Why Aging Up Doesn’t Mean Slowing Down in Triathlon
It’s that magical time of year when many triathletes find themselves entering a new age group… And depending on when your birthday lands, you might even be competing in an age group that doesn’t match your current age. (Thanks USAT for making us feel older than we actually are.)
Regardless, aging up means different things to different people. For some, it might be joining a more competitive age group. For others, it may seem like a rude reminder that your PR earning days are behind you.
Now that might not be true… but more on that later.
Today, we discuss aging up in triathlon, including:
Inspiring pro athlete examples 37+
Study- Kona athletes get older but faster
What aging up means for you
*BONUS- Triple Threat Life Club members receive Aging Up Advantage: How to Use Experience to Outperform Your Younger Self
What’s an age-grouper?
In triathlon, you hear the term “age-grouper” thrown around a lot. Basically, if you’re not a professional triathlete, then you’re an amateur or age-grouper. Age groups are typically separated into 5-year increments like: 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, ect.
Also, age groups are defined by a person’s age as of December 31st of the race year. This means that if your birthday falls earlier in the year, and you’re on the cusp of an age group threshold, you might find yourself competing in the 40-44 group even though you’re 39 at the time of the race.
Fun fact: Here’s an interesting tidbit from my past life as an equestrian. Regardless of their actual birthdate, all horses turn a year older on January 1st. This is for breeding and showing purposes. So horses face aging up too! They just don’t care.
Inspiring pro athlete examples- 37+
As athletes age, we experience a variety of changes that can affect our training, racing, and performance.
Decrease in muscle mass
More time needed to recover
Reduction in VO2 max
Decline in flexibility and mobility
While all this is true, you CAN work to counteract these effects with targeted training! Also, when talking about an endurance sport like triathlon, physiology isn’t everything. There’s also wisdom, experience, and skill- all benefits that are gained over time.
I love this great quote from a blog post by Dr. Bryce Dyer for Precision Hydration: “The performance puzzle isn’t just about improving your physiology alone, and it’s one of the biggest mistakes I still see when I consult with athletes in my research. They’re often too focused on being fitter physically and not addressing the actual problem of performing better overall.”
He believes that athletes are more a product of their lifestyle than their genetics. So if an athlete is in his mid-40s, has 3 kids, and a busy career, he’s probably not devoting as much time to proper nutrition, targeted training, and good sleep quality as someone without those responsibilities.
Dr. Dyer is a 46-year-old cyclist and has tracked his own 10-mile time trial data for the past 20 years. His times have improved by just over 2 minutes (10%) during that time period with no sign of slowing down yet. He also brings up another excellent point: “It’s no good being the best at 30 if your approach to competitive sport isn’t mentally sustainable at 40 and you later quit sport entirely.”
2024 was a banner year for the 35+ crowd in professional triathlon and ultra running.
Laura Phillip is 37. She won the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Nice with a time of 8:45:15. She had the fastest bike split by over 3 minutes, the fastest run split by 8 minutes, and was the first person to have the fastest bike and run at the IRONMAN World Championship since 2017. She also had a career best swim.
Patrick Lange is 38. He won the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship and broke the Kona course record with a time of 7:35:53. He had the fastest run split by over 7 minutes and the largest winning margin since 2019.
He also snagged a PB (personal best) bike split by over 9 minutes. For some reference, 8 years ago, in 2016, he broke the 27-year-old run record at Kona on the way to placing third. He’s now a three-time IRONMAN World Champion.
Courtney Dauwalter is 39. Widely regarded as one of the best ultra runners in the world, in 2023, she was the first person to win Western States 100, Hardrock 100, and Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in the same year.
Dede Griesbauer is in her mid-50s. In 2020, she set a record at Ultraman Florida of 22 hours, 48 minutes, and 31 seconds. In 2022, she was the Ultraman World Champion claiming a course record by over 45 minutes of 23 hours, 22 minutes, and 58 seconds. *Dede spoke on this topic at our local triathlon club last year. Here’s the video on YouTube.
I could keep going with these examples in endurance sports: Desiree Linden (38), Kara Goucher (45), Shalane Flanagan (42), Heather Jackson (40), and Jan Frodeno was (42) when he did his final triathlon as a professional.
Never let anyone tell you that you’re too old or your best performances are behind you. Age doesn’t define your potential, capabilities, or value.
Believing you’re too old is more about mindset than reality.
Study- “Elite triathletes in IRONMAN Hawaii get older but faster”
Yes, things do change as you get older. But for triathletes, it’s a bit different because we compete in an endurance-based sport (especially long-course triathlon) where age-related decline happens later in life.
A study looked at the changes in age and performance at the IRONMAN World Championship from 1983-2012 by analyzing data from 41,463 finishers.
Results: While the age of the top 10 male and female triathletes at the IRONMAN World Championship increased over the last three decades, their performances also improved. Both male and female triathletes showed improved performance in cycling, running, and overall race time.
“These findings suggest that the maturity of elite long-distance triathletes has changed during this period and raises the question of the upper limits of the age of peak performance in elite ultra-endurance performance.”
Here’s some specifics:
Race times for the overall top ten finishers decreased for both women and men.
Swim splits decreased for men, but not women. In cycling and running, split times decreased for both men and women.
Ages of the top 10 athletes increased for both men and women. For men, it went from 27 plus/minus 2 years to 34 plus/minus 3 years. For women, it went from 26 plus/minus 5 years to 35 plus/minus 5 years.)
The best male runners were significantly older than the best female runners (For men, 36 plus/minus 3 years. For women, 30 plus/minus 3 years).
Of course, other factors like the development of better training techniques, more knowledge about nutrition, and innovative tech have likely had an impact on race times over the decades. The study also referenced data showing that across the 70.3 distance, women achieved their best performances between 25-39 and men between 18-39.
It’s interesting to note that, on average, the faster IRONMAN triathletes appear to be older than the faster elite marathon runners. Researchers suspected this may be due to knowledge and skill being more important in a multi-discipline event that takes 12+ hours. This type of wisdom and experience is typically gained over time.
If you bump up to the ultra-distance triathlon category (specifically 3X IM) the age of peak performance was 25-44.
What aging up means for you
What if you didn’t start doing triathlon until you were in your 30s? Like Matt and I. Are your best times already behind you when you’re just getting started?
What if you’re doing your first triathlon at the age of 40 or 50? Has your window of opportunity passed you by?
Absolutely not.
Each individual is unique, and your potential for improvement in the sport has a lot to do with your background. For example, if you’re a 50-year-old triathlete who’s been competing since you were 25, then you may not see many PR performances in your future.
But sometimes all you need is a little reframing. I love this tip from Schmitty of Triathlife, whose goal is to be the oldest competitor at Kona someday. He has this incredibly smart and refreshing theory about the PR or PB (personal record or personal best).
“I’m not ever going to run a 3:21 marathon again. That happened when I was 38. I’m three age groups further down my life path. So I’ve reset talking about all my bests to ‘Masters PR’ or ‘Best over 50.’ And that’s ok. I have new standards and goals, and I want to compete against the athlete I am now versus the athlete that I was.”
Let’s say you’re 35 years old and just getting started in triathlon, or 45 and want to do your first 70.3, or 55 and preparing for your first Ironman, then you will absolutely see improvement over time. Would it be on par with your past-self at age 20? No. But to my knowledge nobody has invented a time machine yet, so dwelling on what might have been in an alternate reality is a waste of time.
The bottom line is that as you age up in triathlon, you also gain more experience, wisdom (hopefully), mental strength, and adaptability.
A 45-year-old athlete who’s been competing in long course triathlon for over two decades has much more knowledge and experience to draw upon than the 25-year old who’s just starting out.
Also, due to the relatively high cost to entry, most people don’t have the time or resources to devote to competitive triathlon until they’re more established in their careers, have a family, ect. which typically happens in 30s-40s. That’s why these are often the largest and the most competitive age groups in triathlon.
Know this: No matter how old you are, you define your own limits. Nobody else.
Allowing others to impose their beliefs about age on you prevents you from discovering what you’re truly capable of. Only you get to decide what you want to pursue and when.
If someone says you’re too old, they’re often projecting their own fears or misconceptions. The best response is to focus on your own efforts, cultivate self-belief, and remind yourself- and them- that age is no match for hard work and determination.
BONUS: Triple Threat Life Club Members- “Aging Up Advantage: How to Use Experience to Outperform Your Younger Self"
For masters athletes, it can be hard to maintain motivation, especially when your pace isn’t what it once was and your days of achieving PRs seem behind you.
For access to this bonus content, sign up for the Triple Threat Life Club.