As much as many of us are in denial about it, the aging process is inevitable.  During the pubescent years fluctuations in performance are apparent, however, most athletes will end up with increase strength, endurance and coordination.  This cycle tends to be reversed after an athlete reaches his/her peak performance years.  This review article will focus on the performance trends for endurance athletes from mid-20s to early 70s.

                The reduction in endurance performance is usually characterized by a decrease in VO? max*.  With this being said, VO? max is only one of many factors that affect endurance performance.  A whole gamut of studies show that VO? max levels significantly decline from 25 years onwards.  The rate at which this happens is largely influenced by lifestyle factors and genetics, however, researchers show anywhere from a 5-15% decrease in VO? max per decade.  As a general rule, what this results in is that peak endurance performance occurs somewhere around 35 years of age and modestly decreases until 50-60 years of age...and then decreases more drastically from there onwards.  The two studies described below look at these changes more specifically in triathlon (Olympic and Ironman distances) and long-distance running (half and full marathons).

Age-Related Changes in Triathlon Performances

(R. Lepers, F. Sultana, T. Bernard, C. Hausswirth, J. Brisswalter)

                The author of this article looked at the 3 disciplines of triathlon and performance outcomes in relation to age.  Most studies looking at endurance performance use running as the modality, however, this article looks at running, swimming and biking individually as well as the author speculated what effect age has on Olympic and Ironman triathlon performance.  The nature of triathlon (3 events in succession; various lengths of competition) creates an interesting platform to investigate.

                The top 10 non-elite finishers of the 2006 & 2007 World Championships** in both disciplines were used in the analysis.  The results showed that the mean times of 2006 & 2007 were similar.  For both Olympic and Ironman distances, the performance ratios for each mode of locomotion decreased in a curvilinear manner with advancing age (Figure 1 below).  Comparisons of age related declines in swimming, cycling, running and total performance for Olympic and Ironman triathlons are presented in Figure 2 below. Age-related declines in performance were less pronounced for Olympic compared with the Ironman distance for cycling, running and total time from the following age groups and above: 55, 50, and 55, respectively.

 This study showed a reduced age-related decline in cycling performance compared with running and swimming performances for both Olympic and Ironman distance triathlons.  Also, age had a smaller effect on cycling and running performances for Olympic than for Ironman distance triathlon, but a similar age-related decline in swimming performance for Olympic and Ironman distance triathlon.  Take note that this study only used male participants. 

Age-related Changes in Marathon and Half-Marathon Performances

(D. Ridder, M. Leurs, T. Rüther, M.Wunderlich, A. Sievert, K. Baum, D. Essfeld)

                        For the purpose of this research, results from a sample of 69 marathons and 65 half-marathons held in Germany from 2003 to 2005 were used for analysis (156 717 marathon and 144040 half-marathon participants).

Female finishers required only about 10% (marathon) and 13% (half-marathon) more time than their male counterparts.  Mean running times of all finishers significantly increase per decade after the age of 50 years.  Our main finding is that (statistically speaking) there are virtually no relevant differences in marathon and half-marathon running times of subjects aging from 20 to 50 years.  Moreover, the age-related performance declines of 50–69-year-old participants are just in the range of 2.6–4.4% per decade. Figure 2 and 3 below illustrates time mean finishing times (horizontal line within the box on graph) for each age bracket.

   So is it all downhill after 35?  Not at all...it is quite evident from various studies that maintenance of training is of paramount importance for preserving endurance performance over longer periods of time.

 * VO? max = is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual.  It is measured in L/min.  For simplicity in this article we will define this as your overall fitness. 

**Olympic Triathlon = Lausanne (2006) and Hamburg (2007); Ironman = Hawaii