40+ Men: Why Are You So Fast?
March 4, 2008 | Tags: age groups • midlife • race speed • Running
Surely most men do not speed up as they get older, so how come the M40 age group is often more competitive than the M35 one?
Having just recently celebrated my 38th birthday, I got asked more than once if I was already dreading the big four-zero coming along. “On the opposite,” I usually replied. “I can’t wait to get the chance to finally win an age group award.” While this usually got a few laughs, it was also a blatant lie. Not only will I still be too slow to get anywhere near those awards, when I checked the results of some of my recent races, I noticed that the times for age awards are sometimes faster, not slower, as you move up.
The 2007 USA Marathon Report tells us that the average marathon finishing time for the men’s age groups are getting faster, not slower, all the way from M20 to M40. I found this hard to believe when I read it the first time, but the M40 age group had the fastest average finishing time of them all! The equivalent female age groups do not show the same pattern.
It’s not only the average time that gets better. The same applies even for the competitive end of the field. To pick an example, at my most recent half marathon in Blarney, Ireland, the third runner in the M40 category finished in 1:18:05, when the third M35 runner still had a minute to go. Of course this doesn’t always follow the same mould (I could easily have found a race result where the M40 runners were slower than their M35 counterparts), but it definitely happens much more often than you would think.
Personally, I find this fact truly astonishing. The only explanation I could come up with is that a lot of men start running (or, in case of many college runners, re-start running) sometime in their mid-30s and will therefore not reach their full potential until they are in their 40s. As someone who followed that very itinerary, I know it is very common, and I do indeed know a lot of runners who followed the same course. What makes us pick up a rather strenuous hobby like this as we get older? The fear of getting old and fat? An early onset of midlife crisis? Or, are our wives kicking us out of the house to enjoy some peace and quiet?
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I’ve noticed this as well and if the 40s aren’t faster than the late-30s group, they are always more competitive. Being an adult onset runner, I was once asked when I would start placing un my age group. “When the rest of the them all quit or die,” is my reply. “Give me 30 years.” My age group seems to be particularly competitive locally. Seems like someone in my age group is always in the top 5, if not outright winnng the race.
I think that this whole health revolution is causing people to get out of the house on a more frequent basis and since this health kick is relatively new, the men in their forties began running probably in their mid 30’s. I think the correct answer is “The fear of getting old and fat”
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Men in their 40s tend to be more established in their professions, tend to have slightly older children that are a little more independent, and tend to have more time to train than men in their 30s who are still in the “prime” of their careers, tend to have younger children who require more time, and tend not to have as much time to train.
My team, Dirigo RC, has a couple of younger guys that are fast (20s or 30s) and then a whole slew of guys in their 40s that are fast. We even have one guy that is in his 50s who can run low 16 minute 5Ks (he’s one of the best 50+ master cross country runners in the country…)
It isn’t uncommon for half of the top 10 to be in their 40s up here in Maine. I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that there aren’t a lot of younger people to start with, the really fast ones move away to train in better weather or conditions, and it is so expensive to live up here that younger folks need to work a lot more just to get by than they would further south.
Maybe the M35 age group doesn’t have as much time to train due to family commitments? I find that in my age group I can be competitive but that’s ’cause the field is smaller and slower.
Sorry but I’ve got 2 young sons, a busy business I own and operate…Perhaps the 40 and over is more about suffering….
by this age we’ve learned how to do it and not whine about it…I am certainly running better now at 46 then I did at 16 when I finished my first marathon…really don’t discount the fact that enduring pain can and is learned and practiced with age.
The same phenomenon exists for women too, though not at the marathon level. Look at age group winners in your local 5k or 10k and you’re likely to see the masters women run faster per mile than the 20-somethings. I guess age does have its rewards.
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I think it’s more about survivorship bias. The people who are still running at that age probably tend to be better runners. Bad runners drop out. The guys who are good, who are at the top of their game, keep going. While we all know runners who start late and become competitive, they are probably the exception, rather than the rule. People to the left of the mean drop out more than people to the right, and the whole mean moves higher.
There are a few things at play. One major factor has already been alluded to - that there are far more competitors in the 40-49 age group than in any other in many big races today. It is not unusual to find more 40-49ers in a 10k or a half marathon than 30-39ers. Thirty years ago, when I first entered the ranks of the “master” I was often the only 40+ in the race. Even when major prizes became available for masters, the numbers remained quite small for several years and decent awards were relatively easy to come by. Now the master runner who wants to place high in his category has to work for it.
Then the other factors mentioned by other readers also contribute. But there is also a physiological component. Our oxygen utilisation efficiency actually improves with age up to a point (even though our VO2 max will decline). This means that the 45 year-old can remain competitive with individuals ten to fifteen years his junior without any need to increase his training regimen.
David, I don’t think it’s necessarily survivorship. Those same guys would have been fast in their 30s as well as their 40s, and I know plenty of folks that are not fast as masters runners. There just happen to be some fast ones running.
Very interesting! I have noticed this same phenomenon at my local races. The 40-45M group often wins (or at least places close to the 20 somethings when fast 20-somethings enter). I am 42 and started running just 2 years ago. I was a college athlete (not a runner) who got fat and out of shape after college chasing my career. I started seeing some people around me die which caused my to rethink my priorities. There are probably a lot of people in the same boat.
I had my best ever year in 2006 at age 40 - PR’s in the 5k, 8k, 10k, 10Mi, 20Mi and Marathon.
2007 wasn’t a bad one either with PR’s in the 20k, 25k and 30k.
I’m hoping 2008 will be another successful one, despite turning 42 in the summer.
We’ll see…
–Steve
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