Becoming Master Runner

No matter how long you’ve been running, once you’re 40 or older, you’ll be called a masters runner. For long-time runners like me, the phrase makes a certain amount of sense—after all those years of putting in the miles, you’ve mastered how to keep at it and with enough interest that you’re still showing up at races. What’s so great about masters running? There must be something to it because I know I’m not alone in finding my running revitalized by the turning of the clock. Competition for the top prizes in the masters category are among the toughest in running. Masters running has become such a big deal that the Indianapolis Life Insurance Company sponsors a circuit of races around the country that’s open only to masters runners.
Masters racing recognizes that no matter how intelligently you go about your running, it’s a lot tougher to run fast when you’re 45 than when you’re 25. That’s especially so for people who have been at it for a long time. Most runners reach their best performances in the first 8 to 12 years of running, regardless of the age at which they start. So if you start at a young age, by the time you’re 40, your times in races are almost assured to be slower than they were in your early 30s.
This inevitable slowing with age can be pretty depressing if you don’t have a way to deal with it. Say there were no age-group awards in races, but just prizes for the top 10. Who would ever have a chance to take home a trophy except for the young and the breathless? Even if you were never an award winner in your youth, how would you go about setting goals when you know that no matter how hard you work, you’re never going to run as fast as you once could?