2012 NOTES ABOUT TRENDS IN MASTERS RUNNING
Masters running – and even older decades of masters – will continue growing, following population trends.
We see the growth just from statistics from the World Masters Championships. Just 1,400 participants competed in the first championships in 1975 in Toronto, Canada. Over 4,800 participated in Sacramento’s 2011 World Masters Track and Field Championships. Participation is expected to continue growing, among those 65 or older in particular. The population of people age 65 plus will double from 2006 to 2030, from 500 million to 1 billion.
While performance generally declines with advancing decades, relative to sedentary or active counterparts not focused on performance, masters athletes can perform just as well as open runners on an age-graded basis.
In what ways does absolute performance decline in masters?
Consider V02 max, the maximum volume of oxygen that can be transported and used during intense exercise – and the single best measure of overall cardiovascular performance. Among those who are sedentary, VO2 max declines about 10% per decade. Possible reasons for this decline include decreases in maximal heart rate, less blood pumped with each contraction, reduced muscle mass (increased percentage of body fat), and reduced ability of the muscles to use oxygen. By contrast, several studies have found just a 5% decrease per decade in VO2 max in Masters athletes.
One such such study is a 22-year longitudinal study (Trappe, Costill, Vukovich, Melham, 1996). Included in the study were three groups of male runners, all age 24 at the start of testing, and age 46 at the end. The first group was highly trained from beginning to end (the runners were still competing at 46, and running 44 miles a week); the second group, the “fit trained,” had reduced mileage to 27 miles a week and maintained some intensity; and the third group was “untrained” (they competed at 22 and had not been running for five years at the time of the second testing at age 46). Compared with the usual decline in V02 max of 10% decline per decade in the “normal” (non-competitive) population, the decline in the “fit trained” was just 7.5% per decade, and the decline in the highly trained group was less than 5% per decade. The decline in the “untrained” group was 9%.
Like other studies, this one points to the advantages of taking the time and investing the energy to keep running and competing. One has only to gain – and enjoy the highs of feeling strong and the community of others who are going for it as well, with the positive attitudes that accompany competition.
As seen over and over recently, the potential of the aging athlete is still unknown. (c.u., 2012)
Masters running – and even older decades of masters – will continue growing, following population trends.
We see the growth just from statistics from the World Masters Championships. Just 1,400 participants competed in the first championships in 1975 in Toronto, Canada. Over 4,800 participated in Sacramento’s 2011 World Masters Track and Field Championships. Participation is expected to continue growing, among those 65 or older in particular. The population of people age 65 plus will double from 2006 to 2030, from 500 million to 1 billion.
While performance generally declines with advancing decades, relative to sedentary or active counterparts not focused on performance, masters athletes can perform just as well as open runners on an age-graded basis.
In what ways does absolute performance decline in masters?
- Performance slows more quickly at age 55 and then again at age 75. One study of over 2,500 runners in the 100 meter to 10K events (Dr. Vonda Wright of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine) offers an analysis with a large sample (over 2,500 runners) on aging. Dr. Wright found that between age 50 and 75 performance declined gradually at an average rate of 2% per year and then, it fell to 8% per year between 75 and 85. Another study by physiologist Dr. Michael Joyner found that age 55 is a “tipping point” – a point at which times slow more quickly. He found that from age 35 until age 55, race times increase by about 6% per decade for men and 9% per decade for women.
- Performance declines at a greater rate among masters women (unfortunately) than masters men, not just for running but also in swimming events (Stones & Kozma, 1982b, Baker et al., 2003; Donato et al., 2003; Fair, 2007a; Tanaka & Seals, 1997). Far less is known about the effect of few athletic opportunities for women when young.
- Performance decline is greater in longer than shorter events. While the first studies of age trends in running records found the reverse (greater declines with age in shorter than longer events -- Moore, 1975), all the larger and more recent studies have confirmed that performance declines with age more steeply in longer runs or swims than in sprints (Baker et al., 2003; Fair, 2007a, Young et a., 2008).
- Performance decline is greater in events requiring more peak power costs when duration is comparable (hurdles and jumps versus sprints, runs versus race walks, butterfly versus backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle). This is not surprising given that studies of power-intensive weight-lifting in strength-trained masters athletes shows a curvilinear decline in performance with age among both men and women. The physiological demands of these weight lifting events –t he main two being the snatch and the clean and jerk – require speed, explosive power, complex neuromuscular coordination, and balance, all of which are more challenging for masters.
- Age grading can not only put these declines in perspective but also reignite motivation and provide proof that one can achieve ultimate fitness for ones age, at any age. Age grading enables one to compare performances not simply with others of any age but also with ones own performances over the years. In addition to the “positives” gleaned from age grading, one can gain motivation from comparing Masters athletes’ performances with what those of more sedentary counterparts might be.
Consider V02 max, the maximum volume of oxygen that can be transported and used during intense exercise – and the single best measure of overall cardiovascular performance. Among those who are sedentary, VO2 max declines about 10% per decade. Possible reasons for this decline include decreases in maximal heart rate, less blood pumped with each contraction, reduced muscle mass (increased percentage of body fat), and reduced ability of the muscles to use oxygen. By contrast, several studies have found just a 5% decrease per decade in VO2 max in Masters athletes.
One such such study is a 22-year longitudinal study (Trappe, Costill, Vukovich, Melham, 1996). Included in the study were three groups of male runners, all age 24 at the start of testing, and age 46 at the end. The first group was highly trained from beginning to end (the runners were still competing at 46, and running 44 miles a week); the second group, the “fit trained,” had reduced mileage to 27 miles a week and maintained some intensity; and the third group was “untrained” (they competed at 22 and had not been running for five years at the time of the second testing at age 46). Compared with the usual decline in V02 max of 10% decline per decade in the “normal” (non-competitive) population, the decline in the “fit trained” was just 7.5% per decade, and the decline in the highly trained group was less than 5% per decade. The decline in the “untrained” group was 9%.
Like other studies, this one points to the advantages of taking the time and investing the energy to keep running and competing. One has only to gain – and enjoy the highs of feeling strong and the community of others who are going for it as well, with the positive attitudes that accompany competition.
As seen over and over recently, the potential of the aging athlete is still unknown. (c.u., 2012)