I thought there was some 7-year rule, that your best times are achieved within the first 7(ish) years after you start running, regardless of how old you are when you start.

Of course some people start fast and make smaller gains over time, and some people start slower and it takes longer for them to achieve their potential. I haven't read 7 years, but if you look at the runner whos goes through high school and college program, that is 8 years or even longer before they turn pro. That is 8 years of consistent training, and they are trained to run fast shorter distances, then slightly longer distance in college, where some will go on to the marathon as pros. This has always been the natural progression. That is why I think it is 8-10 years, and if you start right in with progressive training-as in high school, you will reach your potential quicker.

Age is a factor, but you will still improve as you age (as you said) regardless of when you started-unless you are very old.

I like this story that kinda shows this.

https://www.runnersworld.com/masters/how-to-keep-getting-faster-at-age-66

 

 I haven't read 7 years,

From RW's list of "25 Golden Rules of Running":

12. The Seven-Year Rule
Runners improve for about seven years.

Mike Tymn noticed this in the early 1980s and wrote about it in his National Masters News column. "My seven-year adaptation theory was based on the fact that so many runners I talked to ran their best times an average of seven years after they started," he recalls.

The Exception: Low-mileage runners can stretch the seven years to well over a decade before plateauing.

But, it's from RW, so it's probably pretty dumb.

 

Thanks, never read that Dave!  But I think low-mileage is more of the norm, and most high school runners go from 30s-50s in 4years. The better ones will then go on to college and gradually up their mileage too, as they get faster and mature. Higher mileage can bring a peak quicker, but injuries tend to crop up more too if we push our mileage limit too soon. We all have to find our ideal mileage for our life situation, and then let consistency and time improve us.

Heh, I never read it till just now, when I decided to Google it. I had heard it from a guy who said it was a thing. and it kind of stuck in my head. Because I'm pushing that point and wondering if I'm plateauing. Guess I'll get another data point in a few days.

 

From RW's list of "25 Golden Rules of Running":

 

12. The Seven-Year Rule
Runners improve for about seven years.

Mike Tymn noticed this in the early 1980s and wrote about it in his National Masters News column. "My seven-year adaptation theory was based on the fact that so many runners I talked to ran their best times an average of seven years after they started," he recalls.

The Exception: Low-mileage runners can stretch the seven years to well over a decade before plateauing.

 

But, it's from RW, so it's probably pretty dumb.

RW wasn't that bad in the early '80s. Mike Tymn was a well respected runner and author.

 

Then you've got some like Quinn the Eskimo in L&O who ran like a 4:30 first marathon and 10 years later ran a 2:45 and is still improving.

But was he seriously training all of those years?

 

But was he seriously training all of those years?

I believe his training got progressively more serious.  His marathon times got faster and faster.

 

Adidas was quiet about discontinuing the 5's and bringing in the 6's... at least I couldn't find much online info about it.  Or maybe my Google button is broken.   We'll see if they come out with 7's... I'm moving over to playing in dirt anyway.

 

Good Luck this weekend!!!! 

Thanks Berto!  Nike seems to do that too, unless it is a sub-2 hour $250.00 dollar shoe.  Probably cause they are like giant companies. I might play in the dirt this spring some myself, but nothing like your distances.

I don't think I can improve much more than where I am right now (maybe back to the 4:30s) even if I go back to the 2500+ miles a year.  But that won't deter me from trying, lol.