Ever been passed by a runner and go "what the hell, how is that possible?"

I run 17 minutes for 5k . I am shocked how often I have people fly by me on training runs. I do much of my easy mileage at 8 minute pace. It doesn't matter if it is an old woman or man or overweight young guy. I had an average looking guy pass me the other day going so fast that he was out if sight within 5 minutes. I have seen women doing training runs at what had to be 6:30 pace.

I got beat by a fat lady in a 5K, she was pushing 200 lbs. Granted, I'm not fast anymore, but I still run around 21 which is usually good enough to beat fat people. After the race, I saw her standing by herself and was going to tell her that she ran really well for someone her size. Luckily before I started talking, my brain caught up with my mouth and told me I can't say that to a woman.

When I got home and saw the results online, I recognized her name, she was local stud about 15 years ago. Used to run low 16s.

I was a ~17 minute 5K guy in my early 20s, so not elite by any means, but good enough to be one of the better runners at any given road race in my little college town. I had a bad race once and fell off the pace pretty badly. Some of the other faster local guys started passing me over the last mile, which I expected. But then with maybe 3/4 of a mile to go some dude in basketball shoes and basketball shorts went bounding past me. Guy looked like he was running because he was late for his bus, not because he was trying to run a distance race.

I still finished the race in under 18 minutes and never caught back up to basketball shoe guy, so he must have turned in a decent performance.

I was suffering quite a bit in a half about 12 years ago and with a couple of kms to go this rickety stick figure of an oldster rattled past me and beat me by about 30 seconds or so.

It was Dick Beardsley.

Was running 5:20s at the track the other day, and this girl just latched onto us for our whole 2000m rep and even kept going after we stopped. I was flabbergasted. I found her later on that “ran with” Strava feature and turns out she runs for team GB

Ran a 5k race and had a women pushing a baby stroller pass me about half way through. I was running at 6 min. mile pace. I though damn can't let this happen. But try as I might I couldn't keep up with her. See appeared to be in her mid to late 20's. I was 44 years old. Needless to say I went home devastated.

If I get passed I immediately start sprinting and overtake the person who has directly provoked and challenged me. Once I’ve taken back the victory I stop because I cannot maintain that pace for very long. I determine where the finish line is. I win. They lose. I don’t play games.

A fat lady that used to be fast wrote:

I got beat by a fat lady in a 5K, she was pushing 200 lbs. Granted, I'm not fast anymore, but I still run around 21 which is usually good enough to beat fat people. After the race, I saw her standing by herself and was going to tell her that she ran really well for someone her size. Luckily before I started talking, my brain caught up with my mouth and told me I can't say that to a woman.

When I got home and saw the results online, I recognized her name, she was local stud about 15 years ago. Used to run low 16s.

In my time I have seen a college woman run sub-17 with a beer gut. Probably 30-40 lbs overweight. My eyes were on fire trying to make sense of it.

Near the 3 mile mark of a local 5k, I noticed a lot of cheering near me, which I thought was weird, given that I wasn't winning the race, but maybe they were cheering because someone was gaining ground on me. The other runner gets even to me and I realize he is juggling. Ashe he gets half a step in front of me, I realize that if he beats me I would have to quit running forever. I then throw down probably one of my top 10 all time finishing kicks to defeat him.

I don't have much trouble with other runners, but sometimes I struggle to keep up with trees, especially during a killer workout--even if I push the pace in the hopes they'll speed up.

I ran in a 5K with Michael Wardian the day after he ran a 2:28 marathon.

I couldn't keep up and couldn't believe it. He ran 16 flat to my 16:30 that day.

Some other guy I raced years before that in a 10K was breathing hard and stomping his feet loudly.

I couldn't keep up.

I did beat him a month later in a 5K where I ran 14:55, but he kept coming and I kept hearing him.

In both cases I thought, "what the hell, how is that possible?"

23 years ago I was going on 40 later that year and racing a quite a bit. My wife and I went on 10K vacation/race in Ontario (a little north of Niagara Falls, New York).

I was in okay shape given my age and heavy work schedule and lack of running genetic talent, but I figured I could do 'okay'. I didn't see anyone around the starting line that looked to be 'older' that I couldn't hang with.

About a mile into the race this really 'old' skinny guy with a shock of white hair just blows by me. I thought, not a big deal he'll be back - just stick to my plan - I am at less than 5:45/mile. Just keep 'em even. Nope, the guy just gradually pulled away and out of sight. I faded a little in the heat, but still managed what was for me a 'respectful' effort. That older guy finished about 45 seconds ahead of me.

At the awards presentation they announced his time and age: "64". My mouth fell open a little and I just shook my head - completely dumbfounded. Now to make matters worse (at least from my perspective at the time) my normally supportive spouse, who herself had just run a pretty decent race herself, looked at me and said "I thought you said you did okay? And that guy beat you?" Now I am both confused and 'humbled'. Maybe I shouldn't plan on racing after 40 after all.

It wasn't until many many years later that I eventually 'figured out' who that elderly guy was. It turns out he had retired a few years earlier and had recently taken up running again. At this time, he was not a household name - but beginning at age 65 until his passing in 2017, and over the next 20 years, he would go on to set more than 25 indoor and outdoor age-group world records - from the 1,500 meter to the marathon - with times like a 2:54 marathon at age 70. To those now in their teens and 20s and are still cracking 'youthful' times, that is like running a 2:07:00.

His effort that warm summer 10K day I would later determine was around a staggering 95+% age graded performance. Equal to somewhere an an open age 28:00 His name was Ed Whitlock.

I am now 63 and too am retired from work, but am still running and racing pretty hard. I am not fast (never ever was) but comparatively faster - at least according to the World Master's age grading calculator- than I ran in my 20s and 30s. And I still get a chuckle out of occasionally finishing in the top three to five in local 5ks and on a very rare occasion actually winning a really tiny race. Still once in while someone will ask me, 'How OLD are you, anyway?' I tell them, but often add; 'Look up the name Ed Whitlock when you get home. ' He was amazing.

If you don't know who Ed Whitlock was, maybe take a minute read a bit about him. Pretty darn impressive at least IMO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Whitlock

Yes. I was driving a Volkswagen Bug at the time.

Star wrote:

Some other guy I raced years before that in a 10K was breathing hard and stomping his feet loudly.

I couldn't keep up.

I did beat him a month later in a 5K where I ran 14:55, but he kept coming and I kept hearing him.

In both cases I thought, "what the hell, how is that possible?"

In a 5k with local guy that always won, I had no intentions on beating him. Was one of the first races I was going to run hard and I was interested in how long I could hang with him before I blew up. We go and its fast right away. I'm full of doubt, it hurts but was going well. I thought I was bugging him hanging on his shoulder because at about 2 miles he dropped behind me and hung on my shoulder. He was breathing so loud and so close it just irritated the hell out of me. I thought he was maybe doing on purpose to bug me. Out of irritation, anger and stupidity I threw down my finishing kick right then just to get away from him breathing, I got a huge gap on him, but then was done and was just holding on suffering waiting for him to pass me. I was suffering so bad and I was still so mad at him that I could not look back. But he never passed me. I beat him by a pretty big margin. When he crossed the line he told me he that kick I threw down just finished him mentally and he knew he couldn't beat me so he coasted to the end. Was a total surprise win and my only win that season.

Fantastic story, what was her height? If she ran around 20-21 and was around 5' 6" that is outright amazing.

Small world, I've run in 5k races with Wardian and I filmed as well in a few.

That post made my glad I started this thread, the beauty of running celebrities is they are out in the open and you can see them (until they pass you).

I'm a 61yo female currently running about 24 minutes for 5K (I used to be a whole lot faster...) I was running a big local 5K in December that draws over 1000 people, most of whom walk or jog the course. I placed myself in about the 8th row at the start and spent most of the first km trying not to trip over all the kids who go like mad for a few hundred meters and then stop. About 1K into the race a short, fat woman went chugging past me. Like 6 inches shorter and a good 40 pounds heavier. I could hardly believe it. I kept waiting for her to collapse but it didn't happen, and I watched her slowly pull away from me for the whole race, finishing about 30 seconds ahead. I can only imagine what she could run if she lost some weight. She was less than half my age, but it's still depressing.

Heavy breathing depends on the runner. I used to sound like I was dying in a race and probably annoyed the hell out of other runners lol.