Runnndude wrote:
I am 67 and am confident I could train down to sub-60 in the 10K. But why? I’m in shape. Lift two or three times a week. Walk everywhere. Age-group racing puzzles me. Running starting really beating me up about five years ago, so I essentially stopped running (any time I walk I throw in some 100-yard strides so I don’t forget how to run in case I HAVE to).
This age-group record is impressive, but I don’t really care. If people in their 60s, 70s, etc. want to train like demons, fine, but I don’t get it.
Personally, I find racing motivates me to keep fit. I love competition, and I enjoyed structured training.
I'm 65, and think I'm in about 41:00 min shape (ran a 5.9 mile time trial last year at 6:35 average). I thought that was pretty solid, until I saw Alastair Walker's phenomenal effort.
I'm now further away from the world-record than I was when I was 25 years old.
I think there are a handful of masters runners, that are just genetic anomalies in terms of both having the initial ability, and then being less affected by age related decline, primarily I suspect in terms of being able to recover relatively quickly. If I do a decent session, it then takes me a couple of days of shuffling around three or four miles in the 8:00 min mile range before I'm ready for another.
Guys like Tommy Hughes and I suspect Alastair Walker, are able to maintain higher training levels, which among other things helps keep the weight off.