Too Old to Run?

Sussex Runner (NLR) wrote (see)

Maybe she was playing fuckwit the new after dinner game.

I'd have put a comma after the word fuckwit. It would make the sentence less garbled.

Morning Jen, just looked at the race site. It looks brilliant and has got a bit of everything even the beach. My 12K in December is on an army training site so no beach just mud and hills I think. Good luck with the race and I hope the weather is glorious that day.

Brief case or briefcase SR - two different things  

Grrr!! runners are angry people!!

Read nearly any of the discussions on this site and there always seems to be an underlying anger in some of the posts!

One would imagine that running would have chilled people out but hey ho, perhaps not!!

Back to the point, the best runner in my local area is 39yrs old and he wins just about every 10k event anywhere within a 20 odd mile radius of where I live. He holds the record in my home town 10k and it's about 33mins and some change. I'm almost a decade younger and I might never get anywhere near that level by the time I'm 39 or ever. If I ever break 40mins it would be unbelievable! Age is a factor, no doubt about that, but there are plenty of older runners that could thrash the youngsters.

To be fair, "tempus fugit", and time is only a fraction of a second younger than the universe.

ooo v philosophical Johnny. I like it.. but I did have to read it twice!

Demon Barber wrote (see)

Grrr!! runners are angry people!!

Read nearly any of the discussions on this site and there always seems to be an underlying anger in some of the posts!

One would imagine that running would have chilled people out but hey ho, perhaps not!!

Back to the point, the best runner in my local area is 39yrs old and he wins just about every 10k event anywhere within a 20 odd mile radius of where I live. He holds the record in my home town 10k and it's about 33mins and some change. I'm almost a decade younger and I might never get anywhere near that level by the time I'm 39 or ever. If I ever break 40mins it would be unbelievable! Age is a factor, no doubt about that, but there are plenty of older runners that could thrash the youngsters.

 

I don't think age is so much a factor as natural talent plus hard work. Several runners in my area who are well over 60 are still running faster than I ever could. Folks on here as well - Ceal is one who is very speedy indeed. And the over-80 world records for marathon and half are 3:15 and 1:38!

cougie wrote (see)

She's either a massive muppet or must be locked up in a cupboard all day. How can 49 be the oldest person she knows ? 

I dont think its ageism. More that she's a f***wit ?

Bless.  She still believes her parents who tell her that they are 21.

Either that, or.....   

jenf, I second that ambition as I intend to be running in some capacity until I drop!

While this was a tongue in cheek thing it does raise an interesting question. On the one hand people do run well into later life and can run long distances and fast but what about a person of 49 who had never ran.

Say you were to take a random group ot 10 people each aged 49 1/2, who had done no excercise of any description since leaving school, were maybe a couple of stone overweight and were totally unfit, how many could get to the stage of running say a sub 5 hour marathon on their 50th birthday ? My guess would be none or at best 1.

derek hughes 4 wrote (see)

While this was a tongue in cheek thing it does raise an interesting question. On the one hand people do run well into later life and can run long distances and fast but what about a person of 49 who had never ran.

Say you were to take a random group ot 10 people each aged 49 1/2, who had done no excercise of any description since leaving school, were maybe a couple of stone overweight and were totally unfit, how many could get to the stage of running say a sub 5 hour marathon on their 50th birthday ? My guess would be none or at best 1.

My guess would be most of them, given the right information and training in that year.

Interesting post since I turned the Big 50 earlier this year! My OH and i went to London for the weekend to celebrate and I intended to run a 10 km to celebrate in one of the Parks (can't recall which one - must be the age!!), but it was snowed off!

However, recently I knocked 7 mins off my last year's HM time and 7 1/2 off  my 10 mile time so age is not causing me a problem so far!

Next year I'm aiming to do Brighton marathon as a delayed celebration  - 25 years after my first ever marathon - Flora London and I am determined to beat the time I did then as well (just a bit stubborn as I've matured!!).

So I think it's happy running whatever your age and ability - better to do something and keep fit and active than be a couch potato

I've just got into running this year with no previous experience or sporting prowess & I'm 44 - as I'm new to it all, I'm hoping there's a fair bit left in me yet! Have entered the Manchester Marathon in April .

derek hughes 4 wrote (see)

While this was a tongue in cheek thing it does raise an interesting question. On the one hand people do run well into later life and can run long distances and fast but what about a person of 49 who had never ran.

Say you were to take a random group ot 10 people each aged 49 1/2, who had done no excercise of any description since leaving school, were maybe a couple of stone overweight and were totally unfit, how many could get to the stage of running say a sub 5 hour marathon on their 50th birthday ? My guess would be none or at best 1.

 

Chris Roome, Metros.

Started running on his 50th birthday having not run since school and broke the hour for 10 miles inside a year.

Became the oldest ever Middlesex marathon champion ever while in his sixties with an easy sub 3 result.