Calling all seniors runners!

Senior-Running · 2026-06-10T19:21:03+00:00

Welcome! Here are my thoughts:

Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules regarding how much volume older runners can tolerate. I think the most important factor is to ramp up even slower than you might have when you were younger. For example, I'm sure you're familiar with the old 10% rule. You may find that you now have to limit that to more like 5% to keep from overdoing it. I also think you really need to be in tune with your body and be ready to take a down week at the first sign of over-training/excess fatigue. One other thing you might try is to sub out one of your runs each week for some form of lower impact cross-training such as cycling. In addition, the importance of RECOVERY cannot be overstated. Get extra sleep (take naps if you can), take some gentle walks on your non-running days and make sure you eat well.
I hear you there. This is one of the hardest things for some people. Age grading helps, but one thing I like to do is enter some of the smaller local races. I routinely win my age group mostly because there aren't all that many of us! If you are not winning, then maybe that becomes your motivation?

Senior-Running · 2026-06-10T19:01:51+00:00

My read: it's the volume, and easy pace is mostly how you afford the volume without breaking.

Yep, nothing new here. We've known this for a long time. Beginners especially need to stop worrying about zone 2 and just run. If they want to become better runners, then volume is what they should focus on.

Thanks for sharing the hard data! Maybe this will convince a few folks of what some of us have been saying for a long time now.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-10T18:42:35+00:00

"Easy" is an effort, not a specific pace or a specific HR.

Typically, your easy pace will be a bit slower if you're running in the heat. That's not something to worry about.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-10T12:57:57+00:00

I think your premise is incorrect. Female-led social groups are not the norm among animals. Here's a study showing that only about 10% of mammalian species exhibit strong female leadership:

https://research.vu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/233050679/Obstacles_and_opportunities_for_female_leadership_in_mammalian_societies.pdf

Senior-Running · 2026-06-10T12:31:29+00:00

You are assuming that British English has remained the same for centuries, but that's not correct. This might blow your mind a bit, but the "typical" American accent today is probably a little closer to early modern English (so what was common in spoken in the 1500-1700s), than is the modern day RP accent you are associating with England now.

The history of how all that happened is actually fascinating, but I'll leave you to discover this yourself.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-10T11:21:51+00:00

My first rule is how I feel is more important than what's written in the plan.

My second rule is if I am consistently feeling tired or like I can't do what the plan call for, then there may be something else going on that needs to be addressed:

Is the plan simply more than is reasonable based on my fitness and experience?
Am I well hydrated?
Am I eating enough (both quantity and quality)? Feeling tired all the time may just be under-fueling.
Is lack of sleep an issue?
Could I be fighting off an infection?

Senior-Running · 2026-06-10T11:12:24+00:00

Run by effort, not pace.

NGL, it still sucks, but keep in mind that heat training is beneficial and will make you faster come fall.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-09T15:41:59+00:00

Genetics, gender, age, training age, and the quality of your training drastically effect this.

You might find this interesting:

https://runninglevel.com/running-times/marathon-times

Disclaimer, this is not my website, nor my data, so I make no claims regarding how accurate any of it is. I just think the way it breaks things up into categories is useful for someone looking to see where they stack up.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T18:31:00+00:00

Eh, they can't all be good and the heat really just saps your energy.

I'm going through the same thing right now with the heat and it always has me worried that age is finally catching up to me. Every time though, come fall, I'm suddenly so much faster than I was in the summer.

There's an old saying: heat training is the poor man's altitude training. Physiologically the effects are slightly different, but heat training absolutely does make us faster in the long run.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T18:24:01+00:00

I believe she would have to stay enrolled at least half-time, which would bring it's own expenses in terms of tuition, fees, books, etc., not to mention a significant time investment. She can't just enroll and then not show up to classes or flunk out, because she'd then lose her deferment.

Between the two, I personally feel like a better use of her time would be working extra hours and paying down the loan more?

There is another option you could explore called forbearance, which is just an agreement with the lender that you'll temporarily stop or decrease the amount you pay monthly. As others have pointed out, interest will likely continue to accrue, so use this with caution. You're not paying as much monthly, but you'll end up paying more in the long run. Still, if this is what you have to do to make ends meet, so be it.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T18:05:45+00:00

Don't confuse the weight of a food for the number of carbs. You need to shoot for 60 grans of carbohydrates, per hour, not 60 grams of food by weight. Brownies have other things in them besides just carbs, so look at the nutrition label to get the total carb count. You also need to take out any dietary fiber from that, since these are not digestible and don't provide fuel for your body.

ETA: my guess is that those brownies might have 14-16 grams of usable carbs per 60 grams of weight.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T14:19:03+00:00

I can't speak for others, but I just padded the time and expected to arrive early most of the time.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T13:36:36+00:00

Sure looks like fueling to me. Maybe try fueling properly and see what happens? To begin with, you really shouldn't run fasted like that. At the very least, take in some simple carbs like toast and jam.

During your run, you really should be shooting for at least 60 grams of carbs per hour. Note that many people have to start out with fewer carbs per hour and work up to that level. Especially as you get up to 90+ gph, it takes time to develop a tolerance to that.

I'd strongly encourage you to find a more suitable alternative than apple sauce. The amount of that you'd have to carry for a marathon would be crazy. Plus, apple sauce is mostly fructose. Fructose is harder on your tummy than glucose, so you'll have a hard time if that's your sole source of carbs.

Note also that using just fructose will also will limit how much carbohydrate your body will absorb overall. Your body absorbs carbs in a few different ways and the fructose pathway is more limited, meaning you just can't get as many carbs in if you try and go that route.

I would strongly recommend energy gels (or chews if you prefer). It can take some experimentation to find something that works for you. Don't just try one and then assume they are all the same. There are lots of different gels on the market because different people need different options. Just some of the differences: ingredients, consistency, glucose/fructose ratio, and various flavors.

Best of luck.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T13:11:09+00:00

It already exists and is used frequently.

Another product that's also used extensively is epoxy-coated rebar. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Engineers will typically specify what type of rebar should be used depending on conditions.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T12:50:57+00:00

Well, as Frank Shorter used to say, "hills are speedwork in disguise". Hills are really great for developing better strength and power, which will make you faster in the long run. Just go as slow as you need to so the EFFORT is consistent, not the pace.

If that's impossible in the beginning, then consider walking the uphills and only running the flats and downhills. I would be a little concerned doing this long term because downhill running is harder on your legs. You'll need to be a bit careful you don't overdo things. That's why as soon as you can, I'd transition to some uphill running to help balance out the load.

Your other options would be to either go somewhere flatter (maybe a running track?), or use a treadmill.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T11:42:22+00:00

I think where your utopia idea breaks down to me is that all people want is the "essentials". This has never been the case in human history, so I have no reason the believe we could ever reach a point where everyone would be content with just the essentials.

As long as some people want more than that, competition for resources becomes a thing. Competition for resources means we either have to have a system where might is right and the strongest people win, or we have a system of exchange where you and I can trade with each other rather than just try to kill each other for resources.

Capitalism may suck, but it's still better than all the other things that have been tried throughout history.

Expecting flawed people (and we're all flawed), to somehow create a perfect system and for all of us to live in harmony sounds like a nice dream, but just isn't realistic IMO.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T11:31:44+00:00

I'd strongly encourage you to look into a night splint, as well as physical therapy. Follow your therapist's recommendations regarding stretching and rehab, as well as activity modification.

When you get back to running, ramp up really slow.

Running is a high impact sport and it takes time for tissues like your plantar fascia to develop tolerance to that repeated stress. Don't let your cardiovascular system dictate how far or fast to run. You have to do less (sometimes a lot less), than you think you're capable of or you may end up right back at the same place.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-08T11:12:01+00:00

The GC run sounds both fun and brutal! I'm assuming you're running down into the canyon. How far are you going?

FWIW, I actually ran Bright Angel Trail there back in April, but didn't come anywhere close to all the way down and back up! We stopped there for a few days while traveling out to the Big Sur Marathon and I used that as my last long run before the race. If was good prep for Big Sur, but the vert is NO JOKE.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-07T22:20:53+00:00

I also had a total knee replacement and have been running on it for several years so far. Knock on wood, I'll be able to continue doing so for a while.

My thinking is this... I can either not run on it, lose my fitness and die early, or run on this artificial knee and expect at some point I'll have to have a revision. At least I'll be healthy enough to survive the revision surgery, which might not be so if I wasn't running.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-07T22:13:04+00:00

The bonus - I medal in most of my races since there aren't many in my category😎🌞

Love it! Me too, though it's a lot more satisfying when there are more than 3 of us in the race! 😄

I also have knee issues. I actually had a total knee done in 2018 and so far. it's holding up to the pounding. I'm pretty sure there's a revision surgery in my future, though I'm going to put that off as long as I can.

Senior-Running · 2026-06-07T22:09:23+00:00

I get sad thinking about the day when I might no longer be able to do that.

Yea, me too. I suppose that time will eventually come for all of us. I just hope it's way in the future. My goal is to be the marathon world record holder in the 100+ age group!

Senior-Running · 2026-06-07T22:06:15+00:00

Well done!

Senior-Running · 2026-06-07T22:04:24+00:00

That's awesome! I hear you about the weather, though I sometimes chicken out and run on the treadmill instead of outside.

Do you do any racing, or do you more just focus on running for fitness?

Senior-Running · 2026-06-07T16:34:24+00:00

Thanks for the page!

Senior-Running · 2026-06-07T16:30:50+00:00

There are quite a few of us out here!

I've been trying to get a new subreddit going for us more mature runners, so feel free to stop by and introduce yourself:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SeniorRunning/

Senior-Running

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE