Frank Gore has plenty of miles on his odometer and not all of those are from freeway driving.

With his 29th birthday looming in May, the 49ers running back ranks fifth among active players in career rushing attempts and his medical dossier includes two torn ACLs (University of Miami), a fractured hip (2010) and nagging knee and ankle injuries that limited his effectiveness and workload during the latter stages of 2011.

Given the wear-and-tear factor with Gore, it’s possible the Niners could draft a running back for the third straight year.

Anthony Dixon (sixth round, 2010) isn’t guaranteed a roster spot next season and Kendall Hunter (fourth round, 2011) looks like a keeper, but not a bell cow of the future at 5-foot-7 and 199 pounds.

This is not to suggest Gore is done.

A look at the other active running backs ahead of him on the career carries list shows there can be plenty of life after 1,500 carries, a milestone Gore reached last year.

Of those four other backs, LaDainian Tomlinson and Thomas Jones actually averaged more yards per attempt on carries 1,501-2,000 than they did on their first 1,500 carries. The same goes for the recently retired Ricky Williams, who I included below to increase the sample size.

LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON (3,174 carries)

Carries 1-1,500: 4.36 yards per carry

1,501-2,000: 4.82

2,001-2,500: 4.47

2,501-3,000: 3.79

3,001-3,174: 3.48

THOMAS JONES (2,678 carries)

Carries 1-1,500: 3.97 yards per carry

1,501-2,000: 4.10

2,001-2,500: 4.11

2,501-2,678: 2.99

RICKY WILLIAMS (2,431 carries)

Carries 1-1,500: 4.00 yards per carry

1,501-2,000: 4.38

2,001-2,431: 4.22

STEVEN JACKSON (2,138 carries)

Carries 1-1,500: 4.37 yards per carry

1,501-2,000: 4.02

2,001-2,138: 3.83

WILLIS McGAHEE (1,790 carries)

Carries 1-1,500: 4.68 yards per carry

1,501-1,790: 4.64

FRANK GORE (1,653 carries)

Carries 1-1,500: 4.73 yards per carry

1,501-1,653: 3.54