54-year old Dough Fernandez wins Harrisburg Marathon in 2:40!! Is that really only equivalent to a 2:18?

I remember Norm Green's 2:27 at Twin Cities when he was 55. What do you figure that should equate to?

The age-grading for older guys gets a little skewed by the record-setting outliers. Some of those outliers are also doping, and they might benefit more from an anti-aging (temporarily) perspective. I've also noticed that, the older runners who took ten years off to start a family or go for a career (whatever), tend to come back with fresher legs, as opposed to those who grind on through in their 30s and 40s. The body only seems to have so many miles in it and then things sort of shut down.

40+ wrote:

Just came across an article on Runner's World about a 54 year old who won the Harrisburg Marathon. The guy looks great- way younger than 54.

Being 45, the concept of running 2:54 in 10 years baffles me. I figured it was probably equal to a sub-2:10 but went online somewhere and it says 2:18. Is that it?

http://www.runnersworld.com/masters/54-year-old-man-wins-harrisburg-marathon

Dough Fernandez? That's an unfortunate name for a skinny distance runner.

His time, while very good, isn't THAT amazing compared to other masters.

Consider

Martin Rees - 1:06 half at 50

Ed Whitlock - 2:54 marathon at 73 or 74

Derek Turnbull - 2:41 at 65

And the world record for 55 and over (just a year older than Dough) is 2:25

Avocado's Number wrote:

I remember Norm Green's 2:27 at Twin Cities when he was 55. What do you figure that should equate to?

The article says Fernandez weighs 180. Even if he is very tall, that is still a lot of weight to lug around for 26 miles at that type of clip. If he got down to 155-160, he might be in 2:20 shape since he ran Boston this year in 2:34.

fat for a runner wrote:

Dough Fernandez? That's an unfortunate name for a skinny distance runner.

His time, while very good, isn't THAT amazing compared to other masters.

Consider

Martin Rees - 1:06 half at 50

Ed Whitlock - 2:54 marathon at 73 or 74

Derek Turnbull - 2:41 at 65

And the world record for 55 and over (just a year older than Dough) is 2:25

Doug did not push the pace terribly hard in Harrisburg - he did just enough to win the race. Earlier this year, he ran 2:34 at Boston and 2:37 in Berlin. That's on top of crushing the old course record (though he finished 2nd) at the Inca Trail Marathon (http://www.eriksadventures.com/inca-trail-marathon-race-to-machu-picchu-peru) over the summer.

Assuming he remains healthy, I'd bet that he'll be under 2:30 next year.

A very good run which should be commended but the clock runs the same speed for all runners. A 2 h 40 mins marathon should never be scaled to be equivalent to a 2h 18 marathon (or to any other time for that matter) whatever the age or sex of the athlete who ran the performance.

It's worth a 2:40, why is that hard to understand?

Ackley wrote:

The article says Fernandez weighs 180. Even if he is very tall, that is still a lot of weight to lug around for 26 miles at that type of clip. If he got down to 155-160, he might be in 2:20 shape since he ran Boston this year in 2:34.

I'd think it far more likely that he wouldn't break 2:50.

the world record for 54 years old is 2:26:35 so a 2:40 at that age seems about equal to a 2:18

http://www.arrs.net/SA_Mara.htm

Y'all are missing the point here. The moral of the story is not his time. Obviously he can run much faster than 2:40, he ran 2:34 in Boston earlier this year, and that is a tough course, not only that, he ran 2:40 in Harrisburg 6 weeks after winning his AG in Berlin in 2:37. It takes me a whole month to recover from a marathon. What's even more impressive than his age, is his weight, 180 lbs is a lot of meat and bones for someone running that fast, regardless of age. Anyways, the "moral" of the story is about a guy who doesn't give a $hit about how old he is, he trains hard, has a winning attitude and doesn't let an age number interfere with his goals. It sure inspires me and a lot of older folks to do the same. I can't believe someone here would even make false doping accusations .

I'd say it worth a 2:54

Hi, Just want to say he might not be injecting but I am pretty sure those are not natural performances. I believe those performances are aided by possible Doctor's prescribed testosterone. Quick recovery of that.Also noticed Richmond marathon over 500 for the top local runner. Why would he leave 500 on the table? Is it because Harrisburg does not test runners? Either way He will not be running under 2:30 in Boston and if he does. B.A.A should test for his testosterone level. More than likely it is synthetic.

this dude doesn't look like the regular 54 yo man. He looks more like he is in his 30's. If there is a drug that I can take to make my gray hair go away, and makes me run a 2:40, let me know. I don't think there is one. Very few of us are born and blessed with those genes.

How does a 54-year old crank out 100-mile weeks and not break down?

Hopkinton wrote:

How does a 54-year old crank out 100-mile weeks and not break down?

One foot in front of the other.

You are very naive. The man is taking something. No way 180 lbs 54 years old man can run 2:34 in Boston, runs in Peru what an ultra?, Runs Berlin 2:37, than 6 weeks later run 2:40 in Harrisburg then 6 days later run 3:04 in Richmond Marathon. No Way NO How if he is clean! Only way with testosterone usage.

You don't know Doug. You don't believe it, because you sir are a loser and l bet you're also a Democrat, aren't you?

Hi Buddy

The truth hurts. Go hide under a rock and curl up in a ball and cry yourself to sleep. Maybe USATF need to start testing these Master runners weed out the dirty runners.

“The real” ? the real what ? It sounds to me like your name should be “the real douchebag”. It also sounds to me like you know him very well. Doug probably has a big fan club in Richmond, as well as a big haters club, most likely you are another one who can’t stand his success. Sir , Slander will not get you anywhere. Maybe you should get in touch with Doug, and pick his brain and ask him to share some tips on how he is able to do that. Don’t judge the man by the actions of a few !