A question for old timers.

When I realized that my best running may be behind me, I had to reevaluate what the hell I was doing. Now I am content looking at my contemporaries and competing with them.

It's good to have others of like mind at the same age (40s) whom you can still compete. It gives me a good feeling that standards still exist and that I may take pride in knowing I'm able to be close to the upper percentile in my age group.

True it is fun to be 21, able to hammer and recover quickly; however, running keeps one young and if the years of experience can be applied wisely, improvement is still in the cards.

At some point we all erode in performance, but not unlike a marathon being able to hang on is most of the battle, so long as it's fun and gives one a sense of purpose. That's what it's all about for me.

I enjoyed your post georun. Will you also be at the dedication of the University of Toronto's the new Varsity Stadium and the Kidd/Crothers Track Meet on july 8th? Did you run for a club in the late 60s/early 70s?

By the way there are more and more runners in their 40s and 50s that are very serious about their competition. Some have come back to the sport as their children become adults. I suggest that if this interestis anyone they read OMBTS' weekly Masters training/racing thread. I find that thread very enlightening.

my work collegue is 52 years old and started running at age of 14 and has been a member of same local athletics club since. He has run to and from work mon to fri (5 miles each way)for the last 15 years in all weather. He still runs vets and nasters xc/road relays locally. Every sat and sun he puts in 10 miles roadwork.

Surely this shows great committment and dedication and shows some of the younger athletes up who frown at training 60 miles a week!

My club was the South Waterloo Harriers, then it became the Cambridge Track & Field Club in the 70's. I hadn't scheduled the U of T event in but it sounds like a good event to be at.

Never was competitive but I try to run a Marathon or two and and a few shorter ones each year.

Target this year is the World airlies road race --5k and or 10k in october.

Staying healthy is the key.

I am an englishman of 57yrs. My wife is american and just ran the london marathon. I have been injured since late january and last year i ran the london marathon in 3:24:41 and 7 weeks later the edinburgh marathon in 3:19:08. To say running is my life is an understatement. The older i become the more competitive i become!. You are what you are!.

georun wrote:

My club was the South Waterloo Harriers, then it became the Cambridge Track & Field Club in the 70's. I hadn't scheduled the U of T event in but it sounds like a good event to be at.

My former club was the PIH here in Victoria which a lot of the top master runners in that club were in their teens, twenties, thirties, former rugby, lacrosse, soccer players, retired cops, armed forces types or former smokers etc. (or a bit of everthing). None of them ran in the 60's or 70's

bump.

I didn't start running until I was 25. Twenty years ago???? Holy Schmoly, I dind't realize that!

Anyway, I ran all the road races I could enter for a couple of years. I'm not gifted at all at distances, I bulk up just looking at weights and gain weight easily.

I got out of the road race scene after a few years and just ran for fitness. I missed racing but every time I thought of training to get back in it, I thought, "Why am I doing this?" I just didn't have the desire to do the hard training to not get embarrassed at races.

Now, I'm wanting to get back out there and I'm starting to train again with a goal in sight. I just can't decide now, at age 45, if running shorter races or longer ones are better.

But, yeah, some of us drop off. Some of us never let up. The ones that do drop off always wonder about getting back in the mix of racing. I just think a lot of them have set their pr's and know they will never touch it, so their pride keeps them from racing.

My goal now is going to be set on age groups. For example, I'll base my pr on each age 5 year age group instead of an over all one.

I still try to get out 5-6 days a week= 20-25 mpw. All is incredibly slow and run 90% on trails. My old body has had about 75,000 miles on it ( 36 marathons from 2:11-2:27 and a long track and field career), but I still like the movement, especially on dirt or grass trails. Also, like to run my own, SLOW pace where I don't get passed by fat younger runners!! (I've come somewhat full-circle from when I was about 12 y.o.); I just like to run. My sciatic still bothers me, but a good chiro. keeps it in check to allow my favorite activity. I now coach some and love following the sport: Ryan Hall, Rupp, Gouchers, Ritz, and locally Jason Lehmkuhle, Carrie Tollefson, Katie McGregor, etc. I gleen alot of information from LR, especially from guys like Nobby, Orville Atkins, malmo, etc, etc. The old days (1963-early 1980s) were great and wish I could run like I used to!!! I just turned (ugh) 6-0! STEVE

Thank you for the kind words Steve. Like you, it is my intent to extend the legacy of the great runners and Coaches that I have known. That is why I enjoyed the Bruce Kidd and Coach Mihaly Igoi threads so much. I was there and yet I learned from those threads.

As to age, I just turned 71. You are one of those on the board closest to me in age who regularly frequents this board. In addition, your running accomplishments far exceed mine and most who come on here. One of the great thrills I get from our sport is the many many people that I have met. As you know, I knew Ron Daws, a great inovator, as a runner and he then was your coach.

When I started in this sport the World Best in the Marathon was 2:18:34.8. When you started in 1963 the world best had gotten down to only around 2:15. Look where the World Record is now! And you were able to run far faster than those times during your career. The improvement in the marathon is at least as exciting as Roger Bannister's first 4 minute mile was.

Also exciting now is where Masters Running is going. I am in awe of those top masters who post on the weekly Old Man By The Sea Thread. I never could train like they now do in their 40s and 50s. How many of those runners will be able to carry on and challenge the accomplishments of Earl Fee and Ed Whitlock? I just wish that I was going to see what happens in 30 plus years.

I turned fifty last week and couldn't wait to get into a race in my new age group! Have been running for 36 years with bests in my early 30s of 30.48 for 10k and 49.53 for 10 miles. On Sunday i managed 39 mins for 10k and was pretty pleased. I've never stopped, although my mileage has dropped from 90 to 50. Last year i raced 46 times, which was a record for me. I just love the competition - the whole Sunday thing from the journey, the atmosphere, the meeting other runners and the after race glow of a good performance. Injuries appear pretty stable now if not in remission after switching to minimalism/ pose a few years back. As i was only 15th over 50 in Sundays race, with 18 of us under 40 mins (plus a good few 55s and a couple of 60+ guys) i guess I'm not the only one still out there going for it!

nifty at fifty wrote:

Injuries appear pretty stable now if not in remission after switching to minimalism/ pose a few years back. As i was only 15th over 50 in Sundays race, with 18 of us under 40 mins (plus a good few 55s and a couple of 60+ guys) i guess I'm not the only one still out there going for it!

Can you explain what is meant by minimalism? I have researched pose, not sure if I completly understand this.

Thanks in advance

Chris

bump

desert rodent wrote:

Does anyone know former elite, or former sub-elite runners (in your area) from the 1970's that still run socially? I bet 95% of them don't race, but was curious about them running for exercise.

Kinda curious.

A couple of collegiate guys from the 70's and early 80's still run aroudn here pretty regularly, I think logging 50+ weeks. One of them is Mark Curp, who I believe just had his US half marathon record done by Ryan Hall...

I ran for health up until I hit my late 40's, but bad knees have stopped me from running at all, now, in my mid 50's.

To victoria, b.c., canada, runner. By 'minimalism' I meant trying out the original Nike Free 5.0s, finding they worked for me, moving to the Free 4.0s, which I liked better and now to the Waffle racer 2 which have been sold off here in England for as little as £12 (about $24). I do what the Pose community have termed 'Pose Light' ie. I stick to the principles of forefoot strike, short, quick turnover and trying to pull rather than push off the ground. Not the full pose with all the drills etc but it keeps me healthy and happy and at the races!

Thanks, interesting stuff

Running, like sex, can still be a lot of fun, even if you're older. I compete in my age division (M50-59) in the New England Grand Prix series of races. Top ten in each division of each race accummulate points throughout a series of 7 distances, ranging from 5K to the marathon. No shortage of somewhat older, but VERY fast competition at these events! And in the past few years, I've rediscovered the joy of cross-country, complete with miserable weather, puddles and log-jumps! When you're done, drenched and splattered with mud, man do you feel alive! Go to this link to see more -

http://usatfne.org/road/gp.html

Run on. Remember, it's very tough to put a headstone over someone who's out running a 10K.