Comeback journey to sub 20 min 5 k at age 66....

Here we go again...

you seem to have done more base work than you ever got to in the prior thread, but 25:00 fitness doesn't inspire confidence for sub 20.

for a merry christmas 2026, i would like to see a 3 way match race between The Magic Coach J.S., ROJO, and the R$&#^$@ Tim Walz....I say that with humor, NOT MEAN SPIRIT!

Delusional.

Jan once again setting an incredibly low bar for success, talking about his coaching (or training in this case) like it is something special, then missing the low bar he set anyway.

Repeat ad nauseam.

A low bar?? I don't think most masters at age 66 will agree with you....

We will see what happens.....hang in there. 🇸🇪🧙‍♂️🇸🇪🌲

Coach JS is on the right track and some of the reasons are outlined below.

1. He has lost almost 10 kg in weight since last year and sometimes does 36 hour fasts.

2. He's now a Swedish pensioner and has time to train and organize his life without the distraction of his previous job and commuting quite far.

On another point coach JS pays attention to what people say, for example a few months ago he was using the word "pensionist" to describe his status. I corrected him online and told him that the correct word is "pensioner." He has paid attention and now uses the correct spelling to describe his personal status.

People who pay attention to small details often reap big dividends in life because these small details add up.

We wish coach JS the best of luck in his quest to beat 20 minutes for 5 km which is an impressive time for a 66 year old in any shape or form even though he's a former 14:20 runner at age 27. Dude is legit.

you forgot the430miler too and THMADHASSSFNE or whatever he is. HAPPY XMAS!

20 minute 5K for someone that age is about 15 minutes age graded. So if his story is true about him being a 1420 guy in his prime, he might be able to do it.

Of course on the Internet, where everyone is immortal a 65-year-old should be able to run a sub 15 minute 5K easily. 😂😂😂

I traveled twice (during last 2 years), to his hometown in Sweden, some 100 km from Gothenburg (Göteborg ), and I can confirm that I saw all his documents, press clippings and everything else showing that he was a legit 14:20 - 5,000 meter runner. Swedes (or Norge people) old enough to have known Jan during his heyday will also confirm the veracity of his claims. Why would he lie and if he did lie a runner could easily claim he ran 1330 or 1340 rather than a more realistic 1420.

I have no knowledge of his past times one way or the other and don’t care. I’m just saying that a 1420 5K guy in his prime has a shot of breaking 20 at age 65.

That’s a very ambitious goal for the age group. Sub-20 minutes is age-graded at +/- 84%, which is national class. I can speak from experience that 21-22 minutes is a reachable goal, with decent training. Sub-20 is a VERY different plateau. There’s very few that can hit that, even in the 60-64 age group. From experience you’ll need to run the mileage base, 25-35m/wk won’t really cut it, but +40 will help. And for all the kids out there who snicker, that’s real mileage at our age. And I have my doubts about the interval distance. 600M is more like speedwork, rather than strength work. Speedwork won’t get to 20 min., you need the strength. I might think about a bit longer workout distance, at 4-6 minutes (800-1200M). Best of luck and keep us posted.

It’s 90% mental and you already believe in the goal. Keep on going and the worst outcome would be becoming very fit but coming up short of the 20 min 5k goal.

At that age, 600 is the new 800. It’s about a 2.5 repeat. That’s a good distance for speed work, which is what he needs on top of high mileage. To get under 20 you have to go 620 pace. Doing five minute reps isn’t gonna allow you to go a little faster than that.

Thanks for a supporting good comment! 🖐🧙‍♂️

I will run longer threshold reps later on as you suggest. That's my intention.....

Thanks buddy! A very good comment as well and supportive.Absolutely as you say coming up short of 20 min 5 k and still very fit at my age is a big win....🧙‍♂️🖐