Why does marathon participation and performance plunge from age 59 to 60?

It seems that many aging folks are drawn into doing squats, lunges and other weight training even while running regularly and like me find that joint problems actually worsen.

I finally convinced my wife to see an ortho who is a runner because she was having knee problems while trying to do the cross fit- like classes and running 4 times per week. He confirmed that the lunges and squats "are not your friends" as the cartilage ages. Really, running hills, even during your easy runs may be enough strengthening.

It is conventional wisdom that is not conventional for everyone.

About to turn 60 wrote:

It seems that many aging folks are drawn into doing squats, lunges and other weight training even while running regularly and like me find that joint problems actually worsen.

I finally convinced my wife to see an ortho who is a runner because she was having knee problems while trying to do the cross fit- like classes and running 4 times per week. He confirmed that the lunges and squats "are not your friends" as the cartilage ages. Really, running hills, even during your easy runs may be enough strengthening.

It is conventional wisdom that is not conventional for everyone.

That's right...you won't see 70 yr old Arnold doing squats, lunges or free weights - it's all machines these days for the Terminator:

Whitlock could train harder than anyone else because of hisgenetics you goofball. Not only was he built like a stick but he had a very low injury history - a low injury history with a distance runner is a sign of good genetics at any age but especially for aging runners.

Read up on the science on this. Newsflash: Age-related musculoskeletal and joint degeneration starts developing with most athletes after age 50. Those with good genetics who haven't beaten the sh*t out of themselves in their younger years will have less wear & tear and might fare better in their older years.

I get tired of hearing this "Whitlock" stuff all time because if you think it just hard training that was the key for him and not exceptional genetics then you don't have a clue pal. There are guys in the Master club I belong to who are in their 60s & 70s and built like Whitlock, but have a history of chronic injuries. They find themselves not able to run for several months out of the year not matter what they do (cross training, strenght training, yoga, etc.).

So are you going to say with these guys it's "mental" and they should turn on a "switch" and just run faster? ? Do you have any clue on the different pathologies of various running-realed injuries? Strained tendons/ligaments, chronic tendinosis/tendonitis, stress fractures, osteoarthritis, etc. - these are common problems with many aging runners (who would have thought). These injuries aren't just "mental" where you can turn on a switch and run through them! Many are permanent disabilities, especially OA, that have put older runners into the trash heap!

Quit posting ridiculous nonsense and get a clue that age-related degenerative problems exist with runners! If you're an older runner you should know better! I expect to hear this kind of nonsense from the young bucks who think they can run through any injury and believe they're never going to get old. Lol.[/quote]

Thank you thank you thank you! You hit the nail on the head.

[/quote]Quit posting ridiculous nonsense and get a clue that age-related degenerative problems exist with runners! If you're an older runner you should know better! I expect to hear this kind of nonsense from the young bucks who think they can run through any injury and believe they're never going to get old. Lol.[/quote]

Been there done that a a high price: Age 53: ran myself into an injured hamstring followed the next year by an ischial tuberosity bursitis that also led to a high hamstring tendinopayhy.

After that I settled for running one day on one day off for no more than 45 minutes. My long runs are done on the bicycle once a week or the nordictrack Fs7i. I settled for the here and there local 5k and after being a runner since April 30 1976 I can finally say I am enjoying it. Competitive running became no different than a fault job or slave job.

Like Roberto Duran said: “no más, no más “

for me.

It's more than just good genetics, although a lot of the posts above do touch on a lot of the factors. But geez some of you are incredibly arrogant!

Comes down to a combination of things like motivation (if you're not motivated to get out the damn door most every day, then you're not going to run fast (say the mile and up) no matter how great your genetics are); overall health (may or may not be genetic); biomechanical health and efficiency (also may or may not be genetic) and injury history; diet and lifestyle; and of course how you approach your training (intensity, volume, recovery etc.).

those of you saying it's all genetics, genetics, genetics are missing much of the equation, actually more than half.

See you at the races!

I’m turning 60 in a few months - and am a ‘one and done’ marathoner. I’ve focused on 5K’s and masters track for the last few years - running everything from the 400 to 10Ks. I’m finding that my age group percentage goes up as the distance goes down - the 400 is my best event these days - ran a 68 at 58 last year.

What has worked for me is limited mileage, but fairly high intensity - based mostly on a 5K training plan. One tempo run per week of 3-4 miles at 10K PR pace, a long run of 6 or 7 miles at Half marathon PR pace, an interval session - say 10x400 at faster than mile PR pace with an interval recovery. I’ll also toss a 5 miler in at a trot just for fun. Point is, it’s not a lot of mileage, but the intensity is there. Joints feel fine , and I haven’t been injured since an ill-conceived attempt at steeplechase a few years back. Works for me!

I'm learning quite a bit from this thread. One observation is that it seems common for some runners to abandon longer races when they inevitably cannot train as hard as they had from age 18 to whatever. For me, every year since about age 50 has been a constant, expected re-evaluation of how much, how fast and how often that has allowed me to continue.

It seems that some folks might give up too quickly when they realize that injuries occur with the same old, same old.

Trained hard too wrote:

Whitlock trained harder than anyone his age ever has. His longevity is because he stayed fit.

I think the main fall off at 60 is mental. There's no "switch" that says you stop running fast at exactly 60 years old.

.

This is either a great troll post or someone blissfully ignorant. If you read the responses in this thread you would have noted that most everyone wants to train, and train hard.

Believe me, I know a LOT of older Master's runners and if any of us could magically have our 20 year old knees/hip/lower back/Achilles back you would see more Whitlock-like performances. The only reason there's a lack of motivation is because now every freakin' step hurts.. and it hurts a lot. That is not motivating in the least.

Aging, joint disease, and the breaking down of your body at the most basic levels is real. You can't "mentally" overcome the ravages time.

Yea, if that guy's post were true, you could choose to never die, because you somehow "willed" your body not to degenerate as you aged. Whitlock's ability to stay so amazingly fit was due in large part to his genetics. He was truly a once in a generation talent. I'd love to train as hard and as much as he did, but my knees would scream 24/7 and my achilles tendons would probably snap in half. So I train as smartly and safely as my body allows at my age - and I'm thankful for every step I still get to run. So many of my old running buddies can't run at all anymore due to various physical ailments, and believe me, they'd LOVE to be able to.