Masters racing is pointless if you've trained hard in your youth

It's not about time but winning. Age categories are no different to male and female categories. You are competing against someone on the same level.

google it! wrote:

If you run a 16:30 5K in your 20s, you'll be known as that stud who won the Turkey Trot.

If you run a 24:30 5K in your 70s, you'll be known as that hobby jogger who awkwardly shuffled through the race.

So which result do you want to appear when friends, family, co-workers, etc. Google your name? That 16:30 guy featured in the local paper, or a back-of-the pack jogger who barely finished? They may not know or care what a 17:00 or a 20:00 5K means, but your place in the field will be obvious.

Sounds perfectly reasonable until you've live long enough to understand that people don't google your name to find out how fast you ran or can run. Generally, people don't care about things like that.

If they ever googled your race times for anything, I can guarantee you that it would only be to see how they are doing relative to others (including you).

Take away: it doesn't matter to anyone besides yourself. You do you.

Let's be honest here folks, (taking the marathon as an example), the only thing more pointless than a masters runner trying to run 42.195km as fast as possible - is everyone else trying to do the same.

It's a slippery slope when we start labelling the things we and others do for fun as "pointless". Most things are.

$0.02 wrote:

Let's be honest here folks, (taking the marathon as an example), the only thing more pointless than a masters runner trying to run 42.195km as fast as possible - is everyone else trying to do the same.

It's a slippery slope when we start labelling the things we and others do for fun as "pointless". Most things are.

+1

google it! wrote:

If you run a 16:30 5K in your 20s, you'll be known as that stud who won the Turkey Trot.

If you run a 24:30 5K in your 70s, you'll be known as that hobby jogger who awkwardly shuffled through the race.

So which result do you want to appear when friends, family, co-workers, etc. Google your name? That 16:30 guy featured in the local paper, or a back-of-the pack jogger who barely finished? They may not know or care what a 17:00 or a 20:00 5K means, but your place in the field will be obvious.

You are either new to the sport or don't know anything about running. A 24:30 for a 70 year old is more impressive than a 16:30 in your 20's. The All-American standard for a 70 year old is 27:40!

My PR days are long gone... but the age-grading percentiles are fun and present a good challenge.

seattle prattle wrote:

$0.02 wrote:

Let's be honest here folks, (taking the marathon as an example), the only thing more pointless than a masters runner trying to run 42.195km as fast as possible - is everyone else trying to do the same.

It's a slippery slope when we start labelling the things we and others do for fun as "pointless". Most things are.

+1

OK so you have come full circle jerk and admitted that Nickyyy was correct. This thread was obviously somebody piggybacking on Nickyyy’s thread.

In_Ithaca wrote:

I enjoy running much more now than I did 15-20 years ago as an elite. It also took me a while to find my way back to running . Your mileage may vary.

Wow! You've been gone a long time. Glad you're enjoying running now.

I know you're just trying to get a rise out of people and don't want a serious answer but I'm going to put one here. It's based on a comment Ron Hill made late in his career. He said that if you loved doing something why would you stop doing it just because you can't do it as well as you once did. If you don't really like hard training and only want to do it as long as you're getting PBs then sure, once those are gone run less, run more easily, stop racing or just run them socially rather than competitively. Some of us like training seriously and racing hard, don't really expect you to get it, or care if you do or don't.

Running a 16 min 5K as a 25 yo on 50 mpw is pretty disappointing. Sorry you’re slow and lack talent/drive.

[quote]prove me wrong wrote:

I just don't get the point of it. Why train just as hard (or even harder) to run slower? If you've run a 16 minute 5K as a 25 year old doing 50 MPW, bumping that up to 70+ MPW as a 45 year old and only managing a 17 minute 5K has got to be pretty depressing.

This sorta describes me. My PR at age 18 was 15:36, was running around 80 mpw, Kinda depressing to be honest. I then stopped running competitively, got into lifting for a few years, then stopped, got through med school and residency and weighed 190lb, hadn't run hardly at all in about 17 years. I started running again around age 35 off and on and gradually got more into it, started to race a little, and by the time I was in my early to mid 40s got myself down to sub 60 for 10 miles running 50-60mpw, winning my age group in a bunch of local races and even a couple of overall wins. I also enjoyed training with some friends including a former 1600/3200 state champ from my H.S. class.

I must be the exact opposite of you because getting back into that kind of shape and running those times felt awesome!

some 800 guy wrote:

Running a 16 min 5K as a 25 yo on 50 mpw is pretty disappointing. Sorry you’re slow and lack talent/drive.

That was an example, not my actual PR. Besides, the 5K isn't even my best event.

This may be the most immature topic ever in the history of this board (and that's saying a lot).

It may also be the best troll job. Well done.

If we all took the advice of the op there would be no road races because in his mind there would only be a handful of runners worthy of being at the start line. 30 years ago I would have been disappointed if I did not run sub 5 pace for races 10 miles or under. In my 30s and 40s 3 kids changed my focus a bit and I did little racing. At 58, I have more time for myself. I run triathlons and run around 7 minute pace for 5-10ks at the end of a tri. I still look forward to running races and look forward to the nervous energy pre-race. After a race I still enjoy a few post race beers. My left knee limits my running to 15-20 mpw and I bike much more. Working out whether it is running or biking is always one of the highlights in my day. I hope when the op grows up he can enjoy every workout as he slows. If not his life will likely have less meaning. Keep running and racing. If you lose that passion you will lose some of yourself.

prove me wrong wrote:

I just don't get the point of it. Why train just as hard (or even harder) to run slower? If you've run a 16 minute 5K as a 25 year old doing 50 MPW, bumping that up to 70+ MPW as a 45 year old and only managing a 17 minute 5K has got to be pretty depressing.

This was a very successful troll post. Bravo! For fun, I’ll bite. It seems the inherent assumption in your polarized thought process that the only thing that is valuable is running faster? Correct? Once you stop running faster despite harder training then there is no value in racing? Correct? If, in fact, the only value to masters running was to always run faster then your premise is entirely correct.

But your inherent assumption is not correct. Always going faster is not the only thing that is valuable in masters racing.

I’ve been running for 45 years now and when I look back into my teens when I did indeed run under 16 minutes in the 5K, the things I remember are my teammates and how much fun we had. I am still friends with these people and I love them. Our coach is 78 and still runs! I remember the excitement of a big meet, of the rivalries and friends I made. The irony of my bitter enemies in HS becoming my beloved teammates on the same college team. The travel and preparation for races, the comradery and shared goals.

I’ve been a masters racer for 15 years now. Now at 62, although I look fondly back on those times, I am finding that we are now creating NEW memories that are just as rich, just as meaningful as those times 45 years ago! I feel like I am somehow cheating by getting to do this all over again!

Here’s the thing you are missing, is that in shooting for faster times, to win, to be the best, the UNINTENTIONAL SIDE-EFFECTS of these endeavors are all the wonderful offshoots that happen as a result of those efforts.

And it’s not lost on us that the other unintentional side effect of trying to go fast is we almost monthly witness the death of our classmates who have decided that they went fast enough, that it is pointless to try any more.

See, they missed the point entirely.

The finish line is not the actual finish.

It’s the race itself! And that never ends!

Ahhh...words spoken from someone who has never won races and does not understand the concept of greatness & always striving to be the best ‘you’ possible. Some of us do not tie our entire self-worth to our past performance so we don't get depressed when we slow down. I still like to train and race because the process is fun, enjoyable. And...for the record, Im still happy to toe the starting line with you. I’ll be your huckleberry...

When you're in HS and college, you have rival teams to beat and teammates to bond with. But when you're a middle aged adult, that doesn't apply. Who is that rival you need to beat in the 1500? What team are you going to score points for in XC? Who are you going to pass the baton to in the DMR or the 4x8? What stories are you going to tell on the ride back from the meet on the team bus? And when you enter your local road race, which is more thrilling, crossing the finish line first, or crossing the finish line 100th and later finding out that the 99 people who beat you are not from your age group?

The only thing left to chase as an adult runner are your PRs, and once that's gone, why bother? Jogging 10-15 MPW to stay in shape is enough.

prove me wrong wrote:

some 800 guy wrote:

Running a 16 min 5K as a 25 yo on 50 mpw is pretty disappointing. Sorry you’re slow and lack talent/drive.

That was an example, not my actual PR. Besides, the 5K isn't even my best event.

This is def coming from a hobby jogger.

some 800 guy wrote:

prove me wrong wrote:

That was an example, not my actual PR. Besides, the 5K isn't even my best event.

This is def coming from a hobby jogger.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But in either case, you should be focusing on the message and not the messenger.