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by Michael Selman It has been said that runners have their best thoughts of the day while out running. Runner and writer Michael Selman shares his "Thoughts on Running" with us here at ontherunevents.com.
In my contacts with fellow runners, I know very few who look their age, even fewer who ever seem slow down more than I have, and virtually none who even remotely act their age. We are a community of people who are locked in a time warp, stuck on whatever age we were when we started to run. It took no time at all to realize that turning 40 and moving into the master’s age group didn’t advantage me nearly as much as I had hoped. In fact, the only real advantage of being a master runner is that it sometimes adds an additional award or two in your age group. This is exactly what happened in a race I ran less than a month into my 40th year. The race ended up being a photo finish between two masters runners, with Jeff Rigdon, 42, barely edging out Robert Evans, 40, at the tape. These two athletes took the overall open and overall masters awards respectively, leaving always present Roger Keel the third overall master, although he was 1st in the 40-44 age group. The two gentlemen finishing right behind Roger were Andrew Sherwood, 55, and Svend Olson, 45. The top ten was rounded out by Alon Stewart, 47 with Casey Jones, 64, right on his heals. They were all comfortably under 20 minutes. I was lucky to get 3rd in my age group due to a no double dipping clause, running a measly 20:50. Although I came in 28th overall, exactly half of those ahead of me were older than me. WHY DON’T YOU ALL JUST GROW UP AND LEAVE THIS PETER PAN THING TO ME?????? I’m convinced that something else happens when we near 40. We become defensive and protective of whatever machoism we might have left in our bodies and souls. ( That’s assuming we had any to begin with). We, as runners, have basically three choices. 1) We buy a sports car ( Mine’s green! ). 2) We have an affair. ( I bought a sports car instead ). 3) We train even harder so we can race faster than we did before we turned 40. (guilty as charged). Since we’re all doing it, nobody ever gains any ground. It’s like the downsizing of American business. One company announces layoffs, so all the other companies in the industry do the same thing. Now, everybody’s lean and mean, but can we still run the business. I’m pleading with you all. STOP THE MADNESS. Stop training so hard, you old people, and don’t worry about people like Bob and me. No matter what part of the country you race in, there is always someone in your age group who shows up every race, every week, and kicks your butt every time. You know who he or she is. In Georgia, in my age group, the man is Roger Keel. He lives in Alabama, but drives to Georgia to race every weekend, sometimes running 4 or even 5 races between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. Just in case you ignore my advice, I’m developing a new strategy which will allow me to be more competitive in my age group. I am sharing these racing tips with you out of the goodness of my own heart, but you’re only allowed to follow them if you don't run in Georgia or are younger than 40 or older than 44. 1) If there is only one race on a given day, stay at home. Roger Keel will be there and he will beat you. ( Please substitute your local hero in your age group.) 2) If there is more than one race on a given day, check to see if they have different starting times. If they do, stay at home. Roger Keel will be at both races and he will beat you in both races. (Again, please substitute as appropriate). 3) If there are two races the same day with the same starting time you may have a fighting chance. Find out which race Roger Keel ( Substitute ) will be at. Then go to the other race. Caution: Word has it that Roger is working with some of the country’s top scientists as this article goes to print. As I understand it, they are somehow attempting to manipulate time, due to the fact that Alabama and Georgia are in different time zones, so he can use that extra hour to his advantage and actually BE at two races at the same time. If he is successful, he will no doubt win the Nobel Prize for running. 4) Choose your races carefully. If the race advertises multicolored Gor-Tex running suits to the first 200,000 entrants, a post race party with free lobster and caviar, and live music by the reunited Beatles, and the entry fee is six dollars, avoid it like the plague. There will probably be too many people in your age group, and you will not win an award. 5) If the race application is in a handwritten format, give it a hard and serious look. Details are everything, here. Does the race offer a no T- shirt option as the ONLY option? Are the age groups 0-39 and 40-over, with awards going one deep in each age group? Is there a space for next of kin on the release? Will the post race refreshments consist of liver and onions, with no fluids either along the course or after the race? Is early registration $150, with race day registration bumped up to $200. If you answered yes to all of these questions, this is the race for you. Nobody else will be there. You are assured an age group award. So you see, just because you have turned 40 does not mean you can’t be competitive. You don’t even have to train any harder. You just have to race smarter. Happy racing!
Thanks Michael for sharing your "Thoughts on Running" with us here at ontherunevents.com Look here for more "Thoughts on Running" by Michael Selman
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On October, 1995, I, too, turned 40. I was looking
forward to this event all year long. Most of my
non-running friends didn’t understand why I viewed it
as a positive event in my life. After all, who enjoys
the prospect of growing older? The simple truth of the
matter is this. Most of us runners have this
“Peter Pan” complex. We think we will never grow up,
never grow old, and never slow down. If we are
diligent to our running and overall fitness, our
bodies reinforce these beliefs.