Can I Beat The World's Fastest Old People? - Mark Lewis

Aug 13, 2025

Intro

This is a quick summary of “Can I Beat The World’s Fastest Old People?” from Mark Lewis. It’s a fun watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the workout today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points

Use age‑group world records as pace targets. Mark grabs the British Masters 400 m record times for each age bracket and challenges himself to beat them.
Progressive challenge: start with the oldest category (95 yr) and work down to younger ages, seeing how fast you can go at each step.
Split focus: aim to hit a specific 200 m split (half‑lap) that will put you on pace for the target 400 m time.
Practical tip: treat the 400 m as a sprint interval – warm‑up, then a hard effort, then a short recovery before the next age‑group attempt.

Workout Example

Warm‑up – 5‑10 min easy jog + dynamic drills.

400 m attempts – pick an age‑group record and run the lap aiming to beat the listed time. Use the following benchmarks (all times are for a single 400 m lap):

Age Group	Target 400 m Time	Approx. Pace
95 yr	2:21	5:41 min/km (9:10 mi)
90 yr	1:54	4:45 min/km (7:38 mi)
86 yr	1:38	4:12 min/km (6:45 mi)
80 yr	1:18	3:45 min/km (6:03 mi)
75 yr	1:09	3:30 min/km (5:38 mi)
70 yr	1:04	3:22 min/km (5:24 mi)

Execution – start the run, hit the 200 m split roughly half the target time (e.g., 30 s for a 1:00 target), then give everything for the second half.
Recovery – walk or jog 2‑3 min, then repeat with the next younger age group.
Cool‑down – 5 min easy jog + stretch.

Closing Note

Give this “old‑people sprint ladder” a go and see which age‑group record you can chase down. You can easily customise the paces to match your own fitness level in the Pacing app – just input the target 400 m time and let the app calculate the splits. Have fun, stay safe, and keep proving that age is just a number!

Remember to watch the full Mark Lewis video for the behind‑the‑scenes moments and more inspiration.