Older runners can still keep up

Despite ageing lungs and leg muscles, older runners can still keep up with the pace of younger runners.

University of New Hampshire researchers recruited 51 competitive runners aged between 18 and 77 years. Each runner trained regularly and was placed in the top three of his or her age group during a five or 10 kilometre road race.

With the goal to measure how much oxygen someone uses to run at a certain pace, researchers assumed runners 60 years and over would be less economical than youthful athletes. Despite preconceived notions, researchers found older runners were just as fit as those in their 20s or 30s.

Describing the finding as a “surprise”, Timothy Quinn, professor of exercise science at the university, said the results were “encouraging” for older runners as they could “still be fast”.

However, while older runners’ may have ‘fast legs’, researchers found the group scored poorly in tests of upper-body strength and lower-body flexibility.

“You need upper-body strength to pump your arms and generate power and velocity,” Professor Quinn said, adding with tighter tissues, older runners are “constrained to choppy strides and, in general, a slower pace”.

“Older runners should try very hard to get to the gym to do light weights a few times a week… and concentrate on exercises that build upper-body strength,” he adds.

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