Did a run/bike duathlon today. Been racing well all summer, and though I am less competitive without a swim, thought I’d give it a go. Good news/bad news: Went top 9 overall and would have placed in every age group—except my own! There are some really fast 55-59 year old folks out there!
At the age of 56 and racing for 22 years…its a tough age group. As we get older the numbers in the age group get alot smaller, yet…wow…the ones that are left are fast. No one “starts” triathlons at this age…we’ve all been racing for along time. The fast ones are still racing…the slower ones seem to quit. It really sucks as we get older.
I get to race alot against former pros. These guys are really fast. One of the best days in my racing career (at 54 years old) was the day I battled a former pro on the bike leg of a sprint (he swam past me like I was treading water)…I actually out biked him after going back and forth for the first 8 miles, after that, I passed him and did not see him again…a few months later we met again and he referred to me as the “uber biker”…damn I felt fast at that one moment : )
congrats on the top 9.
I’m sure the guys who went 1-2-3 in your AG can’t swim 
that’s why they were in a du
Yeah Alyie…one was a tri person but the other two were runners for sure! How is the Math whiz doing these days??!
That’s my age group and yes it’s tougher than when I was younger. Not only are the fast guys the only ones left, a lot of them have retired or semi-retired and they have a lot more time to train and sleep. Bastards! (but I love the competition).
It gets tougher as you go up in your age from 55 to 59. A few years makes more of a difference now than it did when we were younger. I moved up to 60-64 this year and noticed how fewer competitors there are after age 60. I only did one tri this season but it was easy to podium when there are only five guys in 60-64.
Not in that AG, but I do feel that 55-59 is a pretty lethal category.
The factors that make it ubercompetitive:
- Slow guys quit the sport or don’t race anymore
- Everyone left is uber-experienced and often was uber-fast in their prime
- In the sunset of the careers or outright retired, and so can devote ridiculous hours to training
- Kids are long gone to college or about to go to college and thus can devote ridiculous hours to training
- No longer ‘chasing tail’ (in most cases) and thus can devote ridiculous hours to training
- Have enough financial resources to hire good coaches, buy powermeters, and have the best equipment outside the pros (just check out their bikes in the tri compared to everyone else!)
The only hit they take (which is a pretty big one admittedly) is really the limitations of running impact on training and slower recovery. Hence, I’ve noticed that in general, M50-60 aren’t that fast in run races, but seem proportionally must faster (closer to M25-30) times on swim/bike.
well thank you. Teaching undergrad calc and finishing my thesis.
Good insights from everyone. I agree with all of this…been racing since the 80’s, have run times that have fallen off, but the biking is still pretty solid, and the fast guys are still fast. The equipment piece is also a part of it. The garage looks like a bike store and having a Speed Concept is an advantage. Not that it needs any more hype, but that bike is really something.
Haha. I took 2nd overall at a race one day and the guy who beat me was 59. The dude looked like he just walked off the cover of Men’s Health. It was crazy.
I met a guy nearing 50 recently who is only going to do his major races the 1st and 2nd years in an age bracket. Another reason the competition for the top couple spots may be tougher.
It “seems” friendlier at our age, but I love the continued competitive nature us old folks still have. Be thankful we aren’t all injured at this point. I think in some ways we are smarter about avoiding injury, because we have already been injured.
Can’t help weighing in on this one. I’m 56 and rediscovered triathlon about 5 years ago in a big way. I’d been doing tri’s since 1984, but usually only 2 or 3 each year. Last 5 years, I’ve done 40 more. Training smarter than ever, getting more out of my body than when I was 30, and with all that, just barely treading water in the competition with the other guys in my age group. It’s pretty cool to see how fit the guys in this group are. No question it is a war of attrition as you get up beyond 55 (vs. those in the 50-54 age group - some of those guys are in a time warp). Nothing I enjoy more than having a brief conversation with a 30 year old with whom I’m doing battle on the bike, saying “Are you REALLY 56???”
It’s been fun and I hope to keep it rolling for years to come.
Won an Xterra about a month ago. Second place was 56 years old. That’s exactly twice my age! Holy fast old dudes, batman.
And just so you know, some people do start that late in life. I’m working with a 55-59 guy that started last year. He got a roll-down spot to Vegas, and he’s tickled pink. Pretty far down the AG results at Worlds, but he’s out there and he finished! Also working with another 55-59 guy who is just starting to dabble in tri after a lifetime of mtb’ing. He’s sticking mostly with Xterra for now since that plays to his strong suit, he needs that b/c he gets seriously out-swam and out-run.
Agree that, primarily, people don’t randomly decide to start doing tri’s in their 50’s, but some do.
Agree that, primarily, people don’t randomly decide to start doing tri’s in their 50’s, but some do.
I did in 04 at 52. I started running at almost 50. Did some cycling in the 80’s early 90’s.
Check out the top finisher at IMWI in the women’s 55-59. The women are also getting crazy fast in the older age groups.