A question for old timers.

This has been a great discussion.

I may not be adding anything at this late stage, but I want to note that many of us gave up racing involuntarily. The spirit is willing but the body is weak. I presume that's true for those who've given up running altogether, as well.

Some people are just more durable than others, and it shows in how long they can keep racing or running, just as it showed in how hard they could train at their peak.

The biggest problem with running at an advanced age is that we have youthful minds stuck in older bodies. The "can-do" spirit of our early years doesn't diminish with our racing times. Call it it crazy, but somewhere in my mind, I think I still have a PR or two in me. Now, all I have to do is get my body to agree..

An acquaintance commented to me about how many "masters" runners were 5,6,7 guys on their h.s. cross country teams. Reminds me of my single running poster with something about "The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running." Both hit close to home.

I keep on running six days a week but racing has declined less from inclination than from general injury management. At this age, ambition comes with a price (as I have recently dediscovered for the umpteenth time). And it is hard to go to the trouble of going to a race and paying the money if you are not at your best (whatver that may be). So if I am in good shape and healthy, I go racing. I still enjoy the challenge, age group success, and how you feel about five to ten minutes after running your guts out. Otherwise, I just keep it going the best I can, grateful that I can still get out and run at this point in my life. That's the real win.

I'm so old I remember getting lapped almost twice by Steve Hoag in a Mn. state AAU 10,000 track race back in 19 something ('75,'76)? Anyway I'm 52 and have been running and racing since 1971. Enjoy the running more than ever, the racing....well, let's just say it's not the biggest thrill to be running your brains out and going up to a minute per mile slower than back in the day. I'd say that most of my old running pals are still doing some running fewer still racing regularly. We that are still racing don't take it quite so seriously, usually finishing and blurting out, "Holy shit! How did I ever manage to run that pace for 26 miles at one time!" This being at the end of a 5k or even a mile. I guess I keep racing out of curiousity. And the mandatory beers after. But it's great seeing posts here from guys like Steve and Tom Derderian, Orville Atkins and knowing these great runners from back then are still getting out there.

quote]SouthernSun wrote:

I suspect a good many old runners stop racing - and even running - because their bodies give out. It happened to me and to the two other guys in Miami I ran with. We won a lot of the road races down there in the '70s and early '80s and all three of us are unable to run now. quote]

Your last name would not happen to rhyme with the state fruit of Georgia, now would it?

Sho nuff (which is about as southern as this born-and-raised yankee gets). One of the two cripples, er guys, I mentioned, Wayne Moor, and I were at the Nike Marathon when you kicked butt (2;10:59 is still kicking butt). And I still have good memories of going on some training runs with you and Tom Fleming in Jan.-Feb. 1980 when you guys were doing staying at a house in South Miami. You were smart guys - training there in the very brief window of not-too-hot/humid weather Miami offers.

Not sure why Wayne and Pat Chmiel and I got so gimpy. Yeah we put in lots of miles, but others put in more, and we had no hills to pound down. I do wish we'd had dirt trails to run on, but Miami real estate is too valuable not to pave over.

bump

[quote]SouthernSun wrote:

I still have good memories of going on some training runs with you and Tom Fleming in Jan.-Feb. 1980 when you guys were staying at a house in South Miami. You were smart guys - training there in the very brief window of not-too-hot/humid weather Miami offers.

[quote]

Sho 'nough,

That was when the "future was so bright, we had to wear shades, haha.

Now, I thank goodness that I can run an average of 25 miles a week.

I believe many of us just want to stay in touch with that runner athlete we were, I see me passing myself, easily in my rear view mirror, shifting gears, doubling the clutch.

Now I have one gear, do I look/feel like a runner...

I was in a car accident in 1993, patella tendon was snapped... lots of recovery, a real challenge but grateful for a good recovery and ability to be physical, walking hiking, biking running, just keep moving before they throw dirt on us.

Happy to hear that you are still moving, and I also have fond memories of being youthful and alive and kicking and taking no prisoners, showing no mercy, in South Miami once upon a time.

Derderian wrote:

I am 58 and started running freshman year of HS. Last weekend at a road race I counted 5 guys who were racing when I started running road races in the late sixties. They are all older than me.

Tom

TommyD,

One of my first road races in March 1974 18 years old, a half marathon in Holliston.

I thought you & K. Mueller were already old!

I believe you won, I ran 1:07:52 and placed 3rd behind the two "old guys"

Just A Kid: that means the next generation has some people with class. Thank you from a 52-year-old.

Steve Hoag, is the environment you run in crucial to your maintaining a running regimen? i mean, would you have quit if you didn't have interesting/runner friendly trails to run on.

Also, do you shut down for Minnesota winters, and only run late spring thru fall?

Thanks.

Just Trying 2 Run wrote:

The biggest problem with running at an advanced age is that we have youthful minds stuck in older bodies. The "can-do" spirit of our early years doesn't diminish with our racing times. Call it it crazy, but somewhere in my mind, I think I still have a PR or two in me. Now, all I have to do is get my body to agree..

PR's can be mentally scaled down to your age group.

I should bring to attention (though I won't mention names, these two gentlemen I don't think would want to have any info. of themselves on a public message board).

One of these now age 64? (Person A) ran a lot of the Winter series this year & was either first or second in age cat. The other, (Person B) one yr. my senior whom I have known & competed with since Gr. 11, still runs fairly regularly & still competes, occasionally & does well.

(Person A) has always been very intelligent in his running, knows when he should race & when he should back off.

Neither have any club affiliation, indicates to me both are very well self-motivated. Whether the social aspect of running is important to them or not I couldn't say.

Both at this time don't appear to be struggling with any kinds of injuries....maybe they took a break for a few years, then resumed running later on in life? I don't know. I do know (Person B) in 1983 trained hard & ran 2:29 for the RVM (Royal Victoria Marathon)

The point is; both were back in the early mid sixties well-known as the top local runners through their high school years & continued to run very well through their university days and are still this day appearing at a few local races & running well in them.

Bump.

K. Mueller ran today at the Art Doyle Memorial Race at Framingham State College in Framingham MA, Hodgie.

He is still out there, even after the coronary issues and the cancer.

I asked him how it was out there today, his reply was succinct:

"It s*cked!"

After which he got into a conversation with one of the former profs, then went out to run and add 'a few more minutes', came back in, munched on a banana or two then hobnobbed with the crowd, before heading off in search of his next race venue.

Bump.

Yank wrote:

K. Mueller ran today at the Art Doyle Memorial Race at Framingham State College in Framingham MA, Hodgie.

He is still out there, even after the coronary issues and the cancer.

I asked him how it was out there today, his reply was succinct:

"It s*cked!"

After which he got into a conversation with one of the former profs, then went out to run and add 'a few more minutes', came back in, munched on a banana or two then hobnobbed with the crowd, before heading off in search of his next race venue.

As they say in NZ, "good on him"

Hodgie: He was 33rd overall and 1st in the 70+ age bracket

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/07/ma/May5_2007/Ar_sct1.shtml

I’m 61 and have run 40:24(10k), 66:31(10 miles), and 89:25(HM) within past 8 months. This year’s weekly mileage has averaged 45-50, with a few weeks in low 60’s. Although I started running in late 70’s, there have been only 8 years where I’ve averaged as much as 40 mpw, with tops of low 50’s from 1988-1990. This is probably a big reason why I am running relatively well at this age—less wear and tear on the legs. Even so, there are several 60+ guys here in the Bay Area who can leave me in the dust. I’ve never been anything close to elite, with best times coming during my early 40’s -- 33:48 (10k), 56:25 (10 miles), and 75:27 (HM).

I quit racing soon after I turned 50, before picking it up again just before turning 59. Since resuming I have often asked myself why I ever stopped. It is every bit as much fun as it was when I was a minute per mile faster. At first it was kind of hard to accept, but it didn’t take long to adjust. Racing gives me something exciting to look forward to that had been missing while I wasn't doing it. Like some others who have posted, I use the age grading tables to measure progress and also for motivation. Reading about the top oldsters, such as the great Ed Whitlock, is also very motivating.

kind of in the same boat - regarding some of your times and past mileage since the '70s. You have no "mental motivation" problems? If not, how do you swing that?

sodbuster wrote:

kind of in the same boat - regarding some of your times and past mileage since the '70s. You have no "mental motivation" problems? If not, how do you swing that?

Having had several periods where I've cut back without having it forced on me by injury has probably helped. None of these have been consicous decisions or complete breaks from running. Something would happen in my "other" life and mileage would drop off for a while. I'd put on a few pounds before eventually starting the cycle over again. This has kept me from experiencing year after year of deteriorating performance. Each time you whip yourself back into shape you get to experience the satisfaction of having times improve for a while. Even at my current age I've been able to experience that for the last couple years.

For whatever reason, I'm as excited about running as I was during my best years. A certain amount has to come from accepting things as they are. We all have to start slowing down at some point, but it doesn't mean that we still can't continue to enjoy out sport.