How do these masters runners do it at Boston?

there is a massive amount of genetic diversity in the world. Some people can run 9.7 for 100 meters, others can run 2:32 at age 50 or older.

Nicholas Thompson is a 2:32 guy in his mid-40s and wrote a long piece about how he worked with Nike to set marathon PRs in his 40s. It's an unusual experience, but might give you some ideas. It was in Wired, I think.

The guy who ran 2:32 at 50 would probably have run sub 2:20 or better at 30.

usually yeah, but not always.

Thompson is an example of guy who decided to take his running seriously in midlife and wound up setting lifetime PRs in his 40s. He didn't come to it late - he's always been a runner. So it's not an example of fresh legs.

I think his story is important because it suggests that even after decades of running, we can always try new things that work.

Bekele is almost a master runner, and he’ll be laughing at that 2:32 time when he did cross into the master domain.

just saying

The simplest and most-likely explanation is that these are guys that were very good runners at a younger age too. Obviously some exceptions.

Raw speed and power drop off more quickly than endurance and stamina.

Occasionally someone runs well from college and into their masters years but they're pretty exceptional. When I was writing for running magazines I thought a great article would be to find several such people and see if there was anything in common that stood out. But I never did and it seems that most of the best masters either came late, or only got serious late. (Derek Turnbull comes to mind.)

That was pretty common in the mid 80ies when runners were a lot faster overall than they are now.

yeahhh I don't know about that. I can't imagine that many 40-60 year olds were fast in the 80s. The running boom wasn't old enough, people born in the 1940s were not healthy people in general. Running was more a young person's sport back then. But that's a guess. I have no data.

You had Jack Foster then. Ron Hill was in his forties then. Roger Robinson was running very well. But running definitely was a younger person's sport then.

That is his training pace. Scary to think about.

They do it by virtue of the fact that they have dedicated themselves to a lifetime of healthy habits. People who train for an complete marathons are 'Muricans in name only.

No matter what, you can't beat genetics.

Pork Burritos

People really overestimate how much age itself slows you down.

The main reason people slow down when they get older is that they stop training as seriously. The other big issues are weight gain and major injuries.

T R T

I am much slower but have run much more and faster into my fifties after 25 years of running. Setting marathon PRs (4 hr which is a completely different class). What has changed : weight loss, healthy lifestyle, coaching , speed work, PT, time and money to do it right. Along with no fundamental physical issues from the early years. And I chase mid 60s runners every Saturday in Atlanta who are still running 3:20 marathons twice a year. So, those with better pedigrees and genetics will likely keep surprising. I will not be surprised that you see 2:30s for a small sub segment into their 60s at Boston in the coming years

99.999% of them are juiced. Sorry if that gets you crybabies all butthurt, but that is the truth.

Here's your answer fellas.

The masters winner at Boston is a former pro runner from Italy. The 50+ age grouper is Ken Rideout. He is a pure amateur and did a lot of Ironman races. Once you get closer to 50 than 40, you have to really be dedicated to cross training, strength training and be very smart about your mileage and and recovery time.