate grief, aging, and joy. This candid mother-daughter conversation is a living example of healthspan in action—and a deeply encouraging reminder that it’s never too late to move, belong, and redefine what “old” looks like.