Running is not just for the young anymore. Throughout the decades since running first become popular in the 1960s and 197os the segment of those over 50 has been growing the fastest.
Running races of all distances has become increasingly popular in the group over 50. This is true from 5ks through marathons and beyond.
With the increasing interest of the older population in running comes certain concerns. Since the body of a 20 year old is in many ways different than that of its senior counterpart, attention must be paid to particular issues.
Stretch Thoroughly
Stretching is of utmost importance for the serious runner. It is an activity often overlooked or treated with a minimal of concern yet plays a major role in injury prevention and maximization of performance.
Younger runners may get away with not stretching or just putting in a passing pull. However for older runners over age 50, stretching is a reliable way to ensure longevity in running.
They key need for stretching is to begin to increase blood flow not only to muscles but the connective tissue as well. Tendons and ligaments have reduced blood flow compared to muscles and as people age, even less so, plus the contain less of their stretchy ingredient called collagen. For the older runner this means in increased risk of injury.
By adequately stretching out these connective tissues runners over 50 can help avoid injury. It advised the older runner spend at least 15 minutes stretching all the active joints and muscles before and after running and with a combination of static and dynamic stretches.
Warm up Sufficiently
Warming up should take place before every run and after stretching.
The warm up is the next phase after stretching to ensure adequate blood flow to muscles, tendons, joints and ligament. It is more taxing than stretching but less than running.
Again the key issue for the older runner past age 50 is less collagen and less blood flow to connective tissue. Muscles tends to be thinner and less springy as well.
The warm up phase involves slow deliberate and careful running and only a modest elevation in heart rate, to about 50-60% of maximum heart rate.
This phase should be approximately 10 minutes in duration and is especially important before faster workouts such as tempo runs, hills, and intervals.
Recover Completely
Recovery involves several phases and is relevant to several circumstances.
Whenever the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems are taxed with exercise, controlled damage occurs and adaptive responses are set in motion.
Older runners have both higher risks and rates of damage and slower and less complete adaptions. This is why recovery may take longer.
Recovery is a concept that should be applied to any hard run, whether speed workout, intervals, tempos, or long runs.
It is especially important to appropriately recover after any race.
A general rule of thumb would be to give at least 1-2 full days of recovery after speedwork. This would include days off, slow short runs or cross training
For races give at least one day per mile of racing distance.
Build up Gradually
As runners build their bases towards goal weekly mileage the buildup must be done very gradually.
There are several ways to build up, and doing so is critical to avoid lasting injury.
Since older runners tend to recover more slowly, the build up phase must be more gradual than in younger runners.
The typical method for building a base is by increasing weekly mileage by no more than 10% per week.
For runners over 50 this should be reduced by 1% for every decade over 30, thus 40 year olds would increase by 9% per week, 50 year olds 8% and so on.
Race Sparingly
There is no more taxing running activity than running a race. Whether a 5k or marathon, racing typically involves giving it your best or going all out.
Training for races takes place over usually several weeks to months culminating in the runner’s best fitness possible for that race.
By following all the tips above, the runner over 50 should arrive to race day in strong shape and injury free.
Young runners often bounce back quickly from races and put another on the calendar right away.
The older runner, however, should be wise and race sparingly allowing proper time for recovery and gradually training again before doing another race.
Thats not to say the runner over 50 can’t run back to back or serial marathons but it must be done with the utmost care to remain injury free.
Good article! Thanks for posting!
Thanks for letting me know
It should be emphasised that only dynamic stretches are done before a run. Static stretches can do a lot of harm, especially in the older body. It has been scientifically proven that doing static stretches before a run or race actually produce a slower time.
Static stretches should be done afterwards and approx. 30 secs for each one & no less.