Explaining performance in elite middle-aged runners: contributions from age and from ongoing and past training factors.
Researchers have contended that patterns of age-related decline are not necessarily due to age, but rather to disuse, or declining practice (Bortz, 1982; Ericsson, 2000; Maharam, Bauman, Kalman, Skolnik, & Perle, 1999). A regression approach was used to examine age and training variables as predictors of 10-km running performance between 40 and 59 years of age. A sample of 30 Masters runners (M age=50.1 years, M 10-km time=39:19) reported data for ongoing training, cumulative running in the past 5 years, and cumulative running earlier in a career. In Analysis 1, ongoing training variables explained more variance in performance than age alone, and reduced the unique variance attributable to age in a combined model. In Analysis 2, findings were replicated using past cumulative running variables and age; running in the past 5 years explained more unique variance than age alone. Discussion focuses on how findings relate to the selective maintenance account (Krampe & Ericsson, 1996), how various aspects of training help to preserve performance in aging populations, and recommendations for future research.
Young
Bradley W
BW
School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, ON Canada.
Medic
Nikola
N
Weir
Patricia L
PL
Starkes
Janet L
JL
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging; D054874:Athletic Performance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012420:Running