By John Mounteer *

We all run for different reasons, including losing weight, improving our health, making new friends, or competition. I run for all these reasons. As a senior runner (68 years old), one of my motivators is a hope to delay the onset of dementia which is common in my father’s side of my family. I also enjoy the excitement and competition of races.

As we get older, we inevitably slow down. When I do training runs with my old high school buddies up north, we mostly jog. They’ve had more health issues than I have, and although they are still mobile, they don’t have much speed left. For most “serious runners”, getting faster means running and competing with faster people. One of the reasons I enjoy running with younger people when I’m in Florida is that they motivate me to run faster.

John in one of his 27 podium finishes (Photo courtesy of John Mounteer)

Winter in South Florida is a runner paradise, especially compared to the cold, snow and ice in upstate NY where we live in the summers. The humidity is a factor to deal with, but it beats frostbite. The number of fall and winter races here, is extraordinary. Every weekend we have a choice of multiple races at all distances within an hour’s drive. We can choose from very competitive, fast, large races with thousands of participants and thousands of dollars in prize money for the top finishers, to a local Fun Run and Walk. There are benefits to both types of events.

Large competitive races have the benefit of letting you know how you measure up against other serious runners your age. This can have two effects: motivation to train harder or despair that you’ll never get a spot on the podium. You may have to face the fact that you are a small fish in a big sea. I am a small fish. I was never fast. Even in my high school. cross country team, where the first 5 runners count, I was lucky to place 4th or 5th, way behind the fast guys. My “age percentage” (my finish time compared to other runners of my age and sex) is around 60-66%. That means that at least a third of runners my age, are faster than me, and some are much faster.

In comparison, smaller races allow you to be a big fish in a small sea. Some small races still give medals in each five-year age group, although ten-year groups have become more common. The competition does thin out as you move up the age groups. I’ve run in races where almost everyone who showed up and ran was a winner! It feels good to get a place medal even knowing that you’re not the fastest runner in the area, but you were the fastest in that race that day.

You must do some searching to find the local, smaller races. Since we moved to Florida, I’ve run in dozens of small races, so I’m a lot of email lists and get notices for many of them. So can you by searching your local listings online.

John and Coach Adolfo after the 2022 Tamarac Turkey Trot, in Tamarac, Florida

I’ve been running mostly 5k and some 10k races in Florida for about 10 years, and in that time, by cherry picking small races I’ve gotten 27 age group awards – ten 1st place, nine 2nd place, and eight 3rd places. And, in really small races I have a 2nd and a 3rd overall. That’s crazy fun!

I’ve had great luck by searching for a couple of key phrases, “1st Annual” and “fun run”. Another thing to consider is what other competitive races are occurring on the same weekend. It’s likely that the fast runners will be there and won’t rain on your parade.

Some might think that “cherry picking” races is a form of cheating, and maybe it is, but winning medals helps motivate me to keep training. My method also works better in the younger and older age groups where there is less competition to begin with. I don’t recommend that anyone does just easy races. I find that it still important to do the competitive races so that I don’t become complacent, but the feeling of standing on the podium is addicting.

Final words: Pay attention to your body and don’t overdo it while you’re young. I’ve had some injuries, but not as many or as bad as some of my contemporaries who ignored pain and did permanent damage. The secret to being competitive in older age group running is just to make it to next age group. Thanks to all my South Florida running family for keeping me going!

*John Mounteer is a runner who splits time between Upper State New York and Broward County, South Florida. While in Florida, he runs with Hollywood Run Club, Runner’s Depot Run Club and No-Club Runners. He is also a good friend.