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HR for male distance runners over age 50

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55in13
55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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So I got a HRM to better gauge effort and calculate burn. Running roughly 10 miles in 100 minutes last night, I was pretty consistently in the low 160s. This number scares some people; my brother is worried I will keel over. I think that is pretty good; it is near but below the average max for my age (I am 54) and I think I am in better than average shape with respect to cardio. But I wanted to get some feedback from other guys (not being sexist, but the average max for women is lower) over 50.

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  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
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    I am not at all your target audience for this request (I'm 44 and female) but I also just bought a HRM and my average HR for my 10K run on Saturday was 166 so I'm chiming in anyway because I'm curious to see what kind of responses you get.:smile:
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    Here is a calculator page I found that uses a few different formulas:

    http://www.digifit.com/heartratezones/maximum-heart-rate.asp

    Laura - it says you are just under max for a 44 yo female. But these numbers are estimates based on averages. The average person in or beyond middle age cannot run over 5 miles, so I take them with a grain of salt.
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
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    Thanks! The final half mile or so I was pushing as I could see the end in sight, but the rest of the time I felt like I was running at a comfortable pace. It was my first time attempting to run 10K so I wanted to make sure I could finish.
  • smiffy645
    smiffy645 Posts: 167 Member
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    This is something I have wondered about for ages. I'm 52 and have tracked my heart rate for the last year for all runs, I would guess my average for a reasonable pace run is about 155 to 160. Looking at the heart rate profile it is high for the first half a mile or so and then drops back down to the usual level. My personal view is you won't damage you heart by exercising at this level as long as there is not a pre existing defect. I'm interested to follow this thread and see what others think.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    I'm 53 and my average for easy runs is usually 120 to 130 at around a 9:00 pace. If I am reasonably rested it is around 150 at a 7:00 pace.
  • txguard61
    txguard61 Posts: 51 Member
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    You need to do some testing to figure out your max HR. I did it a couple of years ago, pretty tough. It involved some sprinting, I would have to google the test back up again, and I am sure mine has changed by now with all the speed work and weight loss.

    I am 52 yrs old, 6' and 173 lbs. My long steady runs (10 to 12 miles) I average 155 bpm. Hard efforts are about 172 to 178. In the heat that goes up to about 182 during speed work. It is going to differ for everyone. The 51 year old I run with will be running about 160 while I am at 145. He is shorter and a bit heavier than he should be though. So you are going to need to find out what your max is and work it from there.
  • Ke22yB
    Ke22yB Posts: 969 Member
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    I am 65 about 5'9" and currently 185 and I have frequent conversations with my GP and cardiologists because of my history of morbid obesity and severe hypertension 5 years ago. I had a cardiogram in may prior to my first race and was deemed fine. During my training runs I average between 135 and 142. During the 10K I was almost dead solid at 154 for 70 minutes, My Drs looked at the print out thru polar HRM and were fine with that HR. My resting HR is down to 48 BPM from 85 5 years ago and my recovery is usually no more than 4 or 5 minutes to go from 130's after a run to 60s resting.
    Naturally in the heat and humidity it can rise alot quicker so I change from pace running to effort running and gauge my run by HR per HRM and not pace per GPS

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