Limits of Starting Late in Life

Anyone remember this film? wrote:

http://www.runningtothelimits.com/

Ben Moreau was featured in this documentary as a British hopeful and I think it was funny that Steve Way (not in film but similar in terms of weight to the filmmaker when he started training) ended up beating Moreau at the Commonwealth Games.

25 is not late. I tripped into being a "local elite" around that age, if that's a thing. I started running daily , just for the sole purpose of getting tired of going out and drinking every night. I jogged, and then found a certain course in the trails, and noticed I would run it a certain time one day and then noticed I could beat that time other days. Soon, I was trying to beat my record. For two or three days a week I would focus on beating my record. I didn't really run everyday, and actually wore my daily running shoes to/from work. then I heard about a race and went. I ran 17-something. I was 26 years old. I was pissed. I had no idea what was good or bad. All I knew was that towards the end, I got passed by at least 4 people. I finished around 11th or so, and hung around and found out I got a trophy. Wow. So, I went back to my old routine. Except now, I began to run to/from work 7 +/- miles each way. Soon, I was reading Runners World and found all the mistakes I was making and began to go to the track, got new shoes, and even used a running log. I was hooked. I brought my time down to 15:50's within 1 year and then to 15:20's within 2 years after. so, to say 25 is late, maybe for a real elite like a 14:10 guy. but for me, I was fine. I peaked in my early 30's, and feel that that was around the right time when I look back.

RunHarwell wrote:

If a relatively fit and healthy 25-year-old male (for discussion purposes, let's say he's 15% body fat and able to run a 21-minute 5k with no running training) wakes up on day and decides he wants to be an elite distance runner, what kind of limitations would he be under for starting late?

Again, just for discussion purposes, let's say he does literally everything right to improve. So the ONLY factor holding him back is starting late in life.

How far could he get in six months? A year?

pretty much none. Obviously he'd be losing to hs'ers and collegians for a couple years.There is no schedule for running fast. They don't add 30 seconods to your time because you run your track 10k pr at 36 instead of as a 23 year old 5th year in college.

By the way this sort of thing is more common in the uk, where competition is club based and not every joe blow for himself. Nobody thinks twice about someone joining a running club at 25 or 35.

I made the fortunate mistake of running marathons when I first started to run. I started at 24 and spent three years training for thons. This was essentially three years of base training. Now I am focusing on the 5k and have found that I developed the necessary base to really lay down some workouts. Had I started with 5ks and not the marathon I doubt I'd be where I am now.

Be patient! Endurance doesn't come overnight. Potential (contrary to what some may say) isn't reached after 6 months or even a year. You've got plenty of time left in your legs. 25 isn't really that old.

douglas burke wrote:

http://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/mark-kiptoo-kenya-marathon-veteran

His best years on the track were still to come and in 2010 he set a 5000m PB and world age-34 best of 12:53.46 when winning at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm. The following year, he improved to 26:54.64 over 10,000m and then in 2012 he took gold in the 5000m at the African Championships.

How realistically can someone in this country compete with that?

How many Americans overall can you or anyone else name that ran under 13 for a 5k?

Is our WCAP as progressed as theirs?

I mean, 12:53 at 34?, not to mention a sub 27 10k. that guy would be on the cover of Running Times, Runners World, And every other running magazine in our country.

It takes about two years for your body to adjust to the demands of distance running. Your soft tissue and bones need time to adjust and make adaptations. I think it takes about 5-7 years for your muscles and cardiovascular system to fully adapt to distance running. Muscles get smaller and lighter when you focus on endurance running. That adaptation seems to take a while to really sink in.

So, someone coming into the sport ice cold at 25 will at the earliest find themselves making all the physical adaptations right around age 30. But most people will have a few significant injuries that will set back their progress by at least a year or two.

The main difference between the 25 year old and the guy who started in high school/Jr high is that the latter will start running when their body is much better at making adaptations because they are still growing. It is not at all unusual to see a high school kid go from 19 min 5k as a freshman to 15:30 5k as a senior and then continue to progress to elite times in college. But the 25 year old will need longer to make the adaptations and will end up trying to make the big breakthroughs when they are in their early 30s when their body is starting to lose its ability to recover, especially compared to the runner in their early 20s.

You aren't starting late in life, but I don't think 2 years is enough time. I started when I was 34. I ran the mile in middle school and one year of xc in high school, but other than that was a sedentary smoker.

- 2 months after starting to run, I an a 2:07 half-marathon.

- A year later I ran the same race in 1:30.

- 6 months later I ran a 1:22 half and a poorly paced 3:22 marathon (was 1:30 at the 1/2).

- 6 months later I ran a 2:59 (RnRSD 2013). At this point my mileage was still low, but I managed to get 4 weeks over 50 miles.

- 6 months later (CIM 2013), I upped mileage to a few weeks over 60 and added workouts and ran a 2:46.

- Last year I wasn't able to put together a marathon, but I ran a 1:15 half in November (Indy).

- Now I am finally putting together consistent mileage for the first time (past 3 weeks over 80) and hope to run about 2:35 at Boston.

I try not to put a ceiling on what is possible and still think I can continue to improve for a 2-3 more years. I do think I could have been faster if I had started younger.

Going through a prolonged period of rapid improvement is REALLY fun and motivating. So, I think the hypothetical scenario is possible, espcially if you give yourself some more time,.

I started at 24 with hockey as a background but no running.

My first 5km I ran 20:04 and by the end of that season I ran 16:50.

I take my running pretty seriously but work full time in my chosen career field. I'm 28 years old now and signed with Saucony in 2013. (I'm Canadian tho so keep that in mind as we don't have the same depth as the states.)

I just ran an indoor 5000m in 14:38 basically solo as the next guy was 30 seconds behind me. So in 4 years I got down to being a mid-low 14 minute guy and a sub 30 10km runner.

Now if you have more talent then me I'm sure you could get much faster. I run 110 miles a week and have a coach. My base line speed is decent but not off the charts. I ran an open 400m after a 1500m race in 54.2 so draw from that what you will,

Dave

Maybe you might not be able to go pro as a runner. However, Mirinda Carfrae (currently the best female long course racer, and has been for the past 3 or so years) only started doing endurance training aged 19. Up to that point she was a basketball player (just high school stuff) so it can be done.

The factors I can think of, in no particular order, for anyone attempting to go from non-runner to elite are: (1.)physical activity level prior to running (2.) history of injuries (3.) ability to get quality recovery/adaptation through well thought-out training coupled with good diet and deep sleep every night (4.) body type (5.) natural speed (6.) obviously general health status (7.) mechanics (8.) Running surfaces available/shoes which are ideal for your stride.

(1.) Physical activity level prior to running...... Will in part dictate initial fitness/speed as well as musculature/structural development of tendons etc. If you didn't spend a bit of your youth running around, pivoting, breathing heavy it is extremely unlikely that 2 years will be enough time to develop your body to handle serious endurance sports training.

(2.) History of injuries...... obviously if you have a bum knee or a bad hip you aren't going to be an elite distance runner. Also, conditions like Plantar F or IT band discomfort etc. are very common for people who run lots of miles. If you have a history of these conditions it is close to a guarantee you will be revisiting them if you are increasing your workload at the rate you would need to in a 2-year zero2elite training campaign.

(3.) Quality recovery..... If you work exceptionally long hours or have many responsibilities and can't commit to a solid night of sleep every single night then your chances of surviving that sort of training uninjured are severely diminished. If you don't like to eat a healthy variety of foods then you are at a disadvantage. Along with this is of course is the need for moderation and sobriety.. if you like to binge drink or drink coffee all day or do other drugs you will be impacting your ability to get the really deep sleep needed to recover quickly and thus adapt.

(4.) Body Type... If you have big bones, wide hips/shoulders, or are tall (over 6ft3ish) you are at a pretty serious disadvantage to begin with. There are a number of body types which can be successful runners, but this seems self explanatory. Some big guys are prone to musculature and some little guys can't put on muscle mass.. both of these can be an advantage/disadvantage. Big guys need to not over-lift to avoid carrying excess weight, but will have the advantage of strength and likely a superior response to speed work. Little guys will be able to handle more mileage and gain a lot from working out in the gym as their strength gains wont be as dramatically offset by mass gains.

(5.) Natural speed.... Probably the biggest factor if you want to win races at the 10k distance or lower. This can be a bit of a misnomer as what is really important is natural speed when in decent shape. Some guys can hop off the couch and run a 52 second 400m... some guys who ultimately have sub-50 speed will fail to break 60 when just hopping off the couch. You can certainly develop your speed by just running a ton of 200's twice a week and gradually lowering the splits, but if you can't run close to 50s in a 400 eventually you can't be a mid-d elite.

(6.) General health... Pretty self-explanatory.

(7.) / (8.) Running mechanics, surfaces available, shoes ideal for stride... these all go together. If you have real sloppy form you are likely working towards a chronic injury. That being said, trying to run on pavement with perfect form in minimalist shoes is not practical, much less feasible for the amount of training you'll need. If you have access to nice trails for many of your runs then consider using minimal shoes if your mechanics allow it. Also, there is the issue of finding a running track for intervals, which is mostly a matter of convenience and practicality as you can as a last resort just measure out distances on an open stretch of road. But, if you want to race track you will need to get used to running on one.

no one knows

Well put!!!!

What a great answer. Thanks for that!

Any insight in how I might fare the coming years?

(I know it doesn't mean anything over the internet or even to have somebody discuss your potential without actually finding out for yourself, but am curious towards insight)

Age: 32.

Got back into running about 1,5 years ago.

Ran between 15-25 KMs (9-15 miles) a week. No intervals, just slow aerobic running. Ran a 21:30ish 5K off of that.

Joined an athletics club three and a half months ago. Mileage is now around 30 KMS (18 miles) a week, with hard interval training twice a week. Best 5K is now 19:07.

Coach is going to push mileage up to 50K/week by next July.

(1.) Physical activity level prior to running.

Ran track from age 14-16 (never any impressive results, think my best 5K was 19:19). Stopped running completely and took up weight training.

Competed in Powerlifting (Nationally, qualified for International competitions a few times but didn't stand a chance in finishing top 5) for around 10 years. Was quite good at national level. Quit competitive powerlifting at age 29-30 due to injuries, limits of potential and boredom with the competitive scene. So very serious weight training from age 16-30 (still do it right now, but only twice a week and obviously can't put in as much effort since running is my main sport).

Always kept up some form of conditioning (hill sprints, cycling, lots of hiking), so was in very good general shape.

Weight: 73kg at 5'7.

(2.) History of injuries......

Quick to get very sore calves. This has improved tremendously since working with a good coach and running intervals.

Serious shoulder injury three years ago, but this doesn't hinder my running.

(3.) Quality recovery.....

Have a demanding job and married with children, but put a lot of effort (since about age 15) into nutrition and recovery. I eat very healthily and get between 8-8.30 hours of sleep every night. Rarely drink.

(4.) Body Type...

5'7 (172cm), 73kg(160lbs). Long legs, short torso, long arms. Low bodyfat percentage (was a weight class athlete for more than 10 years).

Even though I carry (relative to other runners in my group) a lot of muscle mass, I don't hang on to it easily. If I quit weight training, I lose most prominent muscle relatively quickly.

(5.) Natural speed....

When I was 25 I could run a 100m around 11secs, with only hill training and some 400 metres here and there. Only ran once a week.

Recently ran about 1700 metres in 6 minutes, which is nothing special, I know.

Last Sunday did a local 5K and ran 19:07. Have a good kick at the end.

(6.) General health... Pretty self-explanatory.

Very healthy. Non-smoker. Rarely drink. Low bodyfat percentage. Bit of a health nut.

(7.) / (8.) Running mechanics, surfaces available, shoes ideal for stride...

Have shoes that work well for me. Running mechanics are "okay" if I had to guess. Not too sloppy, but nothing special. Just starting to run "smooth and relaxed" now from all the practice.

I also have to add the "Psychological Factor and Motivation" as No.8 to the list. There are other runners at my club who get the same workouts and have been there longer and run more than DOUBLE my mileage, but they never seem to train or compete and dig really deep. I run a better 5K but I'm absolutely wasted afterwards, while they recover within minutes after the race. I push really hard, so I'm sure that has something to do with it.