Passed Your Best?

How old were you when you did your first race at any particular distance:
5K, 10K/6M, 1/2Mara & or Full Mara?
What was your pace then?

How old were you when you had your most recent PB?
What was your pace on that occasion?

If you have stopped getting faster - what pace have you slowed down to now?
And can I ask your age?

I was 35 when I did my first race.
It was a cross country over about 6 miles, and my pace was roughly 8 1/2 mm

My best pace for a similar race was just over 7 1/2 mm when I was 48

I am now 59 and my most recent equivalent race was at about 10 mm pace
I am trying to get back to fitness after injury, but the last similar race I did when I was a bit fitter was at just a bit quicker than 9 1/2 mm and I was 57 at the time.

I started running in 2000 at the age of 40. My pb's are all from 2004-2005 - 10K at 7:15 m/m, half mara at 7:20 m/m and mara at 8:55 m/m (huge underachiever at that distance, methinks).

Now 52 and best paces from this season are 7:45 for the 10K and 8:15 for the half.

First race at 27, 1:28:30 half marathon after 17 weeks training.

All pb's set when 36/37.

Now 52,  ran 59:45 for 10 miles couple of week ago.

First race; Aug 1999 - aged 31 - 10k @ 6:36 m/m

PBs  Oct - Dec 2008 (41-42)
5k @ 5:36m/m - 10k pb @ 5:51 m/m - 10 mile @ 5:53m/m - 1/2 @ 6:05m/m    Mara @ 6:42m/m - Sept 2007 (39)

Last race Nov 2012 (44) - 5k @ 6:18 m/m

First race was a 10K in about 70 mins when 16.

Did 41:34 in 1990 aged 18. Did 41:33 last month aged 41.

PB is 40:44, but reckon I am faster than that now as last month's race had a massive hill in it.

"I do take a lot of satisfaction in that 38 year gap between my first and {definately) last sub 60."

And rightly so, that's quite an achievement. But are you sure there isn't one more in you .. just for old time's sake?

Tom. wrote (see)

My debut at 10M was when I was 20, on which I ran 57:30. The last time I ran sub 60min was at age 58 (59:58...phew!). Although in my early career I have run much quicker than my debut time, I have also in my later career run much slower than my last sub 60min. However I do take a lot of satisfaction in that 38 year gap between my first and {definately) last sub 60.

Now that's what I call impressive. A mere 23 years myself.

sub-60 at 60 for 40 year span................come on it looks perfect

Aged 47 now. Started at age 42 with a 5 mile race that I've done annually ever since and every race has been 36 minutes and X number of seconds (haven't kept a record,so not sure which year was my PB but I don't think there has been much improvement or decline - this year though was 36:20).

Done my first two 10k races this year (both off road) and did them in 46 min 52 sec and 45 min 3 sec, so still improving there!

Also done 2 Tough Mudders (13.5 miles) this year but as part of a team, where there was a lot of waiting / dragging slower members round, so time was not an issue. Obstacles were fun though.

Before I ran just occasionally, as cross-training for other sports but at the moment I think it has just about risen to the top of my personal rankings for enjoyment - and the amount of time I am devoting to it.

Tell you what Tom, i'd be delighted with a sub 70 10 mile run right now and i'm 34.....

Restarted running at 38 after a 20 year gap and set all my PB's (bar one - see below) between 40 and 42.

Stayed pretty close to PB times up to and including age 47 (6 years ago) and set my 10 mile PB (66'24") that year. Admittedly, I had run far less 10 mile races than 5K, 10K, HM etc.

Since then I've been lucky with injuries and am still able to train consistently up to around 35 miles per week. However, best times have slowed inexorably from around 19 to 21 minutes (5K), 40 to 43 minutes (10K) and 89 to 99 minutes (HM).

Still love it though and try to chase "2 year PB's", i.e. best time within last 2 years.

I only started racing when I was 52 back in 2006 and so most of my PBs were set in the first couple of years after that, 1.15 for 10 miles, 1.37 for HM and 3.33 for M. 

Ran a 10 mile a couple of weeks back and managed a 1.18 and my recent HMs have been about 1.43 ish.  I reckon I have lost about 5 secs per mile over those distances.

If I look back at my Garmin stats my just go out for a run pace was 8mm, its probably 8.10 to 8.15 now, so perhaps losing 2 seconds per year of pace

Running at age 35 flat out, I could just about get down to 6 1/2 minute mile pace over shorter distances. Back then you did not race 5k's because it was the time of the marathon boom but, if I had it would have given me a time of just outside 20 minutes. This year hitting 60, I have raced a lot of 5k's and managed to nudge under 25 minutes which is as fast as I was ever going to get. On the long runs back then I had a 'run all day pace of 8 minute miling in my best period. Nowadays in a good period it is 10 minute miling.

Back then I would worry about times and positions but now I can be more laid back and no matter how slow I am on a bad or injured or dont-feel-like-it day, I dont come away unhappy.

In an effort to show that growing older doesn't mean an inexorable decline I will share my results with you. I started running 5 years ago (aged 42) and have steadily improved over this period.

Half Marathon:   2008 1:42:47     2012 1:33:33   (both over same course)

Well done RFI, them's good times for anyone of any age.