I'm not sure this doesn't belong under "racing" but let me ask you guys first, since you're my age! How does your performance rank in your age group compared with the field as a whole? I ask because I have noticed there is not much difference in most of my races, which may mean a fairly quick bunch of old geezers, or perhaps its typical. (These are from Toronto races.) Examples: My first half marathon in October 1:55:18 came 39/100 in M55-59 39th. percentile came 1264/3492 overall 36th. percentile My first 10k in May 2007 51:50 came 67/165 in M55-59 40th. percentile came 2969/8003 overall 37th percentile. In this race the top guy in my age group ran the 10k in 35:15, four ran under 40 minutes! Smoking! I have looked at figures from past events, and there is not much difference, except at the 5k distance where the field is often weaker (appeals more to new runners?) except for a few really fast runners often down in the 16-18 minute range, clearly specialists at that distance. I was hoping to move into the top quarter of the results page this year, but maybe the top 1/3 is more realistic. Are old guys this fast in your area?

Hi Simon - Based on the times and places that you are running now, you can count on moving up AG and OA %wise as you improve and run more miles. In my area, the 45-49 group (my AG) is slower than both the 50-54 and 55-59 (I'm speaking of the AG placewinners). It just depends on who shows up. Several years ago I ran in a large 10 mile race that served as a points race for the USATF Pacific Association. I ran a PR by a minute or so. At local races I usually run as you do, top 25-30%, occasionally higher. In the Cal 10 I didn't finish in the top half(!) Pretty humbling stuff My advice would be to keep running. Compete and compare with your own times. You'll move up in the field .... more sometimes, less others. Stay healthy. Have fun. hup

Simon, At our age, there's always going to be someone faster. Keep repeating that, and concentrate on having a good time, and your PR's. And the post-race libations. I'm in the 40-45 group, and in the 60 mile radius I'll go for races, I've done as well as 2nd OA/ 1st AG ; and at bigger events (two nationally ranked triathletes are in my AG 'round here) I'll finish somewhere with other fit folks, but I won't even check the board to see my placement (takes time away from valuable post-race drinking). In the last two weeks, I've placed 39th OA/ 9th AG in one race (maybe 600 runners there?), and 10th OA/2nd AG in another (out of about 150), both with pretty ho-hum times (somewhere in the 20's for a 5k). Stick to mom-and-pop 5ks if you want to finish well. For big races, it seems like the really fast folks just come out of the woodwork...don't you hate that?

You would think that the higher AGs would tend to fall further back in the overall standings, but I think that this is offset by the number of extra-slow runners in the younger divisions. My observation is that it actually gets a bit tougher when you move to the older AGs, especially at longer distances. At least it has been working against me in the 60-64 bracket. I think that what happens is that, once to get into your late 50s or 60s, there are fewer "first time" or "casual" runners, and the ones who are left are the ones who are really good at it. In my last HM I ran a PR time that I thought would put me pretty high in my AG, but was surprised that I wasn't even in the top 10. I was barely in the upper half in the 60-64 AG even though I was well into the upper third overall, finishing well ahead of a lot of beginners and fun-runners in their 30s and 40s. Another effect is that the boomer-bubble is moving up the AG ladder. I am 61 and at the leading edge of the official boomer generation, and already I see a lot of runners right behind me that are about to swell the numbers in my current AG. Maybe I can steal some AG awards the year I turn 65.

Woof! That ProFromDover guy is a real spoiler!

I used to be satsified if I was never outrun by someone pushing a baby carriage or juggling - since I've gotten a bit better at running, my new goal is never to be beaten by any women or guys over 50.... Ray

Ray I know a joggler from another board, a Canadian guy, with a marathon time of 2:53, juggling 3 balls, no drops! No-he's not in my AG! Simon. (PB's? I'll get back to you....)

There's a guy who runs the Crim 10-miler every year while dribbling three basketballs all the way. I used to run just about at his pace and could always hear that thump-thump-thump coming up behind me. The last couple of years I've sped up and he's slowed down a bit, so I haven't seen much of him. BTW for car guys: someone tracked me down and sent me this photo of what was probably my last pass down a dragstrip some 30+ years ago. It brought back some old memories of stuff I thought I'd forgotten. Of course, I was running about a 00:18/mile pace back then.