Running age categories explained: senior, V40, V50 and more

Race results sort runners into age categories so that a 55-year-old can be compared with other runners in their fifties, not only with people half their age. This guide explains the codes you will see on UK results and how age grading works.

Why races use categories

Running performance changes with age. Most distance runners are at their quickest somewhere between their mid twenties and mid thirties, and slow gradually after that. Age categories give everyone a fair comparison and a realistic target. Most races award prizes to the first man and woman in each category as well as to the overall winners, and a category position is often the most meaningful number on your results line.

Common UK category codes

There is no single set of codes that every race uses, but the ones below cover most UK road events.

The veteran codes are usually combined with a letter for sex. You will see the same band written in several ways:

• MV40 and FV40, male veteran and female veteran. Some races write LV40, for lady veteran.
• M40 and W40, or M40 and F40, which is the style used in masters athletics.

All of these mean a runner aged 40 to 44. "Veteran", "vet" and "masters" mean the same in this context: an older age group, not a comment on experience. A first-time runner aged 52 is a V50.

Five-year and ten-year bands

Larger races and championships use five-year bands as shown above. Smaller races often use ten-year bands to keep the prize list manageable, so V40 covers 40 to 49, V50 covers 50 to 59 and so on. The code looks identical in both systems, so check the race information to see which applies.

Where veteran categories start

In UK road running, veteran categories have traditionally started at 35 for women and at 40 for men. That is why many results show an FV35 group but no MV35, with men aged 35 to 39 counted as seniors. Under World Masters Athletics rules, masters competition starts at 35 for both men and women, and a growing number of UK races follow that pattern and offer M35 as well as W35. Neither approach is wrong. It is the organiser's choice, within the rules the race is run under.

The senior category is everyone between the junior groups and the first veteran band. Overall winners are drawn from all categories together, so a fast V40 can win the race outright as well as the category.

Which date decides your category

For veteran categories the usual rule is your age on the day of the race. If you turn 40 the day before, you run as a V40. If your birthday is the day after, you are still a senior or V35 for that event. Your category is worked out from the date of birth on your entry, which is one reason to enter it accurately.

Junior age groups can work differently. Under 20 and younger groups are often set by your age on a fixed date in the competition year, not on race day, and road races also have minimum ages that rise with distance.

Age grading in plain terms

Age categories compare you with people in the same band. Age grading goes a step further and puts every runner on one scale, whatever their age or sex.

Your age grade is a percentage. It is your time set against the world-best standard for someone of your age and sex over the same distance. The standards come from tables maintained for masters athletics. If the standard for your age and sex at 10K were 30:00 and you ran 50:00, your age grade would be 30 divided by 50, which is 60 per cent.

The higher the percentage, the better the performance for your age. Because the standard slows as you get older, your age grade can hold steady while your actual times slip, which makes it useful for tracking form over many years or for comparing with a friend of a different age.

Using your category

Find your category position on the results sheet, using our guide on how to read race results, and you have a fair benchmark for next time. For a sense of what times are realistic, see what is a good finish time, and to move up the placings, browse the training plans.