A 72-year-old VC who started running at 54 does 4 marathons a year. Here’s how he fits running into his busy workday.

The marathon training program Ho embarked on “was miserable, and it hurt,” he said. “It was not fun. But gradually, as I raised more money and people got more interested, that kept me going because now I had an obligation to show up at the race.”

So, at 56, Ho ran his first marathon.

“I literally cried with relief when I crossed the finish line because of the pain,” he said. “But about one minute later, I said, ‘I can do this better. I’m going to do it again’ because that’s just my nature. So I did.”

He ended up running two more marathons the next year and continued to fundraise alongside friends and colleagues.

Ho was also interested in how far he could push his body — despite his doctors’ warnings about potential injury, his cholesterol levels and blood pressure had improved from the running, and his joints were fine, thanks to a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet and getting used to the training.

“I found the difference between my perceived health and what I could accomplish with some effort was astounding,” he said.

Sometimes he’ll go to the gym or do a run in the morning before heading to the office at 6:30 a.m., or after he’s completed a project that needs to be in before lunch.

He also likes high-intensity interval training for when he’s busy, since “you don’t do it for a long time.”

Running helps Ho to maintain his lifestyle

“Physically and mentally, running enables me to perform while I get little sleep,” he said. “It gives me energy to do what I want to do, and keeps me involved.”

Ho listens to audiobooks during his runs to maintain his “voracious” reading habit and optimize his time.

Running has also connected him with like-minded individuals, because runners tend to be “healthy people looking for purpose,” he said.

It has also helped to educate him about the importance of healthy aging in communities of color. Spring Mountain, Ho’s firm, backs the West Harlem Innovation Network, which develops new businesses and entrepreneurial talent in the underserved NYC neighborhood.

He tries to maintain other habits for longevity — apart from sleep

Ho only gets 4.5 hours of sleep each night, which research suggests is not beneficial for health. One 2022 study published by PLoS Medicine found that for adults over 50 years old, getting less than five hours of sleep a night can increase their risk of developing a chronic disease by 20%.

Ho said he is “desperately trying to get up to five hours a night,” but in the meantime tries to practice other longevity-boosting habits, such as eating well and reducing stress.

He said he follows the “basics” of eating healthily: staying away from junk food and processed foods and managing his calorie intake.

While he tries to minimize stress, it can be hard in a high-pressure finance job. The environment, he added, is full of “high-performing teams and high goals, so we’re always stressed.”