setting PRs at 46

If you've been undertrained previously yes you can always improve in your 40s and 50s, by training better.

I think if you had started as a teenager and thoroughly trained you maybe could have ran 14:10-14:30 in your 20s

Starno wrote:

If you've been undertrained previously yes you can always improve in your 40s and 50s, by training better.

I think if you had started as a teenager and thoroughly trained you maybe could have ran 14:10-14:30 in your 20s

+1

16:10 age grades to 14:36 so perhaps that would have been possible in your 20s. Seems likely as a late starter you can get into the 15:30s.

I PRd in the marathon, but to be fair, I never ran a marathon when I was in my 20's or early 30's. It took me a while to piece the race together and get my head around it, and get the training right.

I like to think that I will be strong when I'm 46. If you think about it you are literally only 8 years older then Bekele, and we all know he is the world's greatest, so your not that old.

I started running regularly in my forties after a break of over 20 years. I'd been OK at running as a kid, but I was into other sports - rugby and after leaving school, football.

I've been more interested in the longer distance events and have repeatedly PB'd at the marathon: at the end of last year I ran 2:34:05 at 48yo. Is it possible to keep getting better in your forties or fifties? Seems to be possible, it's a question of being able to (and wanting to) commit the time to the training.

I ran 2 seasons of HS xc, then took 6 years off.

In my mid-late 20s I improved from 19minute 5ks to high 16s.

In my early 30s I broke 16, and whittled my half time down to 7200

At age 39 (this year) I participated in virtual miles all summer, going from 440 at the beginnign of the summer to 425 at the end. I finished that series up with a certified 5k PR of 1515.

I'm hoping to keep nibbling at PRs for a few more years as well.

I'm 58 now and although I can still race at the top of my age group, I cannot get within 3 minutes of my 5k PR from college. You cannot run lifetime PR's in your 50's if you trained and raced to your potential in your 20's. Impossible.

aging like wine wrote:

Long story short- never ran as a kid, but was active. Picked up triathlon at 31, switched to just running when I had kids as not enough time. Running only for 5 years. 7-10hrs a week. Just hit a 16:07 5000m TT. 5km road = 16:10, 33:28 10km. Really want to get 15:×× for 5k. All above are lifetime PRs. Making me wonder what a I could have done as a teenager.

Anyone else getting better in their 40s or 50s?

Good for you.

You probably could have been a lot faster when you were younger. But you will never know.

Enjoy the PR's right now. Soon that will be over and you will be going just for age group bests like everyone else.

I had my last PR's when I was around 40.

Let's face it. A lot of guys are pr'ing in their 40's and 50's because of the shoes. Simple as that.

Two guys in my town that are both 40+ have been setting lifetime bests in everything from 1 mile to half marathon. They have been training their butts over the past few years and show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Yes, i think shoe technology is helping performances, but you have to put in the time and effort. One common denominator is their kids are teenage and older, thus don't require as much babysitting.

I know some people here can't stand Tinman, but one of the gentleman is trained by him. The training method works for them.

After 5 years of focused training, and heading into your late 40s, you'd better act fast. You can still run well for several years, but your current assumptions about workout frequency and intensity will not hold for long. The shorter the distance, the more urgent.

None of us know what you put in your system. I am sure many on here between age 35 and 65 who brag about their performances are on something. Something to boost T-level. If you keep at it, you will not continue to set personal bests at age 53. Get back to us and prove me wrong. Prove me wrong cleanly.

To be honest, my diet is pretty s**t. Never done drugs. Don't even know how I would "boost my T level".

Gotta say that it's kinda cool to have someone say you must be on something to run those times at this age when you are not. Must be doing something right........

Started running at 40 and improved times for 10 years. I think that is about average for time after starting running to still set PRs. Ran 15:36 5K at age 49. 32:20 at age 50 for 10K and 16:03 for 5K. You still have 3 to 5 years to improve if you stay healthy and train smart.