'I want to die "young" as late as possible,' says 83-year-old triathlete doctor who reinvented himself after a midlife crisis

By Jessica Hall

Joseph Maroon says he's too busy to slow down

Joseph Maroon is the embodiment of "use it or lose it" - and he's committed to using all he's got to the fullest extent, for as long as he's got it.

At 83, he's a clinical professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as the consulting neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a consultant to World Wrestling Entertainment. Although Maroon stopped doing neurosurgery about five years ago, he does clinical research on a variety of topics that he said will have applications for prostate cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

And, he exercises about an hour a day.

"I want to die 'young' as late as possible," Maroon said. "I'm having more fun now than I've ever had in my career. I have time to think. I'm being more creative now than I've ever been, and dealing with topics that have immense potential applications for helping others."

On a societal level, people are living longer. The number of Americans aged 100 and older is projected to surge over the next three decades, from an estimated 101,000 in 2024 to about 422,000 in 2054, according to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Maroon, with his remarkable physical and mental health, would be considered a "super ager," which refers to people in their 70s and 80s who are much stronger physically and mentally than people decades younger.

From the archives: These 'super seniors' are living longer, healthier lives

But it wasn't always this way for Maroon.

He had a midcareer "cataclysmic event," as he calls it. His father died of a heart attack at the age of 60 at the same time Maroon got divorced. He quit neurosurgery to work at a truck stop bequeathed to his mother, flipping burgers and filling gas in 18-wheelers in West Virginia. He fell into depression, was overweight and didn't return to neurosurgery for a year.

"The year I spent working at a truck stop as a neurosurgeon was a very humbling lesson. But adversity is 'survive or die' sometimes. The lessons you learn sometimes help you carry on," Maroon said.

A friend told him he needed to do something - just go for a run. So, he ran a few laps around the track at a local high school. Maroon said it saved his life; from those first labored laps, he started running regularly, began biking and learned to swim at age 45.

"The unintended side effect of doing the right thing was that my body was healing my brain. I didn't need psychotherapy. I didn't need drugs. [It was] the natural approach," he said. "And getting back to my spiritual roots and mores. I had 12 years of the Sisters of Charity growing up in the very poor town of Bridgeport, Ohio - 2,000 people, 10 bars and 30 dogs. So I had a good fundamental upbringing but I lost my way, so to speak. I was blind and now I can see."

Read: Want to live to 100? Great. How will you pay for that?

Maroon now likes to follow what he describes as a "square" method of life, in which work, family/social, physical and spiritual are the four sides of a square and require equal attention - or the square gets out of balance.

"The physical has been lifesaving for me; I need to do that or I get very out of balance. The spiritual side is something about what's your purpose in life, why am I here, where am I going and what am I doing and why? Those are questions people need to come to some grips with. The family, the social, the interacting with others is a key part of mental as well as physical health. The work side is a given - we all push ourselves there," according to Maroon.

Maroon describes himself as an octogenarian - he doesn't like to say that he's in his 80s - and said he has too much to do to bother slowing down.

Read: With more of us living longer, traditional retirement plans just won't cut it

He said the three most important things in life are mental and physical health; relationships with God, friends, family and colleagues; and carpe diem - to seize the day.

"I know my time is limited," Maroon said. "I'm very blessed that my mind and body still work at a very good level. It's because of my diet, my exercise. I avoid environmental toxins - alcohol, smoking, drinking. I pray, I have control of stress, I have a strong family unit and I get adequate sleep. Those are the five things everyone can do to slow or prevent Alzheimer's disease and do the same things the people in the Blue Zones do that are common to centenarians."

Read: We know how to create Blue Zones in the U.S. But will we do it?

Maroon said he doesn't take his life for granted and that he has an "attitude of gratitude" for his family and his parents, as well as his teachers, mentors and colleagues.

Although he has scaled back his Ironman triathlon competitions to regular triathlons, he still trains every day. That's how he lives his life, too - tackling projects, working and teaching every day.

"I hope to still keep showing up," Maroon said.

-Jessica Hall

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05-11-24 1329ET

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