Does Age Matter in Running?
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This is me finishing the Disneyland Half Marathon
Success in running is not just a mental feat, of course, it’s physical, too. And the good news is that science backs up the cliché that age doesn’t matter, or at least doesn’t matter that much.
A few years ago researchers at the German Sports University Cologne took a close look at the finishing times of 400,000 marathon and half-marathon runners between the ages of 20 and 79. They found no relevant differences in the finishing times of people between the ages of 20 and 50. The times for runners between 50 and 69 slowed only by 2.6 to 4.4 percent per decade. “Older athletes are able to maintain a high degree of physiological plasticity late into life,” the researchers wrote.
That might explain in part why the running world is growing, and growing older. The number of runners who finished marathons in the United States, where 7 of the world’s 15 largest races took place last year, increased to 507,000 in 2010 from 25,000 in 1976, according to RunningUSA , an organization that promotes the industry.
In 1980, the median age for a marathon runner was 34 for men and 31 for women. By last year, the age had risen to 40 for men and 35 for women. People over 40 now comprise 46 percent of finishers, up from 26 percent in 1980.
This piece gives some solace to those runners like me who came to the sport late in life and whose physical prowess has perhaps declined due to the aging process. There is hope – I can accept a 5% decline.
Maybe my better PR’s (personal records) are yet to come.
I will continue to work on my diet, nutrition and training. Qualifying for the Boston Marathon at age 70 may not be an unreasonable goal.
So, come out and join me.