Endurance and Age-Related Performance
Does age really limit our capacity for endurance?
Scientists have identified that age is not the limiting factor in endurance sports that we had once thought. Even beyond our physical prime, we are able to compensate for the loss of some physical capacity by adopting a range of psychological and behavioural skills that result from experience formed during both training, and competition.
According to a paper published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, analysis of more than 370,000 finishers of 100km ultra-marathons over the last 5 decades, identified peak performance as being reached in our mid- 40’s. This is an increase in age over previous findings and provides evidence of the longevity of ultra-marathoners and their ability to maintain high levels of fitness.
In comparison, the prime age for marathon runners is considerably lower, occurring between 25 and 35 years. Performance is reduced for runners outside of this age range.
Beyond the lab, endurance events and extreme challenges provide numerous examples of success in more experienced endurance athletes.
Nicky Spinks
In 2016, Nicky Spinks then aged 49, having survived cancer ten years earlier, completed an incredible 132-mile run, with 54,000ft of…
