After plowing thru 100 odd posts on TNT and Clydes something funny hit me. Reread those posts and substitute the words Age Grouper in for TNT or Clydesdale. Or if you want to be nonPC put in Physically Challenged Athletes. There you have a mirror image of yourself.
Before I get thrown out of the forum, The wheelchair, para, blind, and Special Olympic people are all great athletes. If you get a chance to hang with them, they can teach you a lot about humor and grit.
So why do we need five year age groups any way? Men reach their cardiovascular and strength max in their early to mid thirties and can hold it to almost 40. So have a Under 18 age group, a scratch or senior age group 18-40. A 40 to 55 age group and an old fart 55 plus . Should their be a differention from a perfectly healthy 30 year old and a 31 year old? If so why?
The only reason for age groups is to give some middle aged want to be's an nice award. Or maybe we should have one year age groups so you can compete against people your own age. But wait, then some of those people would be eleven months younger than you too. So maybe half year age groups would be better.
I have won over all triathlons, age groups, clydesdale style races, and made a couple national teams. BFD I am old, fat and still like to suit up and give it a go sometimes. The best race I ever saw was the YMCA Fatman Futility run in 1985. I made huge trophys out of old leftover trophys (the winner was around 5 feet tall), served milk and cookies at the aid station, and had around 150 of the happiest runners I have ever seen in a race. The lightweight class was 180 lbs and the super sumo was 280lbs plus for a 2.46 mi random picked distance run.
As a race director with over 50 events I have directed, I have heard every whine there is like" Hey we had 3 guys in the 70 + age group and only two trophies. Like, how come?"
Where did the 5 year thing come from any way? Having been 165 lbs and 230lbs,I promise you that there is a lot bigger difference between big and small in speed than being 10 years older.
There is no finer feeling in the world at that time than coming to the finishline as an over all winner, the rest of us are just also rans. Hey lets go have some fun out there. And what about those foreigners? G
Before I get thrown out of the forum, The wheelchair, para, blind, and Special Olympic people are all great athletes. If you get a chance to hang with them, they can teach you a lot about humor and grit.
So why do we need five year age groups any way? Men reach their cardiovascular and strength max in their early to mid thirties and can hold it to almost 40. So have a Under 18 age group, a scratch or senior age group 18-40. A 40 to 55 age group and an old fart 55 plus . Should their be a differention from a perfectly healthy 30 year old and a 31 year old? If so why?
The only reason for age groups is to give some middle aged want to be's an nice award. Or maybe we should have one year age groups so you can compete against people your own age. But wait, then some of those people would be eleven months younger than you too. So maybe half year age groups would be better.
I have won over all triathlons, age groups, clydesdale style races, and made a couple national teams. BFD I am old, fat and still like to suit up and give it a go sometimes. The best race I ever saw was the YMCA Fatman Futility run in 1985. I made huge trophys out of old leftover trophys (the winner was around 5 feet tall), served milk and cookies at the aid station, and had around 150 of the happiest runners I have ever seen in a race. The lightweight class was 180 lbs and the super sumo was 280lbs plus for a 2.46 mi random picked distance run.
As a race director with over 50 events I have directed, I have heard every whine there is like" Hey we had 3 guys in the 70 + age group and only two trophies. Like, how come?"
Where did the 5 year thing come from any way? Having been 165 lbs and 230lbs,I promise you that there is a lot bigger difference between big and small in speed than being 10 years older.
There is no finer feeling in the world at that time than coming to the finishline as an over all winner, the rest of us are just also rans. Hey lets go have some fun out there. And what about those foreigners? G