Has anyone else noticed how dramatic the fall-off in numbers is in the older vets age groups in races?
It seems if you can hang in there long enough after age 60yrs or so,the numbers fall away quite dramatically.Is it just a case of injury prevailing or loss of interest now we can't get decent times? I have had different problems for the last 13 yrs or so but always seem to get over them eventually.The body is a wonderful thing.

It may be due to the fact that the Grim Reaper catches them up!

Quite the opposite in Portugal with more and more vets on the roads and tracks!

Oh! yes we too have lots of vets in 40-55 age groups but drop-off is marked after 60 or so.I think the Grim Reaper waits a bit longer,at least in the Western world,before he/she packs us off.
Even in some of the bigger road races in UK relatively few 0/65 and very few o/70's.
Even worse in OZ from what I can see.

There are many runners in their early-mid 60's here.
Lots of doping accusations among veterans as well, as here there's usually prize money for them...

Haven't heard of any doping in Oz among the oldies,we certainly do not have prize money for them.
I do recall a sprinter vet here many years ago remarking(jokingly) that any vet not taking some medication should be banned.
Lots do have to cope with life's physical problems of ageing,but hopefully with legal medical products.

there was a guy of 85 running this years half marathon at Sheffield, he has been running it for the past 25 years every year. What a guy!

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Best wishes from Dawn

True. In the last race I ran there were 1,509 finishers - but only 11 MV70, 2 FV70, 48 MV60 and 16 FV60.
I believe there are quite a number of good veterans out there in the upper age categories who compete in 'Vets only' races in the UK. For a small entry fee prizes are generally good value and well distributed in all five year age groups. They certainly are in Yorkshire Vets A.C. that I run with.
Many bigger 'Open' races charge exorbitant entry fees but only give 'token' prizes to Super Vets which no way match those given to the lower age categories. If vouchers are given they generally decrease in value towards the upper age categories - and often that upper limit is V60 - which gives the likes of me no chance at all!
If UK Athletics had any clout they'd standardize the rules regarding distribution of prizes in road races, i.e. for pre-entries race organisers should be compelled to recognize all five year age categories, up to whatever age, and all vets prizes, male and female, should be the same value. This would encourage older vets to carry on competing and I think we'd see a lot more of them in races. As an MV75 I know for a fact I put just as much effort into my training as an MV40 and prizes should reflect this.
By the way OZBOZO, welcome to the forum. It's good to have another Super Vet around!
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!

Ran at a track meeting yesterday.
As an example, in the 800m there was one round of under-40's and 3 of vets!
In the 200m, one more of vets!

Bad sign when it comes to showing the interest of younger people in the sport but a good one when we consider that people keep on running (and competing!!!!!) into their 50's, 60's and 70's!
The oldest runner there yesterday was 72 (there is an older one that usually competes but maybe he's going today).

Running Fox,what the heck is a Super Vet?
I presume it relates to being O/70 or something?
I generally agree with your sentiments re training effort in different age groups,just wish that injuries in latter years had not inhibited my ability to work as hard as when I was inthe M40's.
I would be interested in your experience as a vet who,going by your profile,came into running/racing at a fair age.How have you fared with injuries over the years?

OZBOZO - Great times you've run!

Runningfox - same goes, especially for your marathon result!

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“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

In my neck of the woods, before a few enlightened race organisers introduced men's and ladies V65 & V70 categories, anyone over 60 was classed as a Super Vet. Prior to that the upper age groups didn't stand a chance against fit runners in their early sixties. Since the introduction of these upper age categories quite a number of athletic geriatrics have crawled out of the woodwork to vie with their contemporaries.
I've been rather lucky and had few injuries, mainly calf muscle problems. Generally I've rested up for two to three weeks but at my age I lose so much fitness in that period that I tend to run through any niggling injuries nowadays, if I can. I use pain-killing gel, or take strong pain killers and anti-inflammatories (Voltarol 75mgs), and try my best to make the old body adapt to what I want it to do.
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!

Marathons were my speciality I suppose, though to be honest, I hated them - especially London with all the noise and razzmatazz! Nevertheless I ran eight, won my age category in seven and twice took the British MV60 Championship.
But give me quieter races, like the Three Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales, which was always my favourite with it's 24 miles of beautiful countryside. It was always painful. I always got severe cramp. But it was always superbly satisfying.
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!

Hi,Running Fox,very impressive record.If it is not too cheeky,why did you not race as a young man,you would no doubt have got some very impressive performances?
Thanks for the info. on the Super Vet thing.
I see from your profile that you are a member of Longwood AC,Derek Ibbotson's club.
As a young bloke I think that I suffered the ignominy of being lapped by him in a Northern Counties 3 Mile Champs in Manchester.
I am a bit like you I think in that I no longer like the mass races,always on the look out for some different races,especially CC or trail.
I had some bad experiences with anti-inflamms like Voltaren.Like you trying to train through injury,led to big jump in blood pressure in a few days,so you have to be careful with them.:eek:

As a youngster I'd no interest in any sports, always introvert and preferred the wild and lonely places, either alone or with a well chosen companion. Redundancy, consequent marriage failure, ill health and weight problems in the 80's were the catalysts that turned me to running.
I believe Derek Ibbotson is still around and could have been indirectly responsible for my taking up racing when he finished eighty places behind me in a local five mile fun run I was persuaded to run for charity back in '86. Twelve months later I'd my first (quite unexpected) marathon win. Thanks Ibbo!
Voltarol works OK for me though other forms of Diclofenac Sodium upset my stomach. I'm not aware of them affecting my blood pressure (which is naturally high because my pulse is so low!) but I don't take them on a regular basis, only when I really have to.
My partner and I both prefer Trail races to road racing. Our most scenic one this year was the Grizedale 10 miler in the English Lake District, but this weekend we're doing a half marathon Trail race in the Yorkshire Dales which we're really looking forward to. Last year there were just one hundred runners, so hardly a mass participation affair!
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!