- Elite runners such as Nick Symmonds are taking the #FaceAppChallenge, which digitally alters your selfie to show what you will look like decades from now.
- While the photos are funny, exercise caution when taking the challenge yourself, as there are potential privacy risks when using FaceApp.
While studies have shown that running keeps you young, there’s a new app out there that is making the best runners in the nation look like they’re preparing more for retirement than race season.
Using FaceApp, an app that uses neural networks to simulate what people will look like as they age, elites have joined the viral #FaceAppChallenge by sharing a selfie alongside a decades-older image of themselves produced by the app.
The results are hilarious—and, as one Runner’s World staffer commented, are also a fairly accurate representation of what runners look like after completing an ultramarathon.
While the gray-haired and wrinkled photos are funny, if you’re tempted to join in the #FaceAppChallenge yourself, do so cautiously. More than a few eyebrows have been raised about the potential privacy risks of using FaceApp, which has vague terms of service and does not clarify how much of your personal phone data—not to mention your face—is being stored when you use the app.
So while we don’t necessarily recommend jumping on the trend, we can definitely appreciate these photos of our favorite runners looking slightly past their prime.
[Want to start running? The Big Book of Running for Beginners will take you through everything you need to know to get started, step by step]
Nick Symmonds
Matthew Robert Baxter
Emma Abrahamson
Allie Buchalski, Allie Ostrander, Marta Pen Freitas, Karisa Nelson, and Katie Mackie
Garrett Heath, Izaic Yorks, Dillon Maggard, Brannon Kidder, Drew Windle, David Ribich, Henry Wynne, Josh Kerr
Before joining Runner's World, Gabrielle Hondorp spent 6 years in running retail (she has tested top gear from shoes, to watches, to rain jackets which has expanded her expertise—and her closets); she specializes in health and wellness, and is an expert on running gear from head-to-toe. Gabi began her journalism career as a Digital Editorial Fellow for Runner’s World and Bicycling Magazine, and has since advanced to a Runner's World Editor specializing in commerce. She has a double degree in English and Media and Communication from Muhlenberg College where she also ran cross country and track.
