I joined CarlsbadCrossfit in November, 2015. After after 3 years of medalling (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in a dozen RocknRoll Half Marathon races around the country, I had my 4th knee operation to trim torn meniscus, following which a friend introduced me to The Unbreakable Runner, a book by McKenzie promoting CrossFit as a way for runners to reduce wear and tear on knees from "junk miles" while maintaining or improving fitness and race times. I did my first CrossFit Open in 2016 and also finished the year with the 2nd place award for RocknRoll Grand Prix 70-74 (for the 3rd year in a row after running a total of 17 half marathons). Due to CrossFit, in the final year I ran more races than any year before but on only 1/2 the weekly miles as ever before, but by the end of 2016 my knees started to give out(could not run without pain) so I stopped running entirely - no races and no more CrossFit running, hoping to avert going down the path to knee replacement. (I do Assault Bike and Rowing instead of running). Despite warnings and threats from the medical profession, I'm now 79 and in my 6th year of CrossFit. I am stronger and overall more fit than before and generally without knee pain as long as I avoid knee impact (box jumps, double unders) and wear knee sleeves and maintain proper form in squats, deadlifts and all overhead weight movements.
