it’s equally wet in southern germany as it is in southern finland. but that didn’t prevent micke-midlife to go out and challenge the younger generation on a 23km run. well, actually both were rather tired. the young guy from a crisp training session the day before - 6 min runs in 3:30min/km - our hero from eating christmas goodies all the time. therefore the pace was moderate and the stomach mixed up.
from this eternal conflict between generations, to the best time to run a marathon. when’s the best time to do it? or the other way around, at what age does one run his/her best marathon finishing time, at the age of 25, 30 or 35?
all individual deviations left aside, looking at the top 115 finishing times of the berlin marathon in the years 2006, 2007 and 2008.
the age classifications mh/wh ranging from 20-29, m30/w30 from 30-34, m35/w35 from 35-39 and so on. the table reveals that the age classes from 20 to 34 are the most competitive ones. assuming a smooth distribution curve with a heavy “front load”, we can say the age group between 27 and 33 are the majority at the top. or in other words with 35 years our hero is beyond it’s peak…
the only remedy: the world record holder haile gebreselassie ran his 2h 03min 59sec personal best at the age of 35! if he can do a world record, micke-midlife can … eh whatever, get me a christmas cookie.
