Dr Beat Knechtle has conducted much of the research on age and ultramarathons; the 59-year-old Swiss GP is also an ultra-athlete himself. It’s a lot to do with experience and mindset, he says: “Experience, starting slow, going slow, focusing on the aim … younger athletes always tend to want to achieve a place, a podium, a time. The older ones like me say the first aim is to finish, and finishing means preparing and going to the race knowing it takes, for example, 5 or 10 or more days.” Knechtle has just completed a terrifying-sounding “deca iron”, which is 10 triathlons in 10 days; he was the only finisher (the professional triathlete who came second gave up after seven days).
Is there a physiological limit beyond which no amount of tactical advantage will be enough? Knechtle suspects about 70, though he does mention several ultra-winning 70-year-olds, including one who beat him. Older people, he speculates, have free time to focus their energies on training.
The whole article can be found at the following link: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/19/never-past-your-prime-13-peaks-we-reach-at-40-or-later