An aging marathoner tries to beat 2 hours + his age

sc42 wrote:

areusure? wrote:

Pretty easy 43 and numerous 2:20-2:30 times.

I sort of agree, but it depends on your age. In my 40’s 4:age for the mile was no big deal. By 50 it was getting pretty tough even with mile-specific training. At 54, missed by a couple tenths and broke a good long string.

I agree that it depends upon your age. I ran 2:32 at age 44 so I was 12 minutes under at that point. At age 52 my time was 2:51 so I was just hanging on. The last marathons I did were 3:17 and 3:18 at age 60 so I was way over by that point.

to me the main takeway is that as a 51 year old, I can always do more - try new things, get more advice. I sort of think I know it all already...but if I had the confidence to take advice and try new things maybe I'd be faster and more engaged.

Good piece, nxthompson.

At what age would this be easiest? Maybe 2:35 at age 35?

Good luck ScottEvil and especially Allen1959. I was born late November 59, maybe a little younger than you. I'm hoping for a tailwind next Boston :)

Thanks! This is the brand I like. Actually tastes pretty good, unlike the first couple ones I tried, which tasted awful: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y3P5HGF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Great article, congratulations on the time.

I skipped over this thread for a few days, thinking it was one of those boring training logs. GREAT article! Congrats on the sizeable PR, nxthompson - very cool in all ways. And as has been posted, super inspiring.

Ackley wrote:

The 2:00 plus Age Marathon goal was big on the old RW Forums. I think they called people who achieved it "Moose Mug Runners" goal because some RW Forum member would send a moose mug to anyone that met the goal.

Yup. 2 hours plus age for men; 2:20 plus age for women nets you a moose mug. That person will still send them to any old forum member who hits that standard.

wowpopop wrote:

holy crap this was the most inspiring thing I've ever read

Screw him.

I'm going to run my age plus 1hr 59min 59.999sec.

So stick it.

Ever heard of Ed Whitlock..?

But can he shoot his age in golf?

Or run his age in the 400?

Several good lines in here. Great article.

In Recovery wrote:

Ever heard of Ed Whitlock..?

Ever heard of Gene Dykes?

Dude just ran a 2:38 in NYC. Only a few weeks after Chicago. Pretty cool to see.

areusure? wrote:

Pretty easy 43 and numerous 2:20-2:30 times.

Wow! Really? Cause I just glanced at NYC Marathon results & there were only 2 (Italy & Spain) in the 40 -44 age group who broke 2:30. Are you an American from the U.S.?

Age Graded wrote:

I wonder who the youngest 2 hours + age is. Surely there have been sub 2:20 20 year olds. Possibly a 2:16 16 year old.

And this raises a vital point. There is a serious bell curve here where this 'feat' is very hard for the young (like your teen runner) and exponentially harder for the older runner (curve gets steep in the 50s and steeper still from there on). 'Easiest' age to pull this off is right around 40.

Just went on some age graded sites (I know, I know....blah,blah,blah,yadda,yadda,yadda), and it's almost exactly at age 40 where this feat is the 'easiest'. And as far as Whitlock, Dykes....fuhgedaboutit!

I skipped this forum post thinking it to be standard letsrun banter. Then I read the article on wired.com and thought of this post's title. Great magazine, great article!

Few questions for the author:

What type of runner were you in HS/college? Times and distances? Were you dedicated at your peak? Obviously not dedicated enough to continue, but like senior year hs?

Pains me to use this terminology, but do you consider yourself a slow or fast twitch person? Sub 5 mile mid workout seems impressive. Especially with the race calculators.

Best of luck. You and I seem very similar in life and skill. Even down to literally running errands and track work cut short by kids.

Hilarious when people can't grasp you only have so much time to dedicate to a hobby.

Sounds like someone need to get a life.