Have we entered the era of the ageless athlete?
Thanks to Brendan Foster and Kevin Keegan I have now been running for 31 years and as my 55th birthday fast approaches (6 weeks), I have no intention of giving up.
These statistics are by no means remarkable, as many of you reading this will probably be able to better it yourselves or know someone who can. But it does serve to highlight the trend of runners continuing to compete, and indeed, in some instances, start to compete, well into what was once known as ‘middle-age’.
You only have to look at the results from most road races to see, not only the number of older `Master / Veteran’ competitors, but also the number of more mature athletes who can still finish in the top ten. We all know them; Ian Hudspeth, Brian Rushworth, Stewy Bell and Iain Twaddle are among the many who immediately spring to mind.
If you look at the results from the recent Blyth Valley 10km you will notice that four of the top ten are over 40 years of age.
Looking further afield, the likes of Ron Hill and Mike Hagar are among well known elder statesmen of running and what of the women’s GB marathon selections, so far, for the Olympics. With Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi, both being classified as Master athletes.
A quick trawl of the internet reveals that, Tatyanna Pozdnyakova of the Ukraine ran 2.31.05 for the 2005 Chicago Marathon at 50 years of age. While in 2009, then 60 year old Yoshihisa Hosaka of Japan, ran a 2.36.30 marathon.
One downside to this phenomenon mind you, would appear to be a drop off in those who move from competition to officiating. So the next time you finish a race spare a thought for those race officials who are always there to get your time and position, come rain, hail or sun.
So why the thanks to Brendan Foster and King Kev at the start of this post?
Well it was the first GNR in 1981 that was responsible for my starting to run. So it’s thanks to Brendan Foster for coming up with the event and thanks to Kevin Keegan for the notoriety I achieved among family and friends after I out-kicked him in a sprint to the finish.