Christopher has run many times in our event, and we wanted to share some thoughts that he brought to us about age groups in racing. He posed the question: Why do nearly all races have age categories in 5 year increments up to age 70, and stop there? “While this isn’t currently a big issue, it will become one as fitness of seniors continues to grow further,” said Christopher. He shared a stat he read, “in most races the “70 and above” category is only between 1%-2%; but that is growing and predicted to be around 5% in a few more years.”
He shared his opinion: “It would make a very positive statement for any race to extend the 5 year category groupings whenever the race has entrants in an unusual age group. What if parents wanted their 5 year old child to run in a 5K? Or if a 76 year old man signs up for a half marathon? If any prizes, awards, etc. are given, wouldn’t it be a form of age discrimination if that man had to compete with a younger group instead of one that fits his age? I think some races have done what I’m suggesting because they are seeing that we old people are showing up for races and still are somewhat competitive.
We appreciate all of our runners, and the perspectives they bring. We are also proud to include Christopher in our Hall of Fame.