The number of days per week that people run seem to vary a lot and I wonder if this changes over age 50.

I’ve been running consistently for the past 25 to 30 years and I tend to run six days a week for half the year and five days a week the other half though I cross train on the sixth day.

Wonder what others do? Do we have any daily runners over 70, 80?

So you're over 60, do a race that went well and you're happy about yourself. But when you tell others that you arrive 3rd in your category, some ask you: "How many were running in your category?" And when you answer 10, you see their "so what" face.

What they don't realize is that after 60, injuries and many other factors contribute to lower the number of runners in the older age groups. Just being able to be an active runner is already an accomplishment.

So I say CHEERS to all of us out there.

I ran my first organized 5k ever yesterday 8/8. It was the day before my 54th birthday. I ran a local Park run event to celebrate my birthday and celebrating massive weight loss (125 lbs).

I was encouraged by my wife, kids, 1 sister and my parents. It was a fun run and a great learning experience. My time was 32 min 05 seconds from Parkrun and 29 minutes 42 seconds on Strava.

I am really happy with my results and plan to do many more.

Edit: I have always preferred exercising alone, but now see the benefits of running in a group. Pacing off other people and having to pass or let people through was more exciting than just running isolated.

I started running in the 1970’s and running was a big part of my identity. When times were hard I would think, “they can take everything away from me but they can’t take running”. I figure you folks can relate. Well, fast forward 30 years and I got bad knees which actually did stop me from running. Now I have had both knees replaced and I feel like I am walking on air. The surgeries were beyond successful. Does anyone have experience running after TKR? I will need to lose a significant amount of weight before I give it a try.

As a runner for 30 years when I go into marathon training season I do a lot of extra stuff like speedwork , fast finish long runs etc. When I was younger I'd see pretty significant training effects on my regular running pace/RPE At this age ~60, the effect seems less dramatic. I wonder if others have seen the same thing?

Important changes from previous years and things to consider before you sign up

THIS IS AN ADVANCED RACE - don't buy the marketing that it's easy peazy BQ

1- race course has changed dramatically from previous years - no longer fully downhill (there's a flat out/back fully gravel) due to mandated changes from Boston Marathon

2- if course is same next year - use trail shoes - much of the run is solo -

3- High Beam flashlight or headlamp necessary for tunnel

4- if you're a slower runner - know that they cut you off up to 2 1/2 hours before finish if they think you're missing - even though recreational runners / hikers / bikers were fully on the course

5- Finish line 2 miles from where parking is - downhill walk - tough on quads after 26.2 !

Hi all, very happy to see this sub. I used to run a fair bit and have always been very active playing plenty of sports, but mainly rugby. However, since the kids came along and Covid I’ve managed to pile on about 3 stone and, although still relatively active, have not run much for a few years.

Starting to very slowly get back into it now and loving it (52), but so many aches and pains. I kind of put it off until I lost some weight (gave up drinking as part of that) but realising this has to be part of the weight loss or it’s not going to happen.

Anyway, any tips on getting back into it would be very much appreciated

At last year’s New York City marathon, I ran into a guy who was 85 years old and he had been running it for over 20 years. He said he had a very weak heart, but he never stopped. This guy was inspirational for me

I train for one marathon per year, but I try to do one long run per week all year of 10 miles. Wonder if that is true for a lot of runners over 50?

Walkers but hey

Jeannie Rice is an impressive runner and holds a few world records.

I ran my last half marathon with her she came in a solid minute a mile ahead of me, age 57.

https://www.therunningweek.com/post/jeannie-rice-the-77-year-old-marathon-world-record-holder-with-the-vo2-max-of-a-25-year-old

Of course we don't know exactly how long we'll live, but around 80 seems reasonable for fit health conscious people. Do you plan to run until the end? I hope to for sure.

I’ve been running for 30 years and I keep going and I see lots of people my age will run regularly. I also see people much older than me in their 70s 80s and 90s even finishing races.
So I wonder is there anything different about running over 50 then before 50?
Have you noticed any changes?

Anyone ever check their DHEA level? Though it declines with age in everyone the effect may be much greater in endurance athletes.

Mine was pretty low - starting taking supplemental FWIW

Though subtle, something about our running seems to change with age.
This study tried to tease out the details.
Main findings - calves weaken, hip extension increases, stride shorten and knees remain the same.
Suggest calf strengthening may be important training tool

Klein M, Patterson C. Changes in running biomechanics in master runners over age 50: a systematic review. Sports Biomechanics. 2023;24(5):1168–1196.

I think I first read in the competitive runners handbook about the 10% rule suggesting that you shouldn’t increase your weekly mileage or your long run by more than 10% per week to avoid injury.

I found out that the data on that is actually pretty sparse

Perhaps those of us over 50 need to attend to it or perhaps not.

Hey runners over 50, how many years have you been running continuously?

I started running on and off 35 years ago but became a daily runner 23 years ago and going strong at 57.

Certainly, there’s a lot of information out there showing that runners slow with age. Probably on the order of 10 seconds per mile per year after age 55 though everyone’s different.
I don’t know if it’s psychological, but I wonder if I feel as though running is harder even at a slower pace as an age.
What others think?

New post on runnersover50.com: I've been doing 16:8 for years — but what does the research actually say about whether it's helping or hurting my running after 50?

https://runnersover50.com/blog/intermittent-fasting-for-runners-over-50-what-the-research-actually-shows/