In this episode of Modern Love: The Podcast, the singer and songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter (“The Things That We Are Made Of,” “Come On Come On”) reads the essay “The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap,” about the challenges — and advantages — of love that blooms later in life.

You can also hear the episode on iTunes and Google Play Music.

The essay was written by Eve Pell, a journalist and world-class senior runner living in Mill Valley, Calif. Ms. Pell is on Twitter.

Ms. Carpenter is on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Her latest album, “The Things That We Are Made Of,” is available on CD, vinyl and digital download.

A conversation between the Modern Love editor Dan Jones and Ms. Pell follows Ms. Carpenter’s reading.