Boston age group winner

I just rode the elevator in my building (I live a few blocks from the
Boston finish line). A woman gets on holding a glass vase with some
engraving on it. A closer look reveals: "60-69 Age Group Winner". This
woman did not look 60-69. She also didn't look what I'd imagine a
60-something year old marathon winner to look like - not super thin,
not very weathered. So I asked if she was the winner and she said yes.
So I congratulated her and asked her time. It was 3:32 I think. Wow. I
know I'm not very fast so my idea of what's a good time probably
doesn't sync with most of the group but, damn, that's fast.

Charlie Pendejo said:

tfactor said:

So I congratulated her and asked her time. It was 3:32 I think. Wow.
I know I'm not very fast so my idea of what's a good time probably
doesn't sync with most of the group but, damn, that's fast.

For a sixty-something woman, absolutely.

If the race were won by a twenty-two year old world class Eritrean
dude in 3:32, you'd have to think, "slow race, must've been up a
mountain in a hundred degree heat." :-)

Quoted message said:

She also didn't look what I'd imagine a 60-something year old
marathon winner to look like - not super thin, not very weathered.

"Not very weathered" makes me think, as Noakes discusses, AG records
tend to be set by talented folks who started running something like
5-15 years prior. The cream of the crop who've been winning all the
races since high school eventually lose a step or three, possibly due
to long term muscle damage after tens of thousands of miles of heavy
training and racing, and the fresher legged relative newcomers
prevail.

Not super thin makes me think, first, as a sexagenarian and beyond I
might value "robust health" higher than those last few seconds/mile
from being borderline sickly; and second, that there's a lot less
elite competition than the under-40 crowd.

I vote, you should ask to accompany her on some training runs and
report back to us. :-)

The AG results have been posted. Here's an article about the woman in
question, Nancy Rollins, from Illinois (she must be staying with
someone in the building):
http://www.chicagoaa.com/features/athletesmonthNov05.html

It looks like she isn't a data point to support Noakes' theory: she's
been running for 30 years and has run lots of marathons and won AG
before. I guess she's just extremely talented, both in speed and in
durability.

She was with her husband (I think) so I couldn't really chat her up,
unfortunately. She did ask if I'd run the marathon. Thankfully her
floor came up before I could explain to her that, no, I ran 5-mile
race with a field of 200 instead, at a pace that wasn't much faster
than her marathon pace, that I placed 12th in my 40-49 male age group
(please don't ask how many 40-49 men started - I'd have to look it up
and I don't want to know), and finished behind an 11-year old girl
(true!).

tfactor said:

It looks like she isn't a data point to support Noakes' theory

She would have made 6th in Paris - or probably 5th, cos the supposedly 3rd
placed 50-59yo lady looks like she gave her bib to someone else (the
Bernadette A. lady is a 1h 10k, 2h HM runner and "she" did a 3:08 chip
time : bollocks I say)

I was just behind this other lady for a lot of the race in Paris. Good to
see she held on to the pace after I lost sight of her (a little 40-49yo
black gal)

OA AG Name Gun time
530 1 VENOT Suzanne 02h 56' 59"

steve common said:

tfactor said:

It looks like she isn't a data point to support Noakes' theory

She would have made 6th in Paris - or probably 5th, cos the supposedly 3rd

What were the age group limits at Paris? 60+ would be VF3, no? Then
her 3:32 would have won Paris easily, unless I have it completely wrong:

http://tinyurl.com/2uelx9

tfactor said:

What were the age group limits at Paris? 60+ would be VF3, no? Then
her 3:32 would have won Paris easily, unless I have it completely wrong:

http://tinyurl.com/2uelx9

Oops! My bad. I thought your lady was in the US 55-59 AG. So if she's over
60 then yes, she'd have beaten Marie-Antoinette (Harry ;-) by nearly a
quarter of an hour.

["veteran" AGs are mostly 10 years "long", so
VH/F1=40-49
VH/F2=50-59
VH/F3=60-69
VH/F4=70-and older

"tfactor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

I just rode the elevator in my building (I live a few blocks from the
Boston finish line). A woman gets on holding a glass vase with some
engraving on it. A closer look reveals: "60-69 Age Group Winner". This
woman did not look 60-69.

I'll have you know that the first place 60 year old male with a time of
3:08 is one of my winter running group. I have yet to speak with him but
I know he was shooting for 2:59:59 and with better weather I suspect he
would have been closer. He went with three others that were all 2:5n
runners and he dusted them by 5 minutes. Was it weather or
conditioning - to be determined.

For any local races I'm now minus one in the age group awards. 😉

-Doug

Doug Freese said:

I'll have you know that the first place 60 year old male with a time of
3:08 is one of my winter running group.

....snip...

Quoted message said:

For any local races I'm now minus one in the age group awards. 😉

Ain't that the best thing that can ever happen to a teacher, whatever the
age of the pupil?

You could start recommending he go outstate cos of his talent though ;-P

Doug Freese wrote:

He went with three others that were all 2:5n

Quoted message said:

runners and he dusted them by 5 minutes. Was it weather or
conditioning - to be determined.

The best trained do it regardless of weather.

Quoted message said:

For any local races I'm now minus one in the age group awards. 😉

Until you reach the next ag 😉

Dot

--
"The goal is training and adaptation, not destruction and injury."
- John Hardy
http://www.mountainrunning.coolrunning.com.au/misc/training.shtml

"steve common" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Freese said:

I'll have you know that the first place 60 year old male with a time
of
3:08 is one of my winter running group.

...snip...

Quoted message said:

For any local races I'm now minus one in the age group awards. 😉

Ain't that the best thing that can ever happen to a teacher, whatever
the
age of the pupil?

Amen!!!

Quoted message said:

You could start recommending he go outstate cos of his talent though
;-P

I'm trying to get him into trail ultras but the extra distance has him
intimidated. If I can get him to the HAT run next year I know he'll be
hooked and me minus another notch. I'd have an even bigger vicarious
thrill to see him win the age group or finish one, two. 😉

-Doug

"Dot" <dot.h@#duh?att.net> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For any local races I'm now minus one in the age group awards. 😉

Until you reach the next ag 😉

But that's 8 more years and I may be in a wrap around walker by then. 🙂

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

runners and he dusted them by 5 minutes. Was it weather or
conditioning - to be determined.

The best trained do it regardless of weather.

I don't know in High School Cross Country and Track I find that
weather effects time greatly. Not really wind unless on the track,
but rain mostly especially if the trail gets muddy. I'm not saying I'm
right but from my experience. Of course I am polling kids who have
been running seven years and if you've been running twice that long it
might not make a difference.