I have always run up and down any stairs I take. Not sprint mind you, but a rapid pop, pop, pop when going down, and the same or two at a time on the way up.
I am 42 and I notice many of my peers just walk on stairs, and you rarely if ever see an octogenarian taking stairs quickly. Why is that? Is it a deterioration in the sureness of balance? When does this typically set in?
I found this thread. It doesn’t address the age related aspect, but did give me some insight why some younger people may no longer run on stairs.
Bad/arthritic knees? It depends on the person when it sets in, if it does at all. Mine set in at 25. Sometimes when the weather’s wonky it feels like someone is sticking needles through my knees when I go up stairs too fast.
Other than arthritis, in my personal experience it is
going up: fitness level, pure and simple. A decade ago I was out of shape and took the elevator for one story, now I often run up stairs - and I have not had arthritis that miraculoulsly fixed itself
going down: that caution that comes with middle age. I do not feel immortal and invulnerable any more.
Obviously, older people are more likely to have mobility issues - inability to walk fast, poor balance, fear of falling with brittle bones, and so on. So,many of them will not climb stairs quickly. Some will, of course.
The reality is that large numbers of young and middle-aged people are obese. Even if they are not, they are badly out of condition. If they try to climb stairs quickly they get out of breath and feel bad. So,they don’t do it. They walk up slowly or catch the elevator - which simply compounds their problem.
If you get out of breath climbing stairs (or if you avoid stairs for similar reasons) it is a major health warning. You are likely to end up seriously dead before your due time.
I’ve noticed that too. People that should (based on appearance alone) be taking the stairs take the elevator, even for one floor change. Part of the problem may be secondary effects from being overweight; bad knees and joints, lack of flexibility, etc. It’s a vicious circle.
Buildings often lock the stairwells from the outside (except on the ground floor) so they can’t be used for any purpose other than a fire escape. That trains people to use the elevator.
The sad reality is that as we age every system in the body deteriorates. We can certainly slow the rate of deterioration in some systems, based on our lifestyle, but we can’t escape it.
So the first and obvious answer to the OP is because of the physical effects of ageing.
These changes might be subtle in someone only in their 40s, but a slightly higher chance of tripping, or of getting sweaty might be enough to radically change the cost-benefit of moving quickly.
The other factor is culture. There is a culture that walking quickly makes one look too eager, or undignified. If you need to be somewhere fast it’s ok, but otherwise you’re supposed to shuffle along.
Same here, with a disclaimer that I allow myself to take them one at a time for two days after doing a lot of squatting (such as fixing the sprinklers or landscape lights for many, many hours).
The thing is, I’m tall, and standard steps are too short and closely-spaced for me.
I think sometimes it’s a dignity thing - if I’m wearing a nice button down shirt, nice slacks, and a good pair of shoes, I’m just not going to go dashing up and down stairs. It seems out of place. If I’m in shorts and a tee-shirt, different story.
Dignity probably isn’t exactly the right word, but kind of.
I also think that I’m no longer in quite the hurry that I used to be - people tend to mellow a little with age.
I really think this is it. As people get older, the amount of extra energy they have (to burn off by running, taking stairs quickly, fidgeting, etc.) tends to decrease, and the amount of extra weight they’re carrying tends to increase.
We get better & smarter in doing risk assessment as we get older. Older/heavier bodies take longer to self-repair. And when they fall, the damage is greater. Back in my twenties, a mis-step on the stairs might have meant a twisted ankle and a few scuff marks. If that happens to me now in my forties, it could easily mean a broken ankle in addition to breaking whatever arm I use trying to break my fall. Then I’m out of work 4-6 weeks while it heals - right in the middle of a big project. Medical bills, ruined clothes, business impact… it’s just not worth it most of the time.
Did you ever mis-calculate the distance to that next step and trip, mashing your shin bone into the edge of the step? Damn that smarts. Middle-aged folks have all kinds of reason to be more careful. It’s just a simple matter of being prudent.
Where is this weird culture? In London, if you don’t constantly move at breakneck speed, you’re in danger of getting crushed in the stampede. Tourists are the major victims of this.
I’ve noticed it in many Asian cities. Bangkok especially. People get onto the escalator and just stop dead in their tracks. This looks even sillier when it’s a moving sidewalk, like those at the airport. It’s as if they forgot where they’re going and won’t bother to start thinking about it again until they reach the landing. I don’t consider myself a speed freak but it just feels like a waste of my time.
Like others have said, dignity, plus knowing how bad falling hurts. I fell in the parking lot a few years ago. I am clumsy, but not usually that clumsy - that was the only fall in ten years. But I fell badly, and nearly fractured a wrist. So I am much more cautious now.
I still run down steps sometimes but most of the time I like to look somewhat dignified. I don’t walk shuffle when I walk, though.