Forums >General Running>RESEARCH Gender and Age at 5k PR please help !!!
I am doing research on the relationship between gender and the age at which you ran your 5k PR. If you would like to anonymously participate, please reply with your gender, your CURRENT age, and the age at which you ran your fastest 5k. THANK YOU!!!!
Your research will depend a lot on how long people have been running. Someone who began running in high school or college will have a very different answer than someone who began running later in life.
Since I've only been running for a few years and have improved consistently each year, my fastest was my last one - when I was 57.
finnegan begin again
I'll humor you with an answer but, I can't resist some chatter.
47yr Male
Ran 1 yr in HS as pre-conditioning. Never again for 26ish years. Can't remember a single finish time. I'm sure it was faster than age 47
"... the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value..." Thomas Paine Dec 23, 1776 The Crisis
Adversity is the first path to truth. Lord Byron
"No one plans to fail…..they fail to plan" Skinny Pete
not bad for mile 25
Age 60. As Ginny says, there are other considerations, such as, did this person run before age 55. As you have probably guessed, the answer is no in my case.
MTA male, currently 62.
female, 67, 67
This was a snowshoe race.
Most of my "5k" races over the years were more like 2.9 mi or 3.5 mi (dirt or snow), but I did have a 3.1mi snowshoe race this past winter. Yes, my earlier races were probably faster, but they weren't 5k. I've had a couple 10k races that were close to the distance.
Female, current age 73
5K PR age 69
First race of any distance age 64
And for what it's worth, I've done a total of five 5Ks, 44 half marathons, 20 full marathons, 1 ultra marathon (50K) and a few of other distances since then.
Marathon Maniac #991 Half Fanatic #58 Double Agent #22 It's a perfect day and I feel great!
Female, currently 39, barely sub 30 5k
5K PR at 16, a 22 something
What everyone else said. I rarely ran between ages ~21-36, and gained 100 lbs between PR at 16 and resumption of regular running at 37. Still have a lot of weight to lose. No idea if I'll be able to approach that HS PR once I lose more weight.
Asking the question of people who started at different times of their lives with different backgrounds in sport you will see PRs at just about all ages.
For the elites you might see a correlation between PR and age. iaaf.org lists top performances at various distances. Here's what a couple of pivot tables show for all time best individual performances at 5000m on the track. Taking the date of the performance minus DoB we have age. 271 data points for men, 247 for women.
Men
Women
The men's data has an interesting spike for 21-22. Maybe the men leave the track after early success for marathon? Someone with time on their hands and who cared enough could see if that's the case.
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
5k PR at age 16
running off an on for 31 years now. (age 15 to 46)
5k/10k PR at 21. Then we get into a midlife crisis issues after college and then fulltime work just takes the toll on that too. If I was able to work on that PR time continuously afterwards, I probably would have maxed out around 27 or 28 years old. I'm37 now and I still believe I can beat my PR from 21 but that'll take all my freetime
delicate flower
Male, 42, 42.
Still pretty new to running. I would imagine I've got a few more years of PR's ahead of me before they get very difficult to achieve.
<3
Are we there, yet?
Male, 68, 23
Ran mediocre times in HS, quit, started again at 21 and have been running regularly ever since.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Half Fanatic 12680
Female, Age 61, PR at age 59
Male, currently 47, PR at 45, started running at 42. Still think I can beat that PR if I work at it, just haven't raced that many 5K's.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Female, currently 38, 5k pr is 21:07 from April 2013 when I was 36. (Dang, now I want to run a fast 5k. I haven't run one since.)