Why Older Runners Hold Up Better.

ordon Terwilliger, Len Goldman, Dan Conway, and Joe Burgasser are all

masters runners with something in common. At first glance, the serious running junkie would point out that all four men were ranked in the top three of their respective age groups by Running Times in 2005, with a repeat performance by Burgasser in 2006. An extreme running junkie who pries a bit more finds something even more interesting. None of these elite masters runners did anything notable as high school or collegiate runners. In fact, the earliest any of them started to take running seriously was Burgasser at age 31. And in the case of Terwilliger: “I didn’t get serious until age 49, when I saw what the 50-year-old runners were running.”

Strangely enough, it seems these four men seem to be the rule rather than the exception. Of seven masters runners randomly selected from the 2005 list, only one, Gary Romesser (who also was a repeat on the 2006 list), competed at a high level in high school or in college. The others were far too busy with alternative endeavors. Conway, who broke the world indoor mile record, (4:41) for the 5054-age-group in 1992, played Division III football. Goldman, who won numerous races in his age group running for the Pacific Striders in 2007, including the prestigious Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago, walked onto Indiana University’s track team as a sprinter.

“T ran a season of track in high school,” says Burgasser. “I didn’t make it through the season.”

So what’s the connection? Where are all the state champions, NCAA all-Americans, and former Olympians on the masters circuit? Talent doesn’t diminish with age. Were all these elite runners simply not in the right sport in high school and college? A closer look seems to indicate something else is at play—the dreaded injury.

“Nobody I trained with lasted over the years,” says Romesser. “A lot of people quit due to life circumstances or injuries.”

“T’ve had a lot of friends in my age group who were pretty successful over the years,” says Conway. “A lot aren’t running anymore. One guy I taught with who ran a 2:36 marathon wound up with Lyme disease. Others fell to injuries.”

“A lot of friends and rivals aren’t running anymore because of injuries or lack of interest,” says Goldman.

THE HIGH RATE OF INJURIES

There is no doubt that injuries affect runners of all ages and ability levels. From tendinitis to stress fractures to plantar fasciitis, injuries are the bane of a highly competitive runner’s existence. But are older runners less susceptible to the career-ending sort? Most of the runners interviewed have been running longer than your typical collegiate runner who eventually breaks down in his 30s. Does starting to run at a younger age cause extra damage to the body because it’s not ready to handle the load?

“T haven’t seen any studies to indicate that,” says Dr. Mark Niedfeldt, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, who has been practicing sports medicine for 10 years and sees running injuries on a daily basis. “I think what you’re actually dealing with is older runners being more in tune with their body. Younger people don’t listen to their body well. When you’re 18 or 19, you can do that. When you’re older, you can’t. Older runners are more likely to cut a workout short or take a day off if they don’t feel well. That mentality is what saves a lot of people.”

Sure enough, in talking to the runners, what Doctor Niedfeldt talks about becomes apparent in a hurry. Every interview conducted for this article contained some element of knowing when to take it easy.

“T think a key to being a successful long-term runner is to run easy miles most of the time and go hard just a couple days a week,” says Romesser.

“One thing I do to avoid more serious injuries is take more days off,” says Terwilliger. “I also try not to do too much speed. When I first started running, I tried to do everything very quickly. It wasn’t until later that I learned I should do 60 to 80 percent of my training at a slower pace.”

So there is some merit to the idea of keeping the mileage a bit slower, it seems. Knowing when to take time off was another recurring theme. Dr. Niedfeldt doesn’t think it’s necessary to run any more than five days a week. He highly recommends a training regimen that includes elements of cross-training, weight training, and activities such as yoga or Pilates. In fact, he seems to think the idea that many of the older runners were athletes in different sports might be a reason they have been able to avoid the big injury.

“Most good runners probably came from other sports as well,” he says. “Playing different sports develops other muscles aside from running muscles that can be helpful in preventing injury later. Sports like soccer and basketball can help develop some of these sidestepping muscles. I also like to emphasize weight training that works the core area and helps to stabilize the hips, abdomen, and low back.”

HOW LESS-SERIOUS INJURIES AFFECT RUNNING

While time off, reduced workloads, strength training, and a slower training pace have helped these gentlemen avoid the big injury for the most part, it doesn’t mean they haven’t had their share of less-serious injuries. Proper treatment of minor injuries also seems to be a key to running longevity. However, interviews revealed that the runners have many different theories about what proper treatment is.

“If you go to the physical therapist, what’s the purpose of the visit?” Burgasser asks, before answering his own question. “Everything they do is to increase blood flow to the injured area. So what’s the best way to do that? By doing the exact thing that injured it. If I have an injury, I’ll generally go out and run; but much slower. I had an Achilles injury that didn’t stop me, but it did significantly cut into my training. I cured it by running barefoot. At the end of each run, I took my shoes and socks off and ran about 100 meters. I gradually worked it up to a mile, and eventually the injury disappeared. That’s probably the exact opposite of what a professional would tell you to do.”

Indeed, others take a more traditional approach.

“When I do feel something coming on, I’m not reluctant to go see a sports medicine professional,” says Goldman. “I generally respond well to P.T.”

Dr. Niedfeldt offers perhaps the most attractive alternative: do the things that will keep you from getting hurt in the first place.

“The number-one thing I’d recommend is to change shoes frequently,” he says. “A good rule of thumb is every 300 miles. You also want to make sure it’s a highquality shoe. A lot of the people I see are inexperienced runners who just went to Wal-Mart and grabbed a shoe, or ran in a basketball shoe or a cross-trainer.”

And what about the ultimate injury-prevention tool that everybody preaches about and loves?

“There’s some controversy surrounding this, but I don’t recommend stretching before you run,” he says. “Instead, start easy, work into a run, and allow the muscles to warm up. Then stretch out afterwards.”

Perhaps you don’t trust a doctor’s advice and would rather hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. There was no shortage of injury prevention tips coming from the runners. And remember, these guys were all ranked in the top three nationally in their age group.

“T do things like taping and icing,” says Romesser, whose only major injury in 40 years of running was one stress fracture. “I think another key is good shoes. I don’t wear orthotics, but I know that I have a problem with slight pronation, and I found a shoe that was able to fix that.”

“I wear orthotics and do my best to stay off cement,” says Conway. “I try to run on top of surfaces like grass or wood chips, and if I feel something coming on, I ice early.”

“Td say run within your limits, cross-train effectively, and do all the stretching and yoga you can tolerate,” says Terwilliger. “In retrospect, another thing I would have done is have a coach. That would have prevented me from making a lot of the mistakes I did when I first started running.”

IS STARTING TO RUN LATER THE KEY?

So it seems that most successful masters runners start at a later age. It seems that most of them take a majority of their runs slowly. And it seems that they all have various proactive strategies to deal with injury. So now we’re back to the original question: do the best masters runners start in the sport a bit later? Dr. Niedfeldt doesn’t think so.

“T think that the real reason you see masters runners that started later is that they’ve had a shorter period of exposure,” he says. “A guy that’s 45 who has been running since he was 12 has 33 years of pounding on his body. The guy that started when he was 40 only has five. Over the long haul, the first guy is more likely to develop an injury.”

So the late bloomers don’t appear to have any physiological reason behind their longevity. Perhaps something else can explain their success, though. One thing is clear: when it comes to knowing their body, older runners are just plain smarter.