Racing wise I have been out of the game for a while a solid 8 years. I recently turned 40 years old. I still enjoy running and run daily. I will do a 12.5 Lapper on the track occasionally to keep my sub 20 streak alive. So far been at it since age 11. I would love to keep this going for years to come. So far this year I have not really tried but managed a 19:59 today to keep it going.
With better training and prep, you could still be clocking sub 15.
While I like age grading for the most part. The results are a little skewed for the "life and injuries hit ya hard 40 year old" compared "running is my life, and my main focus for living 40 year old". Sure, if you can stay healthy and keep things going well past college, there really won't be much drop off but that's a lot easier said than done.
Slightly off topic but a sub 16:56 at 13 is an impressive time for that age! You should definitely be able to go sub-16 going off your previous performances. At 40 your speed wont have declined significantly
Racing wise I have been out of the game for a while a solid 8 years. I recently turned 40 years old. I still enjoy running and run daily. I will do a 12.5 Lapper on the track occasionally to keep my sub 20 streak alive. So far been at it since age 11. I would love to keep this going for years to come. So far this year I have not really tried but managed a 19:59 today to keep it going.
My 5K Streak
With such a PB and consistency, you could go to 70+
I didn't break 15, yet hoping to still go sub 20 at 65...a co runner is shy of 67, recovered from cancer and chemo, yet runs low 19's
Racing wise I have been out of the game for a while a solid 8 years. I recently turned 40 years old. I still enjoy running and run daily. I will do a 12.5 Lapper on the track occasionally to keep my sub 20 streak alive. So far been at it since age 11. I would love to keep this going for years to come. So far this year I have not really tried but managed a 19:59 today to keep it going.
My 5K Streak
With such a PB and consistency, you could go to 70+
I didn't break 15, yet hoping to still go sub 20 at 65...a co runner is shy of 67, recovered from cancer and chemo, yet runs low 19's
Very similar profile. Didn't break 15:00. Now 65, ran 20:08 on a fairly hilly course last month. Aiming to do so in a few weeks time.
I'm probably not good enough (never broke 15 on a certified course) and make less than half of the required income to be on Letsrun (relatively poor), and did not go to Ivy League (although did work at one for a few years) but have run sub 20 most years since age of 17 (at 44 I was injured and barely ran). Have not run under 20 this year, but have not raced the distance either; will race a 5K in a couple weeks. So with those caveats out front, will chime in anyway.
As far as OP is concerned that is a big drop off but it's totally dependent on health/general fitness and what he is putting into it. I know several sub 14 5K runners (national class/national team etc. at their peak) who by 45 were not be able to break 20. They still might run for fitness but don't race for time. There is nothing wrong with that.
Sub 20 is fine for 40 year old. Sure it's not going to be competitive at a national level race, but still top 5% or 10% at most any road race.
Finally, I get a kick out of some of the holier than though responses here and this is why I keep coming back to Letsrun even though at the same time the place drives me crazy. How messed up is that?!
Racing wise I have been out of the game for a while a solid 8 years. I recently turned 40 years old. I still enjoy running and run daily. I will do a 12.5 Lapper on the track occasionally to keep my sub 20 streak alive. So far been at it since age 11. I would love to keep this going for years to come. So far this year I have not really tried but managed a 19:59 today to keep it going.
Keep in mind, even one mile at the pace you're running for that 19:59 is faster than 99% of America can run. So for all these fools saying it's "not good", I can guarantee most are in their teens/20's, don't have a full time job or family, and still think "running is life". I would be willing to wager not one of them has touched your PR either. You're absolutely killing it still. Good for you and your bounce back post-cardiac surgery.
Someone's having a bad day. Did you miss the post about cardiac issues? The person is also 40 with a family. All things considered, yeah, IMHO the times are an incredible accomplishment.
We all got excuses. All he asked was if his time is good. If 20:00 is good what would you consider bad?
Running 5 k at 20min at age 40 is of course good, everything is relatively as Einstein once explained. E.g I myself coached an Irish age + 40 runner in just 2 months to break his master 5 k record from 16:30 down to 15:37. 🧙♂️🧙♂️🧙♂️
With better training and prep, you could still be clocking sub 15.
While I like age grading for the most part. The results are a little skewed for the "life and injuries hit ya hard 40 year old" compared "running is my life, and my main focus for living 40 year old". Sure, if you can stay healthy and keep things going well past college, there really won't be much drop off but that's a lot easier said than done.
Too true.
There is no way a younger runner can understand how difficult and how rare it is to keep running at a competitive level as you age- especially 40+.
The cumulative affect of different small injuries, and then maybe one big injury, all add up and make regular training a very fine balance.
I'm sure the math says that if you ran X then you should be able to run Y, but that's not real life.
Nice logging to have an annual 5 k record like that. I am 40 and currently run The 5 k in low 18, with a lifetime PB of 17:41 (20 years of age). I never did track but started racing on track and road races a little before my mid 30s. 20 minuter is of course good at age 40. Keep it up!
Keep in mind, even one mile at the pace you're running for that 19:59 is faster than 99% of America can run. So for all these fools saying it's "not good", I can guarantee most are in their teens/20's, don't have a full time job or family, and still think "running is life". I would be willing to wager not one of them has touched your PR either. You're absolutely killing it still. Good for you and your bounce back post-cardiac surgery.
You could not be more wrong. Most people are pointing out that (a) their lifetime best is slower than OP's and (b) their age 40 (or current age which is over 40) time is faster than his.
So here is a question to OP. If you see a young guy in his early to mid 20s running 18 min 5k, do you think that's good? That's the level you are at now. Did you think 18min was good when you were in your 20s?
While I like age grading for the most part. The results are a little skewed for the "life and injuries hit ya hard 40 year old" compared "running is my life, and my main focus for living 40 year old". Sure, if you can stay healthy and keep things going well past college, there really won't be much drop off but that's a lot easier said than done.
Too true.
There is no way a younger runner can understand how difficult and how rare it is to keep running at a competitive level as you age- especially 40+.
The cumulative affect of different small injuries, and then maybe one big injury, all add up and make regular training a very fine balance.
I'm sure the math says that if you ran X then you should be able to run Y, but that's not real life.
True for some. Not all.
Putting in required training for similarly-competitive Masters performances (vs. Open results) assumes an ability to do so.
Injuries are unavoidable running at a high level, and more prone with age. But most heal and can managed. They are rarely "death sentences" for high-level running.
IMHO, what causes top runners to fall off or disappear is not usually toll of injuries, but shifting priorities.
In terms of mindset, for me, it helped that I came to running late. I chased lifetime PRs into my mid-40s. I might be ecstatic with a result and motivated to train harder. But a similar longtime-runner putting up the same time might be disappointed. For them, the time could be minutes off their best and another reminder of steady decline.
I put up mid-16s for 5k in my mid-40s. But there was a long list of Masters who whooped me if they chose to show up. Pretty much all were long-time runners. There are always those who buck the trend.
I expect OP could be running MUCH faster time, but just isn't motivated to.
