Dives: Once and for all, how much faster do they make you?

I always heard that a relay start was .7 faster than a flat start. Back in my youth, the typically bandied-about figure was .5 faster for a relay start, but I agree that those who really anticipate things perfectly and practice with their teammates can probably eke out a bit more advantage. A dive from the block is 2 sec faster than a pushoff(I can't remember the reference,but that was the average in tests.) .7 seems about right for relay starts,but it depends on how good your relay start is. This is good to hear! Back in the body suit days, I would take my pushoff practice times for a 100, subtract 1.5 seconds for the pushoff, then another 2 seconds for the body suit, but often perform a bit better when the actual meet came around. God I miss those body suits! What I am also wondering, however, is this: With age, how much are starts affected by deteriorating reaction time? My teammates uniformly point out that I am usually the last one off the blocks. I was never a great starter, but it seems like it takes a lot more time for the sound of the gun to reach my muscles these days. Have others noticed a loss of reaction time? Is there anything you can do, short of asking the starter to rig you up with a cattle prod, to improve this? Or does slowed nerve conduction velocity never speed up again?

I always heard that a relay start was .7 faster than a flat start. Back in my youth, the typically bandied-about figure was .5 faster for a relay start, but I agree that those who really anticipate things perfectly and practice with their teammates can probably eke out a bit more advantage. A dive from the block is 2 sec faster than a pushoff(I can't remember the reference,but that was the average in tests.) .7 seems about right for relay starts,but it depends on how good your relay start is. This is good to hear! Back in the body suit days, I would take my pushoff practice times for a 100, subtract 1.5 seconds for the pushoff, then another 2 seconds for the body suit, but often perform a bit better when the actual meet came around. God I miss those body suits! What I am also wondering, however, is this: With age, how much are starts affected by deteriorating reaction time? My teammates uniformly point out that I am usually the last one off the blocks. I was never a great starter, but it seems like it takes a lot more time for the sound of the gun to reach my muscles these days. Have others noticed a loss of reaction time? Is there anything you can do, short of asking the starter to rig you up with a cattle prod, to improve this? Or does slowed nerve conduction velocity never speed up again?