Old(er) guys, when did your running fall off a cliff?

45 yrs old and never went to the gym or much of any physical activity after college til last yr. Had a number of injuries doing treadmill work. Finally feeling pretty good the last couple months. Been 35-42mpw last 5-6weeks and 52mi last week all treadmill.

3 months of Glucosamine chondroitin. Either its helping or my legs and bones just getting stronger.

For me it was around 45. I had thyroid issues and my marathon level volume (80-120km/wk) was messing with my endocrine system. Now 56 I run once a week, bike 2x, and lift HIIT 2 days, and feel good. I think this idea of being, "competitive" when you are older is great if you are actually capable of doing the training. But most of us are not, so there is no shame in adapting your running so that you can continue to do it into your later years. I have several friends who kept pushing into their 50s and now have had 1 or more joints replaced.

Speak for yourself pal. I just turned 60. I never quit and never will. With proper rest, smart training, great nutrition, and a little luck you can go much longer...or at least I can. I've got nothing special in my body, nothing more than anyone else. Desire and will also play a role;)

I picked up backpacking in my 30's for weekend getaways. Now in 50's I've added rucking 25-40 lbs weights in backpack as "easy" days instead of a run. I also lift on those days. Seems to be an okay alternative.

My running fell off a cliff when I was 49. I was running along a very scenic trail, not paying particular attention to the condition of the trail, when I tripped on a root and went right over the cliff. I managed to kind of belly flop to slow my momentum, but I still went over the edge. It wasn't a straight shot to the canyon floor below, but a sharp gradual decline filled with boulders, brush and short drop offs. I went over head first, and came crashing down the cliff side for about fifty yards before I could stop myself. I tore up my knee, shoulder and hip. I also soiled myself something fierce. After catching my breath and surveying the situation--for about thirty minutes. I managed to climb/pull myself back up to the running trail. At this point I realized I had to do something about the mess in my britches. Thank God I had on thick cotton mid calf socks. I used my socks to clean up as best I could and started walking/limping back to the car. I made it home and after showering realized I was in much worst shape than I originally thought. I went to the emergency room and received 14 stitches and was told I had a fractured scapula and various contusions about my knees and legs. This was several years ago. My injuries have healed but, I can't seem to get back to that level of comfortable running/training again. I also have never run on that trail again and never leave home without clean socks.

64 now and still at it, although not fast by LRC standards (where either you're a pro as an open runner or world record contender as a masters) but I'm still having some fun.

Had a number of setbacks, starting at 35. In fact, I had only three healthy seasons between age 35 and 45. But worked my way back and have enjoyed many good years between 46 now. One bad knee injury at 52, and thought I hit the wall at about 57 as my times started declining and was battling fatigue. However, I found it was related to diet (high cholesterol and blood sugar) so I adjust that and actually ran as fast or faster at age 59-61 than a decade earlier. Have slowed some in the past three years (following another injury) but running healthy and enjoying the grind.

42 for me. I had some great races as a 41 year old and I thought I was just going to get better and better. Then, I had a terrible 5K after a solid period of training. Totally confused as to what happened. It was a gradual decline from there. Now I’m in my early 50s and I think I’ve finally accepted where I’m at as a runner. I still enjoy training and I’ll race occasionally, but I know I’ll never see the times I ran in my early 40s.

Getting old is a b!tch

67 after a cancer diagnosis. Body is still OK, I think I just care less about it.

Age 52. The day of the womens US Olympic marathon qualifying race. I hopped on the treadmill to watch while the women ran. I didn’t have it that day, nor any other day since. I can still run 2 or 3 miles nonstop today but at no more than 12 minute pace. Sucks

You don't sound like a guy on TRT or HGH, not at all...

So the decline started on that very day?!?

Age 62 and the questions constantly hang over me. Has the time arrived to stop running ? Should I walk exclusively now ? Lately it has been difficult to consistently get out there and run. This has been a brutally hot summer where I live and I am too lazy to drag my butt out of bed to run while the temperature is reasonable.

From now until the end of my running days, the questions will remain as I try to stay under 30 min 5K & 60 min 10K until age 65. I'm pain free, so the mental challenge is becoming greater than the physical.

54, and my running fell to pieces at age 50. I was running really well in my late forties, but I had a nasty knee injury around 49 and every since Ive been trash. I wouldnt even think about racing now.

I'm lucky I can still shuffle though some 730+ miles here or there, but anything close to 6:00 is a real struggle.

Frankly, it would be a bit of undeserved boasting to say my running fell off a cliff.

This year, at 64, suffered a devastating injury, and though I am able to return to jogging (yes, jogging), I am prepared to live with that if that is all I can muster henceforward.

But to be perfectly honest, my running before the injury was not all that great, either. So if I were to say it fell off a cliff, that would be a bit of an exaggeration.

More apt to say something like, I used to run with a very real vision of excelling. Now I just run.

For me, the wording clearly means that at age 52 there is zero interest in competitions. I can't bring myself to do anything like a long run. Judging by my shadow, my running must look pathetic too. However, I basically do some training (low mileage or cycling, perhaps 30-45min) almost every day and try to crack the 80% age grading on short distances, but only occasionally and only for me. This summer I started to run without my clock more often, also a clear sign that I don't really care for results.
In my late 40s I ran pretty hard and had such ambition that I often ended up with injuries. To sum it up: physically in my mid 40s (the recovery took longer, more and more disappointing results, injuries), mentally with my 50s (no burning desire for structured training).

I ran very, very well until about 51. Then various minor injuries happened that slowed me a little but I wouldn't call it falling off a cliff. Ran ok for a few more years but at around 57 my running really did fall off a cliff. Now 61 and can't break 6:30 for a Mile. It's all good though, I enjoy the process of training and then racing. It's just slower now.

I am fortunate in that my age-related decline has been very consistent--nothing that I would consider "falling off a cliff" so far. Over the course of the last 10 years I have been almost completely injury-free, knock on wood, and thus able to keep training consistently, unlike so many others that have been posting here.

My 5K race times have gotten 2 minutes slower every five years for the past 15 years, almost like clockwork. 18 minutes at age 50, 20 minutes at age 55, 22 minutes at age 60. I just turned 65 and plan to run my first 5K in my new age group in a few weeks. I'm confident that my finishing time will be very close to 24 minutes.

I'm 57 and found that it really fell off the cliff around when I turned 55. Covid didn't help because there weren't any races to motivate me. I'm much slower now than I was in my early 50's.