Can a non-runner run a 2:30 marathon after 50?

Maine Mt. wrote:

Bud Edelen once bet a friend that he could break 2:30 in the marathon at age 60. But sadly, of course, Bud never made it to 60.

yes, he died of cancer at age 59. His competitive career ended at age 28.

NO....unless you were a 2:15 marathoner or better in your 20s or 30s, but not many of those guys stick around as serious runners all those years as they have 'been there, done that'; most good masters runners were NOT pounding the miles and running at an elite level through their 20s; most took significant time off and come back with 'the thirst and hunger' that most top runners quenched decades ago. (If I get one more 40 year old Dr., lawyer, rich business owner who is now 'on fire' for running and racing now, and doing well on their local masters scene, tell me that 'someone' told them if they would have run in their 20s, that they would have been national class, a 4 minute miler or a 212 marathoner. I don't believe it. Sorry).

a non-runner could not run a marathon

cold clear day. wrote:

NO....unless you were a 2:15 marathoner or better in your 20s or 30s, but not many of those guys stick around as serious runners all those years as they have 'been there, done that'; most good masters runners were NOT pounding the miles and running at an elite level through their 20s; most took significant time off and come back with 'the thirst and hunger' that most top runners quenched decades ago. (If I get one more 40 year old Dr., lawyer, rich business owner who is now 'on fire' for running and racing now, and doing well on their local masters scene, tell me that 'someone' told them if they would have run in their 20s, that they would have been national class, a 4 minute miler or a 212 marathoner. I don't believe it. Sorry).

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I just want to win my local marathon; it'll take at least a 2:40 to do that. I'll shoot for sub-3 this year and 2:50 in 18-24 mos; then my period of improvement will probably be toast. Thanks for the posts.

FYI - This guy came close in one of those small-town marathons.

Locally, your talent will show very quickly, buti it might take several years for your talent to show to the point where you are getting national recognition.

You will probably have a window of 3-6years of progress if you train smart. 5.50,40m,3.12 all indicate you have a good slice of the ability pie. Train smart but hard for the next few years and you will certainly get into the 2.50s. If you can get 5-6 years of good level injury free running then something like a 2.40 could be a chance. 2.30ish is highly unlikely but hey just keep at it and see.

Started at 47.

Best Marathon 3:22. Best half 1:32.I Break down if I run more than 40mpw consistantly.

You may have the natural talent to run a lot faster than present if--and it is a big if-- you can put in the big miles and stay healthy.

Not getting injured is the Major factor next to natural ability in my opinion.

The best motivation you have is that you do not know how fast you can go except that you know it is faster than the present.

A good situation to be in.

Tread carefully with your buildups.

Do not put limits on yourself is my 20c.

You may surpass even your own expectations.

Good luck.

In the words of Johnny Mac - you cant be serious! If the OP really existed (which he does not as this post was obviously started in trollish spirit to see how many people would take the bait) he would have no chance whatsoever to run 2:40. 2:40 is not some easy time to which a 50 yr old novice runner can aspire.

dirk diggler. wrote:

In the words of Johnny Mac - you cant be serious! If the OP really existed (which he does not as this post was obviously started in trollish spirit to see how many people would take the bait) he would have no chance whatsoever to run 2:40. 2:40 is not some easy time to which a 50 yr old novice runner can aspire.

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It just feels like running faster is getting easier. When I ran the 3:12 (a 14-min PR) it felt easier than running at a 'safer' speed. Most sports have points at which you finally get it and start playing better. That's the way my stride is starting to feel.

Yeah, I'm slow, but have never trained for anything shorter than a few marathons on 40-45mpw. I'm hoping by working on my turnover & stride technique, and training for some shorter races this spring, I can break 3 by early fall. Then I'll reassess. So true, patience & staying injury free at this age are critical.

Did the OP end up breaking 2:30?

zero to fifty in 2:30 wrote:

I'm 48, have only been running for 3 years, with a 3:12 PR for the marathon. I doubt I can run a mile faster than 5:50 right now. What's the best indicator of whether I can ever run a 2:30-2:40 marathon?

The best indicator is you're 3:12 after 3 years. Not gonna happen.

fattoes wrote:

ha, come on guys. this is either a troll (i hate that word), or a dumb#ss.

proof that at one time this place was a better place... well go to page one and read it yourself. now the autocensor kicks in for the crime of quoting a post thats been here for years.

Running sub 2:30 is possible at 50, especially for runners who were elite back in the day, they are already wired for it, if they have weight in check. Now, I was never elite, good, but not great, and I did run 2:31:39 in rough conditions in Feb, winning by over 6 min, I think I could of broke 2:30, if the weather was better and I had someone to help push pace, I was 49. I turn 50 next week, so I may go for it in Dec. I had not run a marathon in over 10 years or raced much period over the last decade. I did run 1:12 1/2 marathon in Dec, so that did give some confidence going into race. What is hard for people at my age, is overall muscle strength and weight. I agree, I do not think mile time is good indicator of marathon success, I have no speed, sure based on my mile time, I would of not graded out to 2:31.

I'm not a master's runner by any means but I will always wonder how I would have done in the 15 years I didn't run (ages 18 to 33), after HS track ended in May 2002. I started running again in May 2017 at age 33.

It's an interesting thread--can older runners jump-start their abilities even with age against them...I think yes, if you are careful and take your time on the buildup.

I'm at 50-55 mpw consistently now, but may go up. I have a busy life so 80mpw would be TOO much. If I was single maybe, but double days (I've done a few already) are good for me if I want to rest the following day completely.

I'm curious to see how 55 mpw will translate to a Marathon with more experience and more speed-based workouts. When I trained in 2019 I ran 37-40 mpw but the "speed" workouts I did were 4x1600s and 6x800 Yassos--and that was it. I got 3:24.

curious_runner wrote:

Did the OP end up breaking 2:30?

No.

Impressive run. You'll likely be one of the top 50 year old marathoners in the country next year. With that being said, did you run 2:31 with or without carbon fiber plates in your shoes? With this old post we're comparing apples and oranges. It's not nearly as hard for a master to hit those times these days. We'll see way more sub-2:30 masters/sub 2:40 50+ guys at Chicago this year than were shown in that comment earlier in this thread.

Sorry, I did not realize I was posting to an old thread. I did use Carbon Fiber shoes and of course I believe they do help and I agree, there will be many Sub 2:40 and even Sub 2:30's guys this year. Wish I could run Chicago, always wanted to, but to busy with Coaching CC that time of year.

No I wouldn't think so.

I am coaching a 50 year old right now to try and break 2:30 for a marathon and he has run 16:25 for 5k and been involved in endurance sports mainly triathlons for many years.

You have several things against you:

1. no muscle memory as running as a younger athlete thus your movement efficiency and utalisation of oxygen will be way behind

2. You are likely to get injured due to the nature of the training you will be doing.

3. Age= more recovery and more likely to have the demands of life takeover.

4. Do you really want to run 70-90 miles per week...the psychological demands will be too difficult for you to maintain the motivation

Sorry for the bad news but no you won't be running 2:40-2:30 for a marathon. Breaking 3 hours is a great goal or better yet run sub 17 minutes for 5k and that will be impressive. Good luck!

In one word NO.

I started running seriously 3 years ago and now at 50 I have recently done a sub 5:30 mile, sub-19 5k, sub-39 10k and sub-87 HM. Sub-3 marathon is next. That at 50 is pretty rare.

In 3 years if you're only at 5:50 mile then 2:30 mara is not going to happen, likewise for me. Be sensible and aim for sub-3.