“Age-Old Runners” is an article series where we explore runners’ performance potential after the age of 45 by interviewing excellent middle-aged runners. Is there still potential to improve? What roles do motivation, mindset, and specific training and recovery techniques play in allowing runners in their mid-forties to mid-sixties to continue to excel? To learn more about this series’ goals, check out its introductory article.
Most of the runners I’ve interviewed for this series have said something to the effect of, “The longer the race, the greater my potential to improve despite my age.” So it seemed like it was high time to interview
How a Masters Runner Set Three American Records in Two Days
Dan King, 61, hit the age-group marks for the mile, 3,000 meters, and 5,000 meters in just over 24 hours. Kajsa Swanson
It took a little more than 24 hours for 61-year-old Dan King to rewrite the men’s outdoor track record book in his age group.
On December 11, at the Five and Dime meet in Columbia, South Carolina, King ran the mile in 4:52.68, shaving 0.33 seconds off the existing 60–64 record of 4:53.01, set by Nolan Shaheed in 2012.
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The following day, King stepped on the track for the 5,000 meters and finished in 16:48.67, which bettered the previous mark (16:52.00) that had stood since 1985. King averaged 5:24 per mile pace. En route to the 5,000 record, King passed 3,000 meters in 9:58.77, making it three records on the weekend. (The previously held record for the distance, which is rarely run outdoors, was 10:07.58. Shaheed still hold