Do runners past the age of fifty still run 100MPW?

HRE: thanks for the info on the Kiwi greats. I've noticed that the guys who are gangbusters in their early 40's are often "done" by 50. Hard to even think of an exception. Maybe Billy R. Ten years is a very long time in the masters' world!

I'm doing well to put up 100m in 2 months of running. Cycling on the other hand...

Personal histories of including practices and results of other master runners are interesting.

I'm 53 and want to run and compete for a long time. I lost a year basically at 50 from not training smart. (My plan was to kick butt in my new age bracket) The upside is that after no running and jogging participation for half a year, I really appreciate and relish my return to running and competing.

I have a couple ideas that seem to help me as a master runner:

(1) Fewer races

(2) Listen closely to your body, don't push a sore body

(3) Continue speed work, 400's, 800's but give yourself plenty of recovery time between intervals and controlled moderate effort (old guys can lose speed)

(4) Lots of cross training - biking,weights, cross country skiing

(5) Chondroitin Glucosamine

(6) Reduce road training increase trail and treadmill running.

(7) Periodic down periods

(8) Easy runs are very easy

(9) treat any pain or discomfort very seriously (margin of error is small)

(10) Embrace and enjoy the sport, it all just for fun!

John Campbell ran the Garry Bjorklund half marathon in Duluth, MN, when he was 50 and 51:

1999 - 1:08:28

2000 - 1:13:13

The weather was fairly decent both years.

I am 57 and have been running 50-60 mpw for quite a few years. Recently I have run mid 18s 5Ks and an 87min half M off that training. I am now semi-retired with all the kids moved out. I am working to move my mileage up to the 90-100 mpw range this year. I am finding it a slow process because of the longer recovery time from hard efforts and being careful about the little twinges and tweaks that come and go with the increasing volume. Although I have also found that more volume is less likely to lead to injuries than more speed work.

old guy II,

What speeds do you train at? I do agree that speed sessions can lead to injuries.

Also I agree and I have more time to run now that I'm in my 50's.

I doubt Whitlock seldom goes over 100mpw. Many of those three hour runs are only 18-19 miles because of walk breaks.

On the other hand, Whitlock has definitely mastered the concept of controlled fartleks that are enough to support his remarkable race performances.

The key to EW's success is running on non-paved surfaces for training and maintaining an injury free, yet voluminous base.

Walk Breaks? I have never heard Ed W. address walking in his training. What's your source for that, please?

A Pied wrote:

Walk Breaks? I have never heard Ed W. address walking in his training. What's your source for that, please?

Agreed. And I've always heard or read that he runs in a graveyard. The roads in almost every graveyard I know are paved.

I'm not 50 yet but running 60-70 mpw (which is rare)already takes more time than running 110 a week did at 20. So if I try 100 mpw at 50 I'l be running 24/7!

Martin Rees must have run over 100 miles per week when overm 50.

Don't know how much he does now as he stopped for a while after knee problems.

Camel Lung wrote:

I doubt Whitlock seldom goes over 100mpw. Many of those three hour runs are only 18-19 miles because of walk breaks.

On the other hand, Whitlock has definitely mastered the concept of controlled fartleks that are enough to support his remarkable race performances.

The key to EW's success is running on non-paved surfaces for training and maintaining an injury free, yet voluminous base.

Definitely no walk breaks, if I stopped I'd never get going again! Also not much in the way of fartleks, in the main long steady runs. The route is asphalt. I do get injuries from time to time, two interuptions last year, once for achilles once for knee. Because of these injuries and other curtailments for racing and family things I figure I did about 14 "hundred + mile" weeks last year, although I don't actually keep track of distance,just time.

A. Kaufman wrote:

I have a couple ideas that seem to help me as a master runner:

(1) Fewer races

(2) Listen closely to your body, don't push a sore body

(3) Continue speed work, 400's, 800's but give yourself plenty of recovery time between intervals and controlled moderate effort (old guys can lose speed)

(4) Lots of cross training - biking,weights, cross country skiing

(5) Chondroitin Glucosamine

(6) Reduce road training increase trail and treadmill running.

(7) Periodic down periods

(8) Easy runs are very easy

(9) treat any pain or discomfort very seriously (margin of error is small)

(10) Embrace and enjoy the sport, it all just for fun!

I'm 54 and still train "seriously," i.e. peak mileage of 70-80 miles per week with a long run, fartlek or long intervals, and an AT run most weeks. I agree with a lot of the above, but differ slightly.

(1) Not by choice, but it just seems to work out that way.

(2) Agreed.

(3) I tend to do longer intervals to build and maintain strength, but I often end with a few 200's, plus I do strides on some easy days.

(4) Aside from strength and flexibility (Pilates, Egoscue, etc.) I do no cross training.

(5) Probably good stuff, but I haven't gotten around to using it. (Maybe I'll add it.)

(6) Lots of trails for me (around 80% of my running), but I avoid treadmills as much as possible.

(7) I've always taken short breaks a couple of times a year.

(8) Yes.

(9) Yes.

(10) Defintitely! Let's have some fun out there!

With Ed Whitlock's post just ahead of mine, I doubt that anyone will notice or respond to this, but there it is in case anyone is interested.

thank you Ed for the clarification

I don't see any reason why over-50's can't run 100mpw or more, should they choose to do so. I don't really find it all that dificult to schedule my day to achieve this, despite having a reasonably demanding full-time job. Of course it helps to have a wife who is a running enthusiast and is fully supportive of my endeavors.

I'm not claiming to run 100mpw habitually, but for specific races I will do so. For example, prior to the Twin Cities marathon in 2005, aged 54, I had 10 weeks over 100 (including back-to-back weeks of 120 and 124), plus another 3 weeks between 95 and 99. These weeks also included at least 2 speed workouts (usually one session of long intervals with short recoveries and one tempo run).Unfortunately, I can't claim any great success from this particular build up, because I was exposed to someone with a chest infection about 8 days before the race, and I came down with the infection on race day - not a pleasant experience.

I haven't repeated the 100mpw regime since then, but plan to do so later this year, for another marathon attempt.

My past experience of marathons suggest that I perform better based on a high-mileage approach and I see no reason to change because of age, providing that my body can withstand the punishment !

Dave

Wow, Dave reading that makes me glad to be a 400-1500 guy! Next time I'm staggering around between repeat 400s, I'll remember to be thankful that I can at least have another 8 hours a week to play with (I'm with you on the high mileage for marathons, though).

Did you get to at least get a few decent races in during your buildup? You must have been in great shape. What kind of PR's before that? Same training basically?

I find that I can train about the same as when I was 20, but I feel I am the exception, as I was relatively fragile (or dumb!) back then, whereas now I know better when to push and when to back off, and do all the other things to aid recovery.

I didn't race during the build up, because I live in Tucson, Arizona and the training was done during the summer, when there are no local races due to the heat (most of my longer runs and speedwork were done at 4.30 or 5am). After recovering from the chest infection I ran a low-57 min 10-mile , then a low-35 min 10km, which I considered a poor return for the training, but the illness might have taken its toll.

Previously, off this kind of training in my 30's I ran 48 mins for 10-miles, 65 mins for half and 2.16 for the full marathon. In my early 40's on similar training I ran 49.34 for 10 miles and 2.23 for the marathon (and also sub-15 for 5km).

For me, high mileage seems to work, but I'm not claiming that it's the right solution for everybody.

Dave

MPW wrote:

The highest mileage oldsters I know do 60-70 mpw maybe.

You really oughta check in with the long running letsrun.com thread, "Masters Weekend Races and Runs"...a number of us regulars are indeed 50+...most not running 100mpw (although many of us did as youngsters/as marathoners way back when)...as this is my 40th consecutive year of training/racing (will be 51 in a couple weeks), my limit for training mileage that is infused with a significant amount of quality sessions is 50...not 58 or 62 but 50...did countless 100 - 140 mile weeks in say 1979-1984 when running marathon PRs, but as an old geezer who attempts shorter "races" these days, I seem to break around 60 assuming there's something more than just fitness jogging involved.

MF

Mike,

I wonder if training really takes when you are this old like it did when younger. I may be able to run 100 mpw but it would take longer than before and surely improve my running but would it really be sensible for me (or any 50+) to run for another 8 hours a week to improve 10 minutes on a marathon that is already an hour slower than our PR?

The only reason to do that would be on a vacation in a beautiful place with good company.

When are we booking to which island?

Tom