Vaporfly's do it again!! 59 yr old Tommy Hughes runs 2:27:52 marathon as he and son set father/son world record in Frankfurt

Milethon wrote:

I find it amazing that this guy has a 46.17 400m PR and 2:13 marathon, according to his Iaff bio. That's some amazing range.! Anyway, this guy has been crushing it for a long time now and the shoes have very little to do with that.

link?

That 400 time is probably a mistake

But here are some amazing stats from this year from the power of 10 website

2019 V55 Leicester/Termoneeny RC/Ireland

Event Perf Pos Venue Meeting Date

10000 34:20.5 4 Magherafelt Northern Ireland & Ulster 10,000m Championships inc Team Trophy League 6 Jul 19

5000 16:39.99 1 1 Tullamore, IRL Irish Life Health National Masters Championships 18 Aug 19

5K 16:40 16:40 33 2 Carlingford, IRL Carlingford 5k 2 Aug 19

5K 16:51 16:50 65 1 Belfast Deep RiverRock Queen’s 5K (Inc NI & Ulster Championship) 3 Apr 19

5KNAD 16:44 16:43 3 1 Portglenone Run’n The Bann 5K 12 Sep 19

5KNAD 16:48 7 1 Albertville Albertville 100 Years 5K 29 Sep 19

SHORT5K 16:15 16 Buncrana, IRL Furey Insurance Buncrana 5K 22 May 19

parkrun 16:22 2 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 301 10 Aug 19

parkrun 16:27 1 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 289 11 May 19

parkrun 16:43 1 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 294 15 Jun 19

parkrun 16:49 1 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 275 2 Feb 19

parkrun 16:52 1 1 Ormeau Ormeau parkrun # 290 16 Feb 19

parkrun 16:53 4 1 Belfast Victoria Belfast Victoria parkrun # 401 12 Jan 19

parkrun 17:01 3 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 271 5 Jan 19

parkrun 17:03 1 1 Ecos Ecos parkrun # 331 23 Feb 19

parkrun 17:12 2 1 Antrim Antrim parkrun # 249 19 Jan 19

parkrun 26:02 45 Nidda, GER Nidda parkrun # 95 26 Oct 19

5.08KL 17:40 1 L1 1 Sutton Coldfield British Masters Open Relay Championships 18 May 19

8KXC 22:45 21 1 Barnett’s Demesne Northern Ireland & Ulster Intermediate & Masters' Championships 26 Jan 19

5M 27:02 2 1 Moneymore Loup 5K / 5M 22 Jun 19

5M 27:12 27:11 6 1 Ballymena Fairhill 5 5 Jun 19

5MNAD 27:17 27:14 5 1 Derry Wilkies Classic 5 16 May 19

10K 33:26 33:26 20 1 Belfast Titanic Quarter 10K 31 Mar 19

10K 33:51 33:51 13 1 Belfast Laganside 10K 1 Sep 19

10K 33:57 33:57 11 1 Coalisland Newell 5K / 10K 28 Jun 19

10K 33:57 33:56 9 1 Dublin, IRL KBC South Dublin 10K 21 Jul 19

10K 34:00 33:59 3 1 Lisburn Lisburn 10K 19 Jun 19

10K 34:04 34:04 4 1 Magherafelt Termoneeney 10K 10 May 19

10K 34:20 34:19 22 1 Bangor Bangor 10K (inc NI & Ulster Championship) 28 Sep 19

10K 34:45 34:45 10 1 Downpatrick Jimmy's 10K 17 Mar 19

10KNAD 34:14 1 1 Arboe Great Rossa Run 10K 7 Jul 19

10KNAD 34:17 34:17 2 Ballymaguigan Run For Fionntain 10K 4 Aug 19

10KNAD 34:53 34:53 2 1 Crossgar Crossgar 10K 27 Jul 19

10KNAD 35:12 4 1 Omagh Omagh CBS 10K 9 Feb 19

10M 54:54 54:46 17 1 Dublin, IRL Irish Runner 10 Mile 13 Jul 19

10M 56:23 56:23 10 1 Londonderry Walled City Derry 10 2 Mar 19

HM 71:58 71:57 1 1 Newry Newry City Half Marathon 26 May 19

HM 72:34 72:33 6 1 Belfast Belfast City Half Marathon 22 Sep 19

HM 72:36 72:36 7 1 Larne Larne Half Marathon 23 Mar 19

HM 74:01 73:59 18 1 Dublin, IRL Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon 11 Aug 19

HMNAD 73:41 73:40 3 1 Dungannon Washingbay Green Run Half Marathon 16 Mar 19

Mar 2:27:52 2:27:52 77 1 Frankfurt, GER Frankfurt Marathon 27 Oct 19

Mar 2:30:19 2:30:15 67 1 Rotterdam, NED NN Marathon Rotterdam 7 Apr 19

Mar 2:32:30 2:32:30 1 1 Cushendall Larne AC Coastal Marathon 29 Jun 19

2018 V55 Leicester/Termoneeny RC/Ireland

Event Perf Pos Venue Meeting Date

5K 17:42 30 3 Downpatrick Co Down 5K 18 Nov 18

parkrun 17:20 6 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 269 22 Dec 18

parkrun 17:22 2 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 263 10 Nov 18

parkrun 17:57 4 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 259 13 Oct 18

parkrun 18:09 5 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 246 14 Jul 18

parkrun 18:12 3 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 248 28 Jul 18

parkrun 18:16 2 1 MUSA Cookstown MUSA Cookstown parkrun # 270 29 Dec 18

5M 28:59 28:59 19 1 Greencastle Greencastle 5 26 Dec 18

5MNAD 30:36 9 2 Moneymore Loup 5K / 5M 23 Jun 18

5MXC 30:07 31 3 Ballyclare McConnell Shield Open 3 Nov 18

10K 35:27 35:24 87 1 Belfast Seeley Cup 10K 1 Dec 18

10K 37:53 37:50 63 4 Bangor Bangor 10K (Inc NI & Ulster Championship) 29 Sep 18

10K 39:11 39:10 47 4 Lisburn Lisburn 10K 20 Jun 18

10KNAD 39:23 39:23 29 1 Coalisland Newell 10K 29 Jun 18

10M 65:14 65:14 21 1 Limavady Jude Gallagher Memorial Round the Bridges 10 28 Jun 18

10MMT 60:51 60:50 8 1 Cookstown Fergals 10 20 Oct 18

HM 84:48 5 1 Arboe Great Rossa Half Marathon 8 Jul 18

ZXC 29:26 54 24 Antrim Northern Ireland & Ulster Even Age Group Championships (Inc Bobby Rea Open) 27 Oct 18

https://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=775

ballsucker Murphy the real one wrote:

Uummm, ever heard of Eliud Kipchoge?????

Another 59 yr old running some pretty good times.

Actually Eliud Kipchoge is only 54 years old. I do think he can still run sub 2:10 in 5 years though.

#1. No one gets busted by WADA/ USADA for eating contaminated beef. They get busted for taking steroids, getting caught, and offering up lame excuses.

#2. The Vaporfly is a huge opportunity for masters running and 2nd tier competitive distance running. Pro-am and masters cycling is way more popular than it was 30 years ago. Why? Bike technology has leveled the playing field, allowing more people to compete. The best still win, but lightweight aero gear makes it easier to stay with the bunch in a cat III race or simply log quality miles on a weekend ride.

The Vaporfly, and shoes like it, offer a similar opportunity to runners. The price is relatively affordable and the effect is noticeable but not ridiculous. In particular, the shoes seem sto allow sub elites to maintain speed over the last 1/2 of the race. It also looks like major marathons may see larger lead groups make it to the last miles. See Chicago and to a lesser extent Berlin. Finally, there appears to be a real chance that the shoes will allow elites to extend their racing careers. These are all good things for runners and spectators.

#3. Technological improvement is inevitable. No one thinks Jared Ward is a better runner than Frank Shorter because his marathon pr is a minute faster. People understand that there are a whole slew of advantages available in 2019 as opposed to 1972.

#4. At some point, the IAAF will likely cap the stack height or energy return properties of shoes. This will probably be based more on appearance than anything else. UCI did the same thing in the 80s and 90s for cycling, banning forward seat positions, aero bars, and full disc wheels from road races. I think the Vaporfly is similar to a mid depth aero wheel. Yes, it is an advantage, looks slightly different, and is more expensive than traditional tech. However, on balance, it simply makes the race slightly faster and more enjoyable for a larger group of participants.

boing boing... PR*

I think people like to buy stuff.

Bikes and shoes make you feel faster, but if you are in PR shape you are going to PR in any high quality light cushioned shoe.

The subtle improvement in cushioning isn’t going to extend careers dramatically. Look at Galen/Jordan/Gwen/Shalane/Craig?

Plenty of people still getting hurt. I see plenty of good runners on Strava still getting hurt.

I’m still blown away that a guy who is 59 can still run 2:30. It’s not the shoes ....he is a beast and I really would love to know how he trains?

I have to assume all those 5/10k runs are training runs given that they are basically at HM pace (5:30). Same thing for all the 10 mile races at slower than marathon pace by almost like 20s+.

The m60 WR is 2:36:30 (in old shoes)so this is definitely a fast time but not something that screams crazy outlier to me given the general lack of depth in masters running. Just need a guy who can stay healthy and keep on training.

Of course these days you have no clue what type of drugs a guy is using. A little bit of T cream will not cause you to test positive but will give you the results of someone 10 years younger

I think it is sad that tommy still feels the need to do better than his child. Doesn't he know that he his supposed to let the child win?

Wow, Hughes long list of recent race times are amazing...this guy has the genetics and he's using them. More power to him. As they say, this guy has game.

On a side note, I raced for the first time in a new pair of Next%. I have never worn and of the VF variants, so they are a new experience to me. Two things stood out for me: 1) the incredibly soft cushioning, and 2) how good my legs felt the next day compared to any other shoe.

For Masters and 50+ like myself, I don't feel the benefit of the Next% is really the actual speed of the shoe running; the bigger benefit is running your fastest, and not getting beat up by it. These shoes save your legs. It's not as big a deal for younger folks, but as you get older the pounding takes a bigger toll on the muscles, regardless of how fit you are cardio wise.

The Next % is the first racing shoe that allows me to race in consecutive weekends, not weeks apart.

Yes it was a loop. I just Googled "Marathon de Neuf-Brisach parcours" and got an old pdf of raceday info for the 1998 version. So the Kohlbeck's record could be legit.

CIA investigator wrote:

I think it is sad that tommy still feels the need to do better than his child. Doesn't he know that he his supposed to let the child win?

That's how it's done today. To be polite, let's just say it's due to a more confused, softer society. Everyone gets a (finishers) medal if you will. Back in the day, dads didn't just lay down and let their child win. They had to win legitimately. When it happened, it was a big deal for both the child and dad because the achievement was real and they were both proud of it. But in this "modern" world as with (finishers) medals, it doesn't mean anything and no one cares because it's all just fake achievements. When guys like Tommy are gone, this world will be left with nothing but fake father son hobby teams that no one cares about.

This actually effects me. Last year, I decided I'd try to get a 70% age-graded performance (nothing amazing for most here but satisfying for me) at 5K, 10K, Half and Full.

I'm basing the calculation off of the actual world record at my age (but if someone even older runs faster, I've got to use that time).

So, at age 56, I got the 70% ratings by running 22:23, 46:18 and 1:41:57. For the marathon I needed 3:39:XX.

Then Tommy Hughes comes along early this year and breaks a 30 year old record for age 59 by about three minutes, meaning I've now got to run 3:34:41.

I thought I had a pretty good chance at 3:39 (my PR is 3:43), with 3:34:41 probably right at the limit of my capability.

So, I was thinking I had better make an effort at this in the coming months before Hughes could run even faster (I had already seen he ran in Vaporflys when he broke the record previously).

And now he breaks that record by 2:23, meaning I'd have to run 3:31 which I think is probably impossible for me.

Not happy. Record stands for 30 years and is lowered by something like 6 minutes in the span of months.

Maybe there should be two categories for world records, depending on the shoes worn...

*stipe wrote:

How come you used Vaporfly in your headline for this, but not in your headline for Camille Herron's 24 hour run?

The jos didn't start that thread. I did. They just took it over a few hours later when they realized a world record had been set.

I can't believe people are talking about the shoes with this guy. He's 59 years old. The shoes aren't what's doing it for him.

it ain't the shoes wrote:

I can't believe people are talking about the shoes with this guy. He's 59 years old. The shoes aren't what's doing it for him.

Well...if it's not the shoes then what is it then? ? How many 59 year olds can run 2:27 let alone even finish a marathon under 3 hours?

Of course it's the shoes - as though it's a coincidence that all of these records are being based with runners wearing the same shoe.

I’m 43 and shoes can’t run sub 2:30.

Please go buy a pair and post.

Also please someone at 59 go take drugs and buy the shoes and run 2:30. I’ll reimburse you for the expenses.

This guy is a complete bad ass and anyone posting is jealous or ignorant.

Otq dreamer wrote:

Also please someone at 59 go take drugs and buy the shoes and run 2:30. I’ll reimburse you for the expenses.

This guy is a complete bad ass and anyone posting is jealous or ignorant.

He might be a badass but he'd probably be a badass running 2:32 instead of 2:27...