Racing Age is a book of documentary photographs and essays about competitive masters track & field athletes aged sixty and over. These athletes who are part of a global trend of greater longevity are continually breaking age group records for running jumping and throwing that would have seemed impossible even a few decades ago. They are literally redefining the limits of the aging human body.
Photojournalist Angela Jimenez who is a former collegiate track & field multi-event athlete documented these athletes in competition over the course of nine years. Racing Age is a collection of stunning black & white medium-format film photographs of masters athletes made at competitions in the United States and Europe. Ten accompanying essays explore the fascinating life stories of a diverse group of athletes who have found meaning in their masters athletic careers.
Because they defy visual stereotypes these athletes surprise us. They are not weak or vulnerable or just cute: they are fierce and competitive. It is inspiring and brave but can also be scary to see. The athletes of Racing Age challenge us to expand our expectations of the aging human body and offer us a hopeful version of our future.
In these photographs you meet athletes racing for reasons you might not grasp against forces you cannot see. Racing Age.
Angela Jimenez is a visual storyteller from Stamford Connecticut. She was the co-captain of her women's track & field team at the University of Pennsylvania and has worked as a freelance photojournalist for fifteen years. She is a long-time contributor to The New York Times and a frequent contributor to Minnesota Public Radio. Racing Age is her second self-published monograph after Welcome Home: Building the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival (2009).She has taught visual journalism in the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Racing Age won the Jury Prize in the 2014 United Photo Industries Fence exhibit and the project has been published widely including in American Photo Communication Arts Photo Annual The New Yorker The New York Times Slate Refinery29 Runner's World and Upworthy. Jimenez lives in Minneapolis Minnesota with her family.
"Do people stop being athletes as they age? Or is being an athlete a state of mind something seared into a person's spirit? These are precisely the questions photographer Angela Jimenez asked ahead of captivating audiences worldwide with her stunning photo series Racing Age."-Marcie Bianco Policy Mic
https://mic.com/articles/109798/10-inspirational-photos-prove-that-you-can-be-an-athlete-at-any-age#.7DkUvXlsk
"Most of the athletes we see are young and sculpted like statues retiring at 30 after breaking a few records along with their bodies. For this series Angela Jimenez focused on competitors over 35 in particular the 70-somethings who really are of retirement age. Their bodies are still powerful-"ferocious " she says-and the ripples in their skin are due more to their muscles than their wrinkles. There they are racing around oval tracks leaping into sand pits throwing javelins pushing their physical limits with their eyes on the record books." - Laurence Cornet L'oeil De La Photographie
http://www.loeildelaphotographie.com/en/2014/12/11/exhibition/26827/angela-jimenez-racing-age-at-united-photo-industries/
"Following elderly athletes may not be the first topic that comes to mind when considering sports features but Angela Jimenez does so with beauty sensitivity and a surprising amount of action." - Kaley Sweeney World Photography Organization Magazine
https://www.joomag.com/magazine/the-magazine-issue-xvii-social-documentary/0987209001411418744?short
"Documentary and portrait photographer Angela Jimenez&lsquo series Racing Age is not your typical &lsquophotos of old people' photo series. There is no frailty no struggling with day-to-day tasks or close-ups of wrinkles. The subjects in Racing Age are competitive athletes that could probably out-run out-jump and out-throw most people half their age." - DL Cade Petapixel
http://www.loeildelaphotographie.com/en/2014/12/11/exhibition/26827/angela-jimenez-racing-age-at-united-photo-industries/
"In the media seniors are often represented as sweet or doddering - certainly not forces to be reckoned with. In her stunning photo series Racing Age photographer Angela Jimenez captures the stunning physicality of master's track and field athletes.
"We too were floored by their athleticism. The numbers these "seniors" are thinking about aren't their ages but rather how fast they'll sprint to the finish line or how high they'll jump. See the inspiring photographic proof that dedication and strength in sport have no expiration date." - Hayley MacMillen Refinery29
http://www.refinery29.com/2014/07/71049/athletic-seniors#slide
"Age is just a number and wrinkles certainly aren't a sign of weakness for senior athletes. While most athletes might throw in the towel by the time they turn 40 these incredible seniors are still competitive focused and going strong into their 70s and beyond.
"Minneapolis-based photographer Angela Jimenez captured the stunning black and white images of senior track and field athletes in her series 'Racing Age' to shatter common stereotypes about aging and weakness." - Yagana Shah The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/11/senior-athletes-_n_5574606.html
