How much have you slowed down with age?

I don't know how fast I would have been if I had continued running after HS. I ran 5:10 for 1600m in 8th grade, dropped that to 4:58 in 9th and clocked 10:47 for the 3200m. I didn't run seriously the remainder of HS for various reasons (which I'm sure you don't want to hear), and then in college I focused on academics, women and beer (in that order).

Anyway, last year at age 44, I ran:

4:30 for 1500m

9:45 for 3000m

16:54 for 5k (road)

I can commit the time to run 50 miles a week, though last year my average was closer to 35. I think I can improve all of the above times this year, but I'm probably close to my plateau.

Yup, folks who showed some talent in high school, but then took a break until their 40's seem to have really strong master's times. Just the way it seems to pan out...

Now Hear This wrote:

The thing about WAVA tables is that they are based on records which include "new blood" masters who never ran hard as youngsters and who often comprise the fastest times, as well as certain outliers who just won't slow down as fast as "normal".

Follow individual masters who were anywhere near their potential as youngsters and you will get a much steeper decline. For instance, Bill Rodgers, one of the most durable elites ever, was running almost ten minutes slower in the marathon by 40, while the Master's M40 record is less than five minutes slower than the open record. So slowing down three minutes in the 5K by 47, while not following the WAVA "curve", is probably close to average.

5K over the years

15:38 in my 30's on 70 mpw

low 16's in my early 40's on 50-60 mpw

mid to high 17's in my late 40's and early 50's on 30-35 mpw

took some time off from racing (not from running though)

20:40-21:07 at age 60 on 25-30 mpw

Now 65. No longer race. Still run around 25-30 mpw.

Biggest thing I noticed was that from my mid 40's on I needed more rest days. So instead of 6-7 days a week I started running 4-5 days a week. These days I run 4 days a week and walk two other days.

Dude, from what I’ve seen you are doing very well. Congratulate yourself. However, I see numerous “masters” runners proudly posting times that appear (to them) to be great for their age. Comparatively speaking, these are ridiculously slow times on a world scheme. Your ultimate goal? Stay well, stay running, and stay competitive. And above all, enjoy the gift of running.

Me? 15:42 at age 20, 18:47 at age 51 for the 5K. What does it mean? I love running. Period.

Rtype wrote:

Dude, from what I’ve seen you are doing very well. Congratulate yourself. However, I see numerous “masters” runners proudly posting times that appear (to them) to be great for their age. Comparatively speaking, these are ridiculously slow times on a world scheme. Your ultimate goal? Stay well, stay running, and stay competitive. And above all, enjoy the gift of running.

While I completely agree with your first and last comments, I guess I didn't interpret the data posting the way you did. I know I'm an old guy who easily gets his butt handed to him (as I would expect) by any halfway decent runner out there; no delusions of grandeur about that. The OP was asking for data points. Am I wrong? Most were offering what seemed to me to be pretty straight-forward answers with data, but also context; the context probably matters as much, if not more. The only aggrandizing comment I saw was by somebody's comment to another's times....and they were shot down pretty quickly.

5k? i've slowed 3 min in 25 years.

There are some good age grade comparisons tables. I don't have the links handy, but Google search may be fruitful. Being 46, from the tables, I believe I would be about as good as I was as an 16-18 year old. Ideally given the best training conditions I was 1448 as a 21 year old and now I should be 16: 18 or roughly about 25-30 seconds per mile difference. That change accelerates exponentially negative unfortunately. Your mileage my differ, but we're all growing slower.

Chutney Ferret wrote:

Me: male, 47 years old. Lifetime 5K PR of 15:20 set when I was 28. Now, I run a similar amount (about an hour a day) and can only manage low 18 minute range. And that's on a good day. Aches, pains, stressful job, family etc, etc - I have plenty of excuses, but basically i'm just getting old.

I may be wrong but I think my decline is a bit steeper than it should be. How are the other old farts out there faring?