Can a 30 yr old run a sub 2 minute 800m?

most people can run faster at 30 than they did at 18

Well this guy turns 30 in a few days and I bet he will do it next year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Symmonds

Can you? Is it possible? YES. Is it likely? NO.

My friend was an ace 800m runner as well as overall good distance runner. He started out in road races in 6th grade, 5 miles, 10ks, 10 milers sometimes shorter ... never longer. By 7th grade he had run 35:58, which was some kind of Age-record.

In HS he had the usual lumps but discovered his 800m speed by junior year. As a junior he ran 2:01 / 4:26 / 9:49. As a senior he ran 1:54.7 / 4:20.x / 9:37. He even ran in college for 1.5 yrs after getting mono.

Fast forward 15 yrs to age 36. He had always run semi-seriously all those yrs, but it was all on talent. He sees the results to Indoor Masters Nationals online and decides he can do that.

That year (as a 36-yr-old) indoors he ran 2:00-2:01 a few times and 4:10m and 4:29 for 1600 in the regular indoor season. At Nationals he won the 1600 in 4:35 and was second in the 800 in 1:59. So he did it.

Now he was 36 and it was indoors, but he had 1:49-51 all-time type talent (in my opinion). His dad was NJ State Champion in the 440y and Big 10 Champion in the 880y.

So, can you? Maybe. But it seems like you would have done it in HS if it was going to be easy for you.

Kip Janvrin ran 1:53.89 at the 2007 Drake Relays in a Masters (40+) only race. It was essentially a time trial for him, so it would not be a stretch to say he could go faster.

A 50+ year old athlete ran 2:00.28 last summer.

43-year old Dave Nash a Des Moines native has ran sub-2:00 in 28 consecutive years and 200 times in all.

http://siouxcityjournal.com/sports/track-and-field/drake-relays-coach-nash-a-close-second-in-masters/article_cfde180c-a54e-59b4-9e9c-d440b36c39ad.html

As a 44-year old, he only managed 2:00.09

Bernard Lagat regularly runs sub-2 for the last 800 in a 5k. He is 38 and turning 39 this month.

If you are slender and fit then yes you can. If you are fat then no you can't.

If you can run sub-27 200 then yes you can. Anything slower than 27 then forget it.

14-flat wrote:

So, can you? Maybe. But it seems like you would have done it in HS if it was going to be easy for you.

^ Agree with this. Were you a serious HS runner or did you just dabble in the 800? Not gonna say it can't happen, but the 2 lapper is a young man's race. Would want to know what kind of shape you're in now.

I was a serious runner in HS. Now not so much, just mostly for fitness. I never broke 2 min in 800, just thought it would be an accomplishment for myself. No big deal if it doesn't happen.

I ran a 17:27 5k last year, granted when I run, I usually just do something in the 3-6 mi range at a up tempo, 6-6:30 min pace.

Also, know any great swimming and weight lifting workouts that benefit this type of running? How about sprint or olympic distance triathlons? I am thinking of training for those instead if this sub 2 min 800 m goal is just a pipe dream.

Also in HS and college, I was more of a distance runner. In HS track, I ran mostly 3200 m.

I think it's doable. You're going to have to work much harder than you are right now to get your speed up there. Probably going to have to start lifting weights as well.

I was far better past 30 than I ever was in high school.

If you have kept yourself in shape then you should definitely be faster at 30 than you were at 18.

Look at elite performers and the difference between performance between their peak sometime between 24 and 28 and their early to mid 30's is normally much smaller than in average or just "good" amateur runners. This isn't because of any innate physiological differences between elite performers - i mean, their bodies if anything should be more exhausted. It is because the average runner has a job, a life, running is a hobby, and thus they fall out of shape.

I raced a 38yr old man over 800m this season. He finished the race in 1:58.9 and has run 1:57.7 this season. His lifetime best, run at 26, was 1:54.9. I imagine if he keeps it up he will still be pushing sub-2 a 40, and "keeping it up" is the most important thing, I spoke to him and he said he commits as much time to training as if he were still at school and had all the time in the world.

If you have kept in shape. If you are prepared to train PROPERLY. Then you really should be able to run faster than you could at 18. There are a LOT of people aged 30 - 40 who run well under 2minutes for the 800m, just be prepared to work hard!

Incidentally, masters world record for M50 is 1:58, for aged 40 it is 1:48.22, and for 35 is 1:43.36

webfoot wrote:

If you can run sub-27 200 then yes you can. Anything slower than 27 then forget it.

A better benchmark is sub-57, better sub-56. Otherwise you'll never handle a sub-60 start.

Kelly holmes won 2 olympic golds at 34

marijuologist wrote:

most people can run faster at 30 than they did at 18

And of course this is simply not true, but whatever...

One Who Knows wrote:

marijuologist wrote:

most people can run faster at 30 than they did at 18

And of course this is simply not true, but whatever...

Actually, I think I agree with him. Most people probably CAN, but don't. "Can" just has to mean having the potential to run faster with a lot of work and consistency over the previous 12 years.

The simple fact is that most people "can" be faster with 16 years of training under their belts (starting as a 14 year old freshman) than with just 4.

I didn't break 2:00 unitl I was 30 and Pr'd at 31. Then ran a faster split enroute to a 1000 at 32. Pretty much downhill from there, now struggling to get near 3:00 at 61.

I don't know...at 18 it was very easy for me to break 2 min. Quickness seemed to be much more natural at 18 than 30. I could run a faster marathon at 30 than 18 of course (well I'm guessing that's the case anyway). Maybe if I had been doing lots of speed work from 18 to 30 I'd still be quick but I'm inclined to doubt it.

Look at most elite performers and they are wayyyy faster at 26 to 30 than they were at 18. Most of them are faster in their early 30's (if, injury permitting, they are still running) than they were 18. This is because of consistency. They have trained and competed their whole life, essentially.

At 18 your average runner is faster than they are at 30 because they train, they are young and recover quickly, they pick up conditioning faster. By 30 your average runner has not been taking it nearly as seriously, and the stress and time constraints of life take their toll on fitness.

A 30 year old who has CONSISTENTLY trained since they were a teenager absolutely SHOULD be faster than they were at 18 because of the extra 12 years of training. You aren't in your prime at 18 - most people hit their natural prime between 24 and (if you are lucky) 30, so let's say on average 24 to 28. By 30 you haven't sufficiently come down from that "natural" fitness to regress to a level lower than that when you were a teenager.

30 vs 18: more strength and power and endurance at 30, a little more natural quickness/speed at 18. 30 wins because an extra 12 years of training. HOWEVER if you haven't kept up speed training, or even proper training or competing fullstop, 18 will win because you cannot make up for a wasted decade in between.

SO most people had the capability to run faster at 18 than they do at 30 because at 18 you have natural speed to draw on despite a lack of conditioning and being a few years away from your prime. BUT if you are and HAVE BEEN a runner (see runners at national to international level, almost all of whom are faster at 30ish than at 18ish) then at 30 you have a LIFETIME of conditioning to your advantage, plus all the conditioning and training you performed whilst AT YOUR PRIME IN YOUR MID-20s which will still be with you to an extent.

If you have wasted your 20's then, most likely, no you will not be able to smash your high school PR's. If you kept it up a bit, you have a chance with HARD WORK, INCLUDING SPEED WORK.

Nothing wrong with taking a shot @ it. The 17:27 off of what I'm guessing was low mileage and not a whole lot of focus is impressive. You've certainly got the strength. Just becomes a matter of legspeed. If you had 54 quarter speed in HS, you won't be far off that once you get back into shape. But that's gonna be a gradual process. Very, very gradual. Swimming not gonna help that much. Pool running and cycling may be a better bet while you heal up. Then it's just a matter of dialing in a training plan to give it a shot.

Large luck.