Why do so many old people run road races?

Some guys buy sports cars, some guys chase 20 year olds, some guys buy running kit and get out the door every morning...some guys do a combination of the three.

O/10

Good luck clearing the acne.

because they are lifetime runners.

it's a generation thing.

they can't stop running- it's who they are.

So those 40 and 50 yr. old guys are beating you?

Maybe if you tell us about your training program, someone might be able to suggest areas where you can improve.

bronco wrote:

Some guys buy sports cars, some guys chase 20 year olds, some guys buy running kit and get out the door every morning...some guys do a combination of the three.

Some older women chase 20-year-old guys, and some go out running. Some do both simultaneously.

***

Actually the numbers in my age group (55-59) aren't that high, but are growing. And I know a woman in her sixties whose ten mile times are in the low 70s.

Some of the old folks are discovering how much fun it is to leave the youngsters in their dust. Personally, I wouldn't know, since the younger runners are well ahead of me, but just my guess re. the faster folk my age.

Gosh...why do so many old people read books? Why do so many old people listen to music? Why do so many old people live in houses? Why do so many old people stay married?

Why do so many young people drive cars? Why do so many young people have cell phones? Why do so many young people run track?

Why? Because they can and want to.

What do you plan to do when you're 50? Fall into bed and never get out again?

Get a brain AND - here's a thought - use it.

We run for the same reasons everyone else does. Because we like it.

Just pray, PRAY that you can still run and enjoy it when you get that age.

I started to notice the same thing a few years ago. I saw it more as a decrease in the number of younger runners at road races, and not as an increase in the number of older runners. In either event, I found it to be kind of depressing. It's like watching the aging and gradual death of a Shaker community.

Who said 40 and 50 is old?

At 43, I run everyday, but do not own a mirrow. Where can I pick one up, they sound scary.

Participation rates seem to peak in the 35-50 age bracket. After 50, the number of runners, as well as their times, tend to fall off. Sure, there's some awesome 60 year old runners, but they're relatively rare.

I am speaking based on my experience in 5k and 10k races in Michigan. I'm not sure about marathons.

Does anyone remember the original running BOOM? Those of us that were there are in our 40's and 50's.

The running boom was about roadracing and being competitive, not hobbyjogging your way to fundraising.

Someone who uses the name Horace Clarke,was definitely not born after 1968. One of the worst second baseman in Yankee history.

A better question is what is the cause for the lack of runners in their 20's and 30's in these races.

Rufus T Dowd wrote:

A better question is what is the cause for the lack of runners in their 20's and 30's in these races.

That's easy.They are all too good to lower themselves to be associated with these events.

They feel the can serve the world better by passing their prodigious talent to people here and defending the honor of Div 2,3 & NAIA runners when they are called "baby nationals".

There was a time when I was convinced that 50-yr olds lived on borrowed time.

Now that I'm 66 I no longer think so.

Curt Blefry,

Horace Clarke was under appreciated! I did say I was born after 1968. And yes I did look in the mirrow saw that I was getting old and started to run. Not too badly either.

When I started running in my 20s, I seem to remember road races had a lot of runners in my age group, and a lot of good ones.

Now that I am in my 40s, I do notice the lack of runners in their 20s and even 30s. I find the 40-49 age group is often more competitive than the 30-39 age group. I don't know why this is. But I suspect a lot of former collegiate runners leave the sport after college or somewhere in their 20s. Some never come back, but some do come back in their late 30s or early 40s and enjoy masters racing. I am very impressed with how well many masters run.

mirrow mirrow on the waw..