Last week I boldly said I’d try to run a sub 20min 5k. It’s one of my goals to do this 12 times in 2024. It helps me to make goals public as motivation can ebb and flow but being accountable to this community keeps me honest.
Logically at my age, I should not be running faster than I did 17 years ago, when I started training for the London Marathon of 2007. I had no idea what I was doing back then, which is probably why after completing the Marathon, crossing the line and walking up a very small ramp to collect my medal I collapsed and had to be put in a wheelchair and then didn’t run again until attending my first Burgess parkrun in December 2012.
Back then I didn’t know a fraction of what I now know. I’m excited about how just a few changes over time have compounded into what I’m able to now do and importantly enjoying it. No need for wheelchairs or missing toenails and relatively injury-free. And whilst the physical benefits to myself are self-evident, the unexpected mental and emotional well-being has arguably yielded the greatest benefits.
Every day I’m a little bit further away from what many sports articles consider ‘peak’ years as a male runner. The broad consensus is that the peak age for men is around 27 years old and for women around 29 years old although ‘peak’ years does change with what distance you’re running.
So at 52 years old absolute personal bests are probably behind me however something called Age-Graded Performance can let me track my performance as I get older. According to the Parkrun website, age-grading ‘takes your time and uses the world record time for your gender and age (by the day) to produce a score/percentage’. The higher the percentage the better your performance.
Parkrun’s tables are largely based on the World Masters Athletics (WMA) and look like this;
Above 100% - usually a world record-setting performance
100% - approximately world record pace
Over 90% World Class Level
Above 80% National Class Level
Above 70% Regional Class Level
Above 60% Local Class Level
Parkrun is not a race and they have recently decided to remove the course records from all events pages. However you still receive your age-graded performance data so you can see if you’re in shape to head to Paris to represent Team GB 😀
We’re all getting older but you can look at your age-graded performance to see if you’re getting relative in better shape for your age group.
Back on 31/03/12 Fauja Singh completed a parkrun in 38mins 34secs however because he’s over 100 years old he’s the fastest in the world for his age category 😀 Fauja Singh founded a running club called ‘Sikhs in the City’ based in East London. They run marathons across the world with interfaith groups raising money for Fauja’s charities.
You can buy his book which chronicles his incredible running story by clicking this link Fauja Singh
And how did I get on today I hear you ask? Well applying all the top tips that I mentioned in previous posts on 'how to run your best 5k', I finished in 19mins 22sec which was an age-graded performance of 77.37% (in the age category 50-54 years old). You can click on the strava link on the main page to see my actual stats.
No matter what your time, no matter what your age-graded performance give yourself a pat on the back for getting out and getting it done.
Happy running
Well done you 👏
Wow Aqasa, 1 sub 20min per month. You are a G. Thank you for explaining the age rating as well. I had never been clear on that. I’ll be back Park Running next week, these articles are reminding me why I enjoy them so much!
You are a running 🌟and a constant source of inspiration. 🏃🏾♀️