Why M35-39 Age Group is strongest?

Triathlon Forum
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Why is it that the Male 35-39 age group is the strongest of the age groups? I have my own theories on the subject but I’m interested in hearing what others have to say. I don’t mean to offend the 40-44 age group (which is also very strong) or any of the other age groups, it’s just that my experience is that the M35-39 group is the strongest. I’m sure there are those who will disagree with this statement and I encourage your input as well. I’m sure this debate has been raised before, I just don’t want to spend hours trying to find the thread.

Weasel (new member to the M35-39 group)

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I think I read this some place. Don’t ask where or when, maybe I am making it up, but…

By the late 30s for most men a number of things have happened:

  1. Job has settled down and career path is fairly laid out
  2. If you had kids in your 20s they are getting to an age that they can take care of them selves
  3. You are more settled in living arrangements
  4. the efforts, stress and work that goes into your education has ended
  5. Financially you are more established and have a bit of disposable cash
  6. if you were a high school and/or college athlete you have been out of the sport long enough to have a real desire to get back into it
  7. long hard partying days are fewer and farther between

really what the above is saying is that by the late 30s men have more time, energy, desire and money to put into seriously pursuing an athletic endevor. This combined with the fact that the ageing process, though occuring has not substancially and significantly lowered ones ability to compete at a fairly high level may be a reason why this age group is so competitive.

or possibly this is all a bunch of crap and were just the strongest ones out there

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Excellent question! I turn 35 this year. I was thinking that I would bump up a couple of notches since I would be competing against “old geezers” (don’t get sensitive here 35 - 39 year olds; just a joke). Much to my dismay, I went back and looked where I would have placed in all of my races last year if I had been in the 35 - 39 AG. I fell back at least 10 - 15% in all races; sometimes more. I couldn’t believe it.

My speculation is that the 35 - 39 year old crowd has a couple of advantages (though I’m sure several disadvantages that someone else will be more than happy to point out). Here are some of the ones I thought of:

  1. It takes years of cardio training to get a good base under you. 35 - 39 is apparently when racers see a good return on this, even when offset with the normal age deficits. At 40 +, the age deficits start having a bigger impact, which is why the additional base years doesn’t continue to help improve the racer. Look at the age of IM winners. It seems a great many are in their early 30s. The years of being in the pool, running, and biking are beginning to really pay off for them.

  2. At 35 - 39, the racer TENDS to be more mature and, as a result, dedicated. Likely, less drinking/late nights = more Sat.s and Sun.s training. Not to mention weeknights.

  3. Younger workers may need to spend more time at work. At 35 - 39, you should be more efficient and focused, which leads less time at work and more time at play. That, and younger workers tend to get stuck with the all night projects.

  4. The 35 - 39 group has fewer newbies, as compared to the younger groups. And, the good racers tend to stick around, while the not as good racers call it a day.

  5. There may also be something to the age of children of 35-39 AG’s. Maybe they are old enough to allow the parents a little more time to train, instead of monitoring their every move.

Keep in mind people, this a generally speaking; I know there are exceptions.

Well, these are the speculations of this layman. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong.

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…because you don’t peek at age 52. Trust me on this one.

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Hey Foolish: I was typing mine when you posted; pretty interesting that many of our conclusion are the same.

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Where I live, all the fast guys are 40-44. Speaking of ex pros, notice that ex pros like Pete Kain, Scott Molina, Holly Nybo (former IMC winner) and others are racing in that 40-44 age group. It is killer. I’m glad that I am 38, at least in this group, most ex pros that race age group would get considerable flack from their peers :-).

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There are probably multiple reasons why this is the case but I think that the number one reason that the 35-39 category is so tough is that there are many racers in this age group that started racing in the 1985-1990 years when triathlons were becoming more popular and loved it so much that they are still at and fiercely competitive. I did my first tri in 1990 after a high school and university track career and many of the same people that I raced against then are not racing now. The extremely dedicated kooks like myself keep coming back year after year… this builds your base and level of racing experience and in a tri your pure speed, which may diminish a little in your late 30s, is completely irrelevant. I don’t think that many of the top 35-39 racers are new to the sport.

Another reply mentioned the children factor. The first season that I was somewhat competitive in triathlon was the year my oldest daughter was born. It is much more difficult to train with small children at home. In fact, many of the people that I used to race against and had children later than me, quit doing the races when their kids were born. Both of my children are much more independent now so on the weekends I can get out for the mega-rides without feeling guilty about my wife having to run around after the kids for hours (although she is still a Saint for putting up with my training).

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It may feel that way from the slightly larger age group, but in looking at the times, you get to go slower and still qualify. Last year the last qualifier at IMCanada for the 30-34 was 9:58:09 whereas the 35-39 last qual was 9:59:55. 2002 was 30-34 10:00:00 and 35-39 10:04:48. I’m stoked that later this season I age up and gain that extra couple minutes of time. Too bad I don’t get anymore Dipsea handicap minutes until I turn 38.

10

The ironman qualifying times are usually a little slower for the final spots because they are allocated by percentage of competitors in each age group compared to the overall number in the race and since 35-39 is almost always the largest group, the final qualifiers might have been 14th or so in the 35-39 age group compared to 10th or 11th in a younger division. You also have to look at how many spots were turned down (although it seems that the 35-39 age group spots for Kona don’t seem to be rolled down very far … )

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Location matters here aswell, as does type of triathlon. In IM Germany last summer the 35-39 male age group had with 377 classified finishers by far the largest field, next was 30-34 male with 270, followed by 40-44male with 229. This gave males 35-39 the most Hawaii slots, but the “slowest” guy there qualified with 9;49, while in 40-44 it was 10;18, and in 30-34 it was 9;39. Not that I had planned to qualify there, but my 38 year old “ass” was about 1;45 hours away from doing so. :slight_smile:

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The fastest people who would be in their respective age groups who are between the ages of 20 and 34 are pros. And the 35-39 is the deepest age group at most races, not always the fastest.

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At the highest levels of amateur competition, there seems to be “clumps” of talent at various ages. Maybe the current crop of 35-39s has one of those “clumps.” I’ll turn 45 this year, but my experience tells me that it won’t get any easier when I do because there is one hell of a “clump” of talent around my age.

My first National Championship was at Leon’s in 1991 which was totally dominated by my 30-34 age group. I was eighth overall, but that was only good for fourth in the 30-34 age group. The next year in Cleveland the domination of the 30-34s was even more pronounced.

I was never beaten by anyone in an older age group at Nationals, but I never won my age group. I stupidly thought that when I aged up, I might win a national championship. What I overlooked is that the same guys who kept kicking my ass would be aging up as well.

When I finally did age up to 35-39 for Nationals in Columbia, MD, I think I got fifth, but I think would have won the 30-34. I couldn’t wait to age up, then it turned out that it I would have placed higher if I could have stayed young. (There is no such “clump” a couple of years behind me.) It’s not so much the age of the competitors as it is the age of those “clumps” of talent. If I remember correctly, four of the top five of us that year were also in the top five at my first Nationals–we just got older.

Try some of these “old” guys on for size–Jeff Cuddeback, John Brockenbrough, Tony Schiller, Mike Hagen, Mike Smith (the one from Indy), Bryan Boggs, Pete Kain, George Altieri, Tom Mather, Larry Rhoads. Some of these guys aren’t racing anymore, but no matter how old I get, I’ll always get to share my age group with this group of ass-kickers–and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

When I started doing triathlons in the early 90s, it was unheard of for the overall winner to be over forty, now it’s commonplace.

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From my understanding, it’s physiological. For endurance sports, we peak in that age range. Doesn’t that age range also correspond to the age range of the fastest pros?

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Saber wrote: From my understanding, it’s physiological. For endurance sports, we peak in that age range.

Saber is correct. There are a few exceptions, just as in any generality, but it is physiological POTENTIAL that peaks somewhere in the 30’s. Let’s arbitrarily say this potential peak is at 32…that doesn’t mean that this individual will have his fastest race when he’s 32, because there are other factors that affect his race…as mentioned above: socio-economic factors, age of children, etc. There’s also the factor of Experience. Experience can play a role that is more important than pure Physiological Potential. The experience of how to train more effectively, how not to race someone too hard up a hill early in a race due to testosterone-induced pride, how to train not-too-hard the weeks before a race, or how to push harder than you used to the weeks before a race, etc.

It’s not just local talent pool that makes this certain age group tough, it’s a combination of peaking physiological potential combined with experience.