I joined Barnsley Harriers after the death of my father in 1986. A traumatic experience to say the least. It affected my life in more ways than I'd care to mention.
Not having run since the age of 13, putting on a pair of trainers over 21 years later seemed to be the perfect way to stabilise my mental health.
At school, I'd met with a great deal of success. Running round "the block" with my friends on the Athersley Estate, it was obvious that I wasn't a sprinter, but long distance was a different matter. Dad bought me a pair of "Alf Tupper" style second hand trainers. Can't remember where from but they were useful when tacking the fields behind Holgate Grammar School.
There I was, a snotty-nosed kid, whose ability lay in running. My teacher's commented on the fact that I would never make anything of myself academically, but might "do alright" as an athlete. Chosen to represent the school against Archbishop Holgate's School in York, I didn't let the side down 1st place.
Confidence was on a high.
Nice one Frithy.
Why did I stop? Later that same year, at the Northern Championships in Disley, I was overcome by the sheer size of the field of runners. There seemed to be thousands upon thousands of other snotty nosed kids. No idea if we were all the same age, but my lowly position was devastating. There didn't seem to be any point in continuing with my running and I probably lost heart. There was no support from the PE department, or was there?
Fast forward to the mid-eighties.
So, trainers back on and where do I sign up for races?
No on-line entry back then, just a notice board full of tatty forms to fill in and send off by post. Those were the days. No sweating over a computer, waiting for the clock to hit a specific hour on a specific day. Entry fees were reasonable and well within the grasp of any runner.
Unfortunately, so many races have gone by the board and I'm struggling to remember the names of some of them. There was hardly a need to travel any distance to achieve a PB or a season's best.
Took to the fells and the BaHa's were prolific attendees at many of the races in Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Fell relays? So many stories from those, maybe some other time. Ran from Edale to Cowling in one day, completed Tanky's Trog, as well as a 42 mile overnight race. Plus the whole of the Barnley Boundary in one go. And the 3 Peaks a couple of times.
I've waffled a bit more than I should have.
Anyway, having reached 70 and put the camera to one side, I decided to slip on those trainers again.
How would my body react?
Expectations?
Reality soon hit.
Forget those heady days of 2009-2011, you haven't trained for any decent length of time and you are SEVENTY!
How many minutes to complete a mile?
Blood and sand.
Entered the Amble's Revenge in 2022 and managed to come in 1st Vet over 70. Returning home and feeling chuffed, I was asked how many V70 runners had actually entered.
There were 5 Vet 70's and a Vet 75.
Shouldn't the six of us feel proud of the fact that we managed to get round a tough course at OUR age.
Proud? Or just lucky to be able to?
Time for a bit of research.
Looked at the finishers, both male and female from the Brass Monkey Half Marathon.
Ignoring the large age group 18-34, it's interesting to see the finishers from each age range.
35-39 Male 167 Female 84
40-44 Male 182 Female 130
45-49 Male 168 Female 105
50-54 Male 124 Female 72
55-59 Male 97 Female 43
60-64 Male 53 Female 27
65-69 Male 21 Female 12
70+ Male 8 Female 2
Male and female stats seem to follow exactly the same trend. Peaking at 40-45, then dropping off until at 70, you are left with very few runners.
There are many reasons for this and you can no doubt come up with some that I hadn't even thought of.
It's not about getting a prize for being the 1st OAP over the line, more to do with the recognition that you're still plodding the tarmac, trails or fells. I'm so lucky that I can get out there and run a half-marathon in training and not suffer too much the day after.
Some races have age cats which stop at V60 and are in 10 year bands.
Come on organisers.
It would be good to have the recognition for the Golden Oldies.
Doesn't matter about a prize, just the "well done" old duffer to have got to that age and still being able to put one foot in front of the other.
Ambles Revenge even has a V80 cat. Brilliant.
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