Amazed at the Masters

In this case, Masters are those in the 40+ age category. Almost two years ago I joined the masters category though it didn’t mean until to me until I started running in races.

After seeing the results from the Tunnel Marathon where 11 of the top 20 males were masters, I wanted to write more about the Masters!

When I was involved with ultracycling, I was frequently one of the youngest out there; a majority of riders were in their 40s and 50s. I knew how much of a difference maturity, patience, and experience made. I learned a lot being around those riders, as well from my own experience. The older riders seemed to fare better on the long rides as well. What was not apparent was the absolute speed or strength, especially since these rides were longer – 12 hours or more.

I’ve also heard for a long time that the age groups between 35 and 50 were some of the most competitive out there – from marathons to Ironman to triathlon, and so on. I’d look at race results and I would be amazed at what I saw, both for the actual times and how many strong competitors there are.

Now that I’ve joined the masters, I’m starting to see things a little differently – and actually feel it.

First is the body - certainly the body declines in ability over time – and yet athletes continue to prove that it’s not as much as you might think. Even in my case I’m amazed at the times and pace I’m able to run. I’ve also seen this proved over and over in endurance sports. Even as I write this, Arthur Webb is out running his 15^th Badwater 135 running race – he’s 71! Just a month ago, a team of four cyclists with an average age of 79 finished the Race Across America – 3000 miles – in 9 ½ days. I could go on. Age is not the physically limiter we once thought it was.

Perhaps most importantly is the experience an older athlete has. After so many hours and years of practice, the older athlete can come to know his mind and body extremely well. Combine that with life experience and that’s a powerful combination of potential! The general consensus is that is takes 10,000 hours of practice to begin to become an ‘expert’ on a topic. By age 40 or 45 or 50, there are many with that many hours of athletic experience. I’m in that category as well with over 8,000 hours on the bike. Experience does matter.

I’m thrilled to be a top 20 finisher at a marathon, finishing in the top 5%. I’m also completely humbled and amazed by my ageless peers who finished ahead of me.

Here’s to all the Masters out there!