I Lost 1.88 seconds in the Last 19 years

FULL DISCLOSURE: The 100m is not my primary event. But I do believe in running various distances, including the odd 150m or 300m distances to shake things up. Because the faster your 100m, the faster your 200m. And the faster your 200m, the faster your 400m!

Let’s review a few key dates and 100m performances:

• 10.92 in 1991 (see my race video against Usain Bolt’s 9.58 at the end of the article)
• 11.95 as a M40 (age 44) at the 2007 World Masters Athletics Championships in Riccione (I started this Blog in May 2007!). This would be my last season racing until a few months before turning 60.
• Full Achilles Rupture in 2016 (right leg)
• 16 years off training or competing from 2007 to 2023 (But I did workout)
• 13.83 (-0.8) this week at a local County meet (with FAT timing and Wind readings) as M60 (age 62)

I wrote about some guidelines for Masters Men attrition rates per 5 year age groups after 40 years old:

• 0.5 sec for 100m (or 0.1 sec absolute 1 year loss)
• 1.0 sec for 200m (or 0.2 sec absolute 1 year loss)
• 2.0 sec for 400m (or 0.4 sec absolute 1 year loss)

So using some simple math, you can see I lost 1.88 seconds in 19 years, or about 0.10 every year.

Of course there are anomalies and outliers, like your training age vs your chronological age. Or if you have competed at a high level before, or not. One thing is certain: If you were a world class athlete as an open athlete, chances are you’ll be very fast as a Masters athlete. I can think of Bill Collins or Dwain Chambers as examples.

But Why Are We Slower?

Here are the 5 primary reasons why Masters sprinters run slower:

1. Loss of Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers (Sarcopenia)

Sprinting relies almost entirely on Type IIx and Type IIa fast-twitch muscle fibers, which generate explosive power. As we age, a process called sarcopenia begins, where the body naturally loses muscle mass. Crucially, this loss isn’t uniform—the body selectively loses the fast-twitch fibers first, or converts them into slow-twitch (Type I) endurance fibers. Less explosive muscle tissue means less force pushed into the track.

Sarcopenia is real, especially for Men over 40. I’ve read Men lose 10% of lean muscle mass per decade. Do the math, and that’s 1% every year! (Yes, I’m over 60 now!)

Hard to believe I’m close to my body weight (bathroom scale wise) from my College days at 82Kg, where I just celebrated my 40th anniversary from graduating at McGill University (Class of 1986)! But am I same body composition as 1986? Only a DEXA scan or Hume Health Body Pod will give me more insights.

2. Longer Recovery Times and Injury Caution

An open elite athlete can handle immense training volumes and intensities because their protein synthesis and hormonal profiles (like testosterone and growth hormone) are at their peak. After 40, recovery takes longer. Masters sprinters often have to train with less volume or slightly lower intensities to avoid hamstring tears and Achilles tendinitis. Less time spent training at absolute maximum intensity ultimately caps absolute maximum speed.

And you wonder why testosterone/”steriods” and growth hormone are so popular? Or, today in 2026, peptides like BPC-157?

3. Decreased Force Production and RFD

Sprinting isn’t just about how fast you move your legs; it’s about how much force you can drive into the ground in a fraction of a second. This is known as the Rate of Force Development (RFD). Because of the loss of fast-twitch fibers and changes in the nervous system, a Masters runner cannot recruit motor units as quickly or forcefully as an elite 23-year-old. Their ground contact time increases, making them slower.

HINT: look into some apps to measure this, like OptoJump or OVR Jump from ovrperformance. (I’ll link it when I do a full product review)

4. Stiffening of Tendons and Elastic Return

Elite sprinters use their tendons—especially the Achilles—like stiff rubber bands. When their foot hits the track, the tendon stores elastic energy and snaps back, providing “free” speed. Past age 40, collagen properties change, causing tendons to become less compliant and less efficient at storing and returning this elastic energy. The sprinter has to rely more on active muscle work, which is more exhausting and less explosive.

Remember my story of my standing vertical jump at the IAAF Museum in Barcelona back in 2012? The results were shocking (not a YouTube clickbait article)

5. Reduced Anaerobic Capacity and ATP-PC Efficiency

The 100m sprint is entirely anaerobic, powered almost exclusively by the ATP-PC (adenosine triphosphate-phosphocreatine) system, which provides immediate energy for about 5 to 10 seconds. Research shows that both the resting stores of phosphocreatine and the activity of the enzymes responsible for breaking it down decrease with age. A Masters sprinter simply runs out of “top-tier fuel” slightly earlier in the race.

This may be a shameless plugin for Creatine, something I’ve tried in the past, but never found it helpful. However, I am researching it again in 2026, so more on that later! SPOILER ALERT: preliminary results look good.

OK, what really determines a fast 100m time?

Here are 12 Factors that can determine the REAL 100 meter Performance, but only the top 3 are recorded for record purposes from a 2014 article:

12 Factors that Determine the REAL 100 meter Performance

So there you have it. Some facts on your 100m race performance. Good luck and stay healthy! Injuries suck!

A Video comparing a 10.90 sprinter to Usain Bolt’s 9.58 World Record

This is how it feels to run the Preliminary Rounds at a World Championship when you run 10.90. It’s a different world out there!