For the next six years or so, my training was mostly on my own. I would run about five miles twice a week on the weekdays, and do about a 10 mile run on the weekend. I joined the Gold Coast Runners Club, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Road Runners Club and subscribed to Runner’s World magazine to help supplement my training. I entered as many 5K races as I could, but I was starting to get bored of races that were so short in length. If a race were a combined 5K and a 10K, I would opt for the longer distance. However, there were way more 5K race opportunities than any other distance; I knew that half marathons would have to be the next goal in sight. This would be a quality vs. quantity decision.
When you enter a race, they give a medal to the top three finishers in each age group. Typically, 17 to 22 minutes as a finishing time will garner the gold. I was finishing around 27 minutes, and did not foresee very much chance in shaving that time down significantly. However, I have finished third in my age group on two separate occasions.
The great thing about running is that it is one of the few sports where age does not matter in terms of your performance. If you look at the results of any race, the finishing times usually do not drop off substantially until you hit your 60s or 70s (especially in a marathon). If you check out the age of the participants in the Ocala Marathon (my most recent race), you can see that the majority of the runners are over the age of 30. Athletes who run track or cross-country in high school will enter a 5K, but they are not trained for much longer distances; the preparation is very different. Training for a longer race can put you on an “even playing field” with a younger runner.
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