Age & Weight Grading Calculator Analyzes Race Success

There was a three and a half year gap between my previous and new PR marathons.

I had made a number of changes in how I trained for the latter marathon. I could chalk the PR up solely due to those changes, but I also must recognize that I’m seven pounds lighter now.

Naturally, I’ve been wondering how much of my success was due to carrying seven less pounds versus being better trained. I knew they were both factors, but I didn’t know exactly how much of a role each played.

And then there was the question of age-grading - I was three and a half years younger in 2003.

In timely fashion, this month’s Runner’s World had an article in it called What’s Your Ideal Weight. The article had a link to an age and weight grading calculator - a tool that allows you to analyze your successes by comparing race times with a calculation involving your age and weight when you ran those races.

So I compared my 2003 PR:

Age: 36
Weight: 167
Marathon Finish Time: 3:43:53

with my 2007 PR:

Age: 39 (actually, I was one month shy of the big 4-0)
Weight: 160
Marathon Finish Time: 3:38:28

And here is what the Flyer Handicap Calculator had to say about those stats:

1. My 2003 result would have equaled a 3:18 marathon at the age of 25.
2. My 2007 result would have equaled a 3:13 marathon at the age of 25

What this means is that with weight and age factored out of the equation, my training is responsible for a very substantial improvement - just the kind of news I wanted to hear.

And that’s not taking into account the differences between 2003 and 2007 race course difficulty. The 2007 course was much more difficult than the 2003 PR course. I estimate I would have run this latest marathon at sub 3:30 if I had run it on the 2003 course.

And how would the picture have looked if I had run it in 3:30? It would have equated to a 3:07 marathon at age 25. Cool.

The Flyer Handicap Calculator is a terrific tool. It’s provided me with objective evidence that my training has been immensely successful.

Give it a try and tell us your stories!

Written by Mark Iocchelli · Filed Under Science and Research, Tools for Runners, Training 

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