Training for Older Athletes with Coach Des Clarke

I was working on this article when the results from the Jackpot Ultras in Las Vegas, NV came through. The race served as the USATF road 100 mile championships. David Blaylock won the 80+ age group in a time of 29:47:29, beating out three other finishers in the age group. David is not the first octogenarian, or nonagenarian, to turn heads with his running. Olga Kotelko set 30 world records and won over 750 gold medals in the 90-95 age group. You can read about her in What Makes Olga Run and Older, Faster, Stronger. George Etzwiler ran the Mt Washington race in 2019 at the age of 99, and was only prevented from running at the age of 100 by COVID cancellations. Clearly there is the opportunity for people to continue running well past the age when society thinks you should be knitting in your rocking chair, napping and playing canasta.

Even at the elite level we’ve seen recent indications that athletes who at one point would’ve been considered “past their prime” are still dominating. Look at Eliud Kipchoge still winning every marathon he enters at 38, or Sarah Hall setting the women’s American record in the half marathon at the same age. Trail runner Darcy Piceu won 4 major 100 milers in 2018 at the age of 43.

However, let’s bring all this back down to earth. Most of us are not going to run 100 miles, or set world records, or live to 100, and that’s perfectly ok. And these stories are inspiring, but they don’t teach you HOW to be successful as an older athlete. Since it’s not all rainbows and unicorns and 100 mile records out there I’m going to provide some suggestions for running your best as you age.

Before we get started I want to note, I’m not selling the fountain of youth. It is inevitable that we’ll all slow down at some point. However, by utilizing the tactics below we can remain healthy and consistent in our running and maintain our fitness as we age.

Strength training

I am a coach who promotes strength training for people of all ages. It improves power, increases bone density, remedies imbalances, and prevents injury. Strength training becomes even more important as we age. Both men and women lose about 8% of their strength each decade after the age of 30. This process is exacerbated in menopausal women as their estrogen decreases. The adage of use it or lose it applies here, if you aren’t working actively to gain muscle, then you’re losing muscle. While it’s aimed more at perimenopausal and menopausal women there’s some great information for strength training for older athletes in NEXT LEVEL: Your guide to kicking ass, feeling great, and crushing goals through menopause and beyond. by Selene Yeager and Stacy Sims

Here are a few quick lifting tips for runners:

  • Try to lift after hard running workouts. That allows your hard days to be hard and your easy days to be easy.
  • Don’t be afraid to lift heavy. Overstressing muscles is what stimulates them to grow and get stronger. As an endurance athlete, and especially for women, you would have to purposefully try to bulk up in order to do so.
  • Incorporate single-leg moves. We all usually have a stronger side, and this will help to ensure that you’re strengthening both equally.

Recovery 

When I was in college I could stay up late on a Saturday, get up early Sunday and bang out 10 miles without any food or water, and then trot over to brunch in the dining hall. If I did that today I would pay – dearly.

Sleep and good nutrition (see below) are two of the best performance enhancers out there. When we are training we are actually breaking our bodies down, which encourages the repair and growth while we rest that makes us stronger. The key is to make sure we get enough recovery, and as we age the need for recovery most likely increases. 

  • Get enough sleep. Some elites get 10 hours a night plus naps, you should shoot for at least 7-8 hours a night. Naps are helpful, and even if you can’t get them everyday, sometimes as little as 20 minutes after a long run on the weekend can help jump start the repair process.
  • Everyone is different, but I usually like my athletes to have at least one day completely off from running and strenuous activity (light movement is fine). Again, this gives your body a chance to repair and reap the benefits of the fitness you are working on.
  • We all train in cycles. Every 2-4 weeks we should have a week that’s lighter in mileage and speed work. Same idea here with the recovery and rebuilding.

Mobility

I could have lumped this in with recovery, but mobility is important enough to give it its own category. As we age our bodies are less flexible in many ways. It therefore becomes even more important to make sure we’re doing what we can to keep everything moving well. There’s lots of stuff you can do on your own at home, however if you notice that something is a constant issue or seems to get worse it’s a good idea to see a physical therapist, massage therapist or chiropractor before it becomes a big issue that takes you out from running for an extended period of time and requires lots of sessions to correct.

Nutrition and supplements

Perhaps my favorite nutrition advice of all time comes from Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Having a base of good nutrition helps us in many aspects of life, and especially in training. We want to fuel our body mostly with healthy, whole foods that nourish us and help keep us moving. Processed food has less nutrients, more empty calories, and more negative “stuff”. That’s not saying that you can never enjoy some Oreos, but they shouldn’t be the cornerstone of your nutrition plan. If you struggle with nutrition, seeing a dietician can help guide you on the right path. You also want to make sure you get enough carbohydrates to fuel your activity, and enough protein for repair processes.

There are also supplements that can help with performance and aging, although having a good base of nutrition is enough for many people. The key to these is to experiment with one at a time to see which ones seem to help you the most. Some of the supplements I like to incorporate include:

  • Adaptogens like ashwagandha and maca that help the body adapt to stress, including training stress.
  • Anti-inflammatories like ginger, turmeric, and tart cherry.
  • Joint-supporting oils like flaxseed and fish oils.
  • BCAAs to help with muscle repair.

Mindset

While it can sometimes be frustrating that the messaging around aging seems to be focused on the negatives, we can definitely improve our wisdom and our self-knowledge. Sometimes it’s not the fastest runner who wins but the smartest. You can pace yourself, take care of yourself with hydration and fueling on longer runs, and use knowledge of the course and terrain to give yourself a competitive edge.

You can also set new goals for your running. Maybe you can’t place overall or set PRs, but you can strive to place in your age group, set a PR for your new age category, or maybe try to set a new distance PR by running longer. 

It’s also important to keep in mind your WHY. Yes, winning and getting faster can be fun, but it’s certainly not the only reason you started running. There are physical and mental health benefits that can be reaped at any age. And there’s also the community, maybe you can share stories and encouragement with younger runners. You also have the opportunity to volunteer and give back to the community.

Final thoughts

While aging might slow us down a bit, it doesn’t have to put the kibosh on your competitive running days. Take care of yourself, set new goals, and give back to the community. You just might find yourself enjoying running in a whole new light. I also want to note that having a running coach can be a great way to navigate changes in your running and training, gain external insight into your performance, encourage you through rough patches, and have another voice cheering you on in whatever goals you choose.

Photo: Jo Ohm

Des Clarke is a coach with Team RunRun. To learn more about her or to work with her, check out her coach profile.

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