Still Climbing: Ted Epstein’s Life Beyond the Finish Line

Some people retire.

Ted Epstein recharges.

He never liked the word retirement. To Ted, life isn’t something you step away from — it’s something you lean further into, just with a little more wisdom and a slightly different pace. He prefers to call this chapter “Recharging, Refocusing, and Revitalizing.”

And like everything else he has ever done, he approaches it with intention.

The Mindset Never Changed

Throughout his racing years, Ted was known for meticulous preparation. Gear laid out days in advance. Routes studied. Nutrition planned. But what truly set him apart wasn’t logistics — it was perspective.

He never believed he was “risking his life,” even when others thought he was. He simply believed problems were puzzles waiting for creative solutions.

“I choose to see a problem as an obstacle and try to find a creative solution. I choose to challenge myself with new goals. I thereby live more fully and grow stronger to handle life’s adversities.”

That philosophy didn’t retire when the races did.

By age 70, Ted made a strategic decision: preserve the knees that had carried him across continents. He stepped away from competitive running — not out of defeat, but out of long-term wisdom, something endurance athletes often learn the hard way.

But slowing down? That never happened.

4:30 A.M. — Still Leading From the Front

While many people his age are just turning over in bed, Ted is already up.

At 4:30 every morning, he meets a group of stair-climbing and exercise friends. True to form, he doesn’t just show up — he leads. Physical training blends with mental challenges, because Ted has always believed the mind should sweat too.

To him, fitness has never been about medals. It’s about momentum — keeping body and brain engaged in the daily practice of living well.

A New Kind of Training

These days, the endurance looks different.

Long runs have been replaced with long walks — an hour each day, side by side with Vivian, his partner in both adventure and life. During those walks, they turn movement into a game, challenging each other with word puzzles and memory exercises.

Why? Because Ted treats brain health the same way he treated endurance training — proactively.

With Alzheimer’s present in his family history, he does not wait passively. He walks, plays word games, stays socially engaged, and follows medical guidance — not out of fear, but out of the same mindset that carried him through deserts, mountains, and frozen seas:

Prepare. Adapt. Keep going.

The Humor of “Lethologica”

Ted recently stumbled upon a word that perfectly describes one of life’s small ironies: lethologica — the inability to remember the word you want to say.

It wasn’t in his dictionary. It wasn’t online. Vivian tracked it down through a Denver librarian, who kindly sent the definition.

The next day, the librarian wrote back again.

She had told her husband about this fascinating new word she’d learned…

…and couldn’t remember it.

Ted loved that story. Because to him, it’s proof of something important:

Struggle doesn’t make you weak.
Forgetting a word doesn’t make you less sharp.
Aging doesn’t mean stopping.

It just means finding new ways to play the game.

Still an Athlete — Just a Different Arena

Ted has also rekindled his love for tennis and golf, sports that challenge coordination, strategy, and focus in ways endurance racing never did. He and Vivian travel often, share long days together, and continue building a life filled with movement, curiosity, and laughter.

The competitions may be different now.

But the competitor? Still very much alive.

The Real Finish Line

Ted’s life today is a reminder that endurance isn’t just about miles.

It’s about:

• Getting up early with purpose

• Choosing growth over comfort

• Training your mind as much as your body

• Facing change with creativity instead of fear

The races ended.

The mindset didn’t.

And in many ways, this chapter — the quieter, wiser, deeply human one — may be the most inspiring endurance event of all.