I'm 64, and was born with club feet. Back then, they corrected this with braces followed by corrective shoes. In spite of this, I was blessed with the ability to run competitively in high school and collegiately, and eventually up to age 50. Due to my birth defects, my running mechanics were really bad, so both knees eventually wore out.
Last winter, I had total knee replacement on both knees, 7 weeks apart, and the results have been great. My post-surgery recovery went extremely well, as I was up and walking without a crutch after 2 days. Two major keys are prehab/rehab, and positive attitude (refuse to feel sorry for yourself, there are many people out there worse off). Before my surgeries, I did as much strengthening as my knees would allow, and post-surgery, I hammered the therapy, and continue to do lower body strength training 3 days/week. I also stayed off of the opiate pain meds. I managed the discomfort with icing (tons of it!), and general anti-inflammatories and Tylenol.
A few weeks ago I went backpacking (not real heavy pack) over very hilly, rough terrain for 2 days (about 25 miles total), with no pain or ill effects. For aerobic training I'm doing rowing, elliptical, biking, and walking about 1 hour, 6 days/week. The way I feel, I know could run now, but I want these new knees to go the distance and last 20-30 years, rather than the 8-10 years I'd probably get if I ran.
Anyway, for me, getting my knees replaced has been one of my best ever decisions. First time in decades I've been pain free and able to do whatever I want.
One final point. As others have alluded to, it's not the running that causes arthritis, it's running with less-than-optimal mechanics, which is most often due to heredity. Runners do not have a higher incidence of arthritis than the general population.