Old(er) guys, when did your running fall off a cliff?

At 53 years old the wheels fell off…

Because DHEA is a banned substance. Just look up Tom Danielson. If you want to compete and claim that you're clean, you don't take it. It's also not regulated by the FDA and your "supplements" can be contaminated with all sorts of things. If you want to be some bald gym rat though, I guess it's up to you.

+1

Fast walking is undervalued as a cross training method for running as one ages.

n9, I'm just guessing here but I reckon there are a number of contributory factors.

There's a good club scene over here with stuff like relays across masters age groups as well as senior level, and I've noticed in recent years that opportunities to represent internationally at masters' level has given incentive to some of my clubmates.

I've also noticed in my club that a lot of the guys/gals in that age range are starting to run with their kids who are now old enough to join them at stuff like parkrun, and 'staying ahead of Jr' seems to be good motivation for a lot of them, plus just the benefit of having a weekly organised 5km time trial available probably helps get people out the door and doing a bit.

Over the last decade or so there also seems to have been a greater appreciation of the need for a good work-life balance in a lot of industries, which will undoubtedly help also.

i just hopped in a track meet after 9 years off at 42 and ran 22 flat in 200 meters my fastest opening ever i usually open at 23 and by years end run 21. so nothing yet lol

When I started reading the letsrun message board.

Just over 40

Combination of pf injury and getting married - put on a lot weight

From 54 to 59 I was running 85-90 miles a week doing a lot of doubles and pretty much injury-free except for a bum foot/feet which I have had for 20 years. Just run through it. I tried kettle bell swings one time and suffered a sports hernia at 59. I have had a long stride all my life but that seems to have forever shortened my stride. A year later and trying to get my mileage back up.

I'm 65 and have been running for and racing for more than 50 years. Was a British club runner until late 30s, then moved to US and mostly road-racing, with the occasional foray on the track for USATF Masters races.

Kept the intensity going most of the time - ran very near to my fastest 3000m s/c at age 35.

Had a knee surgery mid-40s, but got back quite quickly and was third in the USATF Masters Steeplechase at 48.

Actually improved from early 50s through to about 56/57 - placed in USATF at 3000m s/c, 5000m and 3000m indoors, won some local 5ks - with better training (mainly including some longer runs up to 90 to 100 min, when I hadn't gone much over an hour before, other than training for a marathon).

At about 56 wrench an ankle. Got over that but at the time didn't realize that as it healed, I'd lost a lot of mobility. Ultimately it started an 'injury cascade' including a partial meniscus removal at 58.

Got back to some decent form quite quickly after that - ran 11:32 for 2 miles on road at 60 - but having still not discovered the ankle problem, had something blow up in fall of 2017. I don't know what it was, but caused huge swelling of foot, and inability to run for three months (for a long time I could only walk on the heel).

When I started back, there had been huge atrophy of the calf to the point where I couldn't do a single heel raise (couldn't get the heel off the ground) and it felt like I was running on a flat tyre on side.

Been battling imbalances and trying to get strength/mobility back into the calf since then. Finally, this year I've been able to do speedwork again, and at 65 have run 11:33 in the Hayward Field Masters Classic, and 19:49 for 5000m on road. Given the second and third in the USATF Masters on the track both ran 19:45.xx, I feel I'm probably close to back where I was, although the calf strength is still not 100%. Had I run the 19:49 on the track it's right up with my best times age graded. Potentially, I think there is some improvement left.

So, to answer the original question, I guess I really fell off the cliff with an injury at 58, but although it's taken 7 years, I think I've gradually clawed my way back up the cliff. In competitive terms, on National/World Rankings (which I was never anywhere near as an open runner) I'm back to where I was or a bit higher (although obviously the ranks are getting a bit thinner).

I still run almost every day and lately have been doing four track sessions a week (Easy Interval method). Haven't done strength training (although I have horses and get some work out with hay bales and bags of feed), but planning to this winter.

Probably helped that I have kept weight down. I'm relatively heavy at 5ft 8 1/2in, 147lbs, but that is lighter than when I ran my fastest 800/1500m as an open runner.

Other than that, probably having always maintained intensity, and never had long periods out (other than that 3 month spell mentioned above) has been positive.

My have also just been blessed on the genes front, in terms of athletic longevity, as I have a sister who is 60+ and has won World and National Championship events.

Fascinating discussion.

The topic of weight gain in relation to aging and performance has surfaced a couple of times in recent posts. I am finding that weight is an often overlooked, but perhaps critically important factor in a runner's diminishing performance level and with aging. It has been with mine.

And in digging into this area (at a doctor's recommendation, btw), I checked out BMI charts for classifications of normal weight, over weight, obese, etc., and it is nothing short of astounding! And not in a good way. Getting into the normal weight category for many of us, and I would dare say most of us, would require losing more than just a few pounds.

Just throwing that out there to see if others are finding as I did that a little weight gain has come with the territory, or if some might be overlooking this aspect of their conditioning.

When I could afford quality wine. Drinking and running don't mix

I know DHEA is a banned substance & I'm familiar with the Tommy D case (I think Lashawn Merritt also had a DHEA positive years ago). I'm not talking about competitive athletes taking it since it be would breaking the rules on using a banned substance.

I'm 61 & haven't competed in a running event since 2017 (my last race was a local 5k). I've got post-traumatic OA & can barely run (jog) a few fluff miles one a day week - so this old dog is pretty much finished as a runner. It's weight training & non-weightbearing cardio as my poison now.

I'm talking about regular middle-aged guys or those former master athletes that have retired from competition & work out now for the health benefits & anti-aging. With so many brands of DHEA out there & so much availability (there's like 20 brands sold just about everywhere), how can expect some of these guys not to experiment with it?

What's up with the "bald gym rat" remark? So, every guy using TRT goes bald? Lol - I don't think so. I know a lot of them that have all their hair well into their 50s & 60s. Male-pattern baldness is mostly genetics & too much DHT in their system.

63. Here. Ran pretty strong thru my mid 50’s. 35, 45 mpw. For 3 years or so my long run is now a 5 miler. used to be a 10 miler would make me feel great. Lean and mean and toasted off the endorphins, now a 5 miler makes me sore and grumpy and takes a day or two to recover. 😟. Then I got long void in my legs last may and couldn’t run 400m without my legs bonking. I ran that out of my legs just a eeek or so ago. 10-20miles a week this year?

Yeah, weight is definitely a factor for many of us as we get older. When I graduated high school (as a speed skater) I was 6 ft tall and weighed 158 lbs. This morning, I weighed 164.5 so keeping it pretty close. I do tend to go up a bit when I'm injured running and hitting the bike more. But I try to be super careful with the diet (to a degree - love my red wine!) to not let it run off the rails. I think you have to add in some body-weight, at least, work to stay strong. When we started doing some plyos a few weeks ago, it was evident that I am a WEAKLING in anything BUT running and cycling.

I ran sub-2:55 at Boston last fall at 50, just after a sub-36 lifetime PR in the 10K. No injuries since, but it's been impossible to come back to regular training. I did some local 5Ks in the spring and summer, and my pace keeps dropping each time. Now less than a year after my PR, I can barely hit 8:30 average pace on easy runs, I can barely get in 30-40 mpw, I don't recover from easy runs (and workouts are out of the question), and every run feels like the day after a huge workout/race. I've talked to my doctor and nothing was out of the ordinary at my recent appointment/labs, but at some point you start to wonder how quickly your times can drop without explanation before you look for a medical explanation. No illness, no injuries, just never-ending fatigue. A year ago I was competitive to win local races. Today, I can't even jog those distances without stopping.

hey, colder and wiser, any chance it might be that "long covid" we hear about nowadays? Who's to say, esp. since a case of Covid can go virtually undetected.

Nice, 2:55 at 50 is a great achievement.

I think that "drop of the cliff" point is different for every runner depending on how long the person is already running and on what kind of a level that running was. Combined with many other life factors. I can totally see that youngsters don't get this. They think, they are the ones who will go on forever.
The runners I know who seemingly go on forever (into their 80ies) usually started a lot later in life with running, like in the 40ies or 50ies. These are also the ones who are able to go for late age group records.

Thanks for all of the comments here so far.

One more 60+ here, actually M64.

Falling off a cliff means an abrupt stop (running), as far as I understand. Could be a mental or health issue, or an injury. Age-driven degradation is rather sliding down and this was exactly what I “was doing” slowly but surely since the age 25-26 when I gave up with orienteering (my sport). Kept participating in various XC events until the age 42-43 when I could not break 3:00 at an easy and flat 1K course and got very much disappointed. Never stopped running completely, but the mileage was miserable (maybe 10-12 mpw), I got overweight and injuries started coming one by one. The only thing that saved me (as I see it now) was cold climate. Was switching to XC skiing in winter and injured legs got healed in 3-4 months by the next season. At the same time my aerobic capabilities improved in winter because time/mileage on a ski course was way higher than on a trail in summer.

At about 60 I understood I was fed up with all this and decided to attack “the sea of troubles” from several directions and even climb up the cliff a little bit. First, started slowly but surely increasing the mileage (up to 30 mpw). Second, paid attention to food and calories. When I first decided to run a 5K time trial in 2 months, it was like a cold shower. I started with the 4:30/km pace (7:20/mi) but could only maintain it for some 2.5 km and had to stop. However, in 6 months could break 22 min. Was skiing more seriously in winter and the next summer could break 20 min at a local parkrun. By that time, I lost 20 lbs (from 163 down to 143). Then injuries returned and I decided not increase the mileage further. It got better as the body adapted. At 63 was able to break 19’/5k and according to age-grading calculator it was an equivalent of 15’ (or even under) for a young guy. Exactly my time at the age 22-25 and I am happy with that. Think I could improve further because I am still quite heavier that I was in my 20’s/30’s (136 vs. 119 at 5’6 ½) but it’s uneasy.

Main lessons that I learned are the following.
1. Be patient and progress slowly even if you feel fine, this age is not forgiving.
2. Listen to the body much more attentively than earlier. Even a weak signal about a potential injury may convert in a trouble in a day or two if you ignore it.
3. Cross train more. I do XC skiing (or elliptical if the weather is terrible), but many say that biking is also good.
4. Control the weight.

Good luck to everybody!

52 was good for me. 53 was when I had my first of three knee surgeries, and the wheels fell off.