Yes, we do.
Take a lesson from 91 year old marathoner Hariette Thompson.
And Anne Garrett, who at age 80 set a Half Marathon record and then at 81, set a 5K record.
There’s also 99 year old Ida Keeling who sprinted to a 100m World record.
According to this NYTimes article:
Men, as might be expected, get slower as they age. At a recent five-kilometer race in Pine Beach, N.J., which drew nearly 1,000 runners, the fastest man was 24 years old and the men’s times increased with each five-year age group.
But the women were different — their times were all over the place with older women beating younger women in almost every age category.”
But with average runners, he said, older women may be faster because, oddly enough, they are trying harder than younger women and discovering for the first time what they are capable of.
Most middle-aged women grew up when track and cross-country teams were for men only. Some of those women, who had no opportunity to race when they were young, are just learning to be athletes and are running faster than younger women who may not care as much.
Have you read Margaret Webb’s book, Older, Faster, Stronger?
According to Joe Friel in his book, Fast After 50:
Aging doesn’t mean runners have to stop racing. It also doesn’t mean they have to slow down. High intensity workouts and strength training could be the keys to staying competitive.
Now let’s get personal.
I started running at age 55. I happily finished my first 5k at 37:36. At age 61, I PRed with a time of 27:11 and I plan to improve on that this year!
I ran my first Half Marathon at age 57. My finish time was 2:28:27. My most recent half marathon time was 2:09:40.
Yes, we “older women” move!!
Happy Running! Do you have examples of older women who move?
Last Week: (AP Half Marathon Training week #10)
My First 5K and More... 