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Another Way to Look at Race Times: Using Age-Grading to Level the Playing Fields between Young and Old. By Therese Iknoian As much as we hate to admit it, we do slow down with age. But although our times in a weekend fun run or on a walk around a park might not be as fast as they once were, we might be just as fit as a younger friend. You can turn to a book of tables developed by the World Association of Veteran Athletes to figure out how you rate, either to challenge your own fitness or to sneak a little fun competition into your runs or walks. The tables use a best-possible time as 100-percent performance potential for each age (based on a world record). Once you know your age's potential, you can calculate your own percentage of that. With that figure to compete against, you can better challenge yourself, compare yourself to others around the world, devise age-appropriate goals and perhaps give your self-confidence a boost when you discover you're running or walking "faster" that someone younger doing the same pace! Here's an example: Joe is 40, and he can run 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in 19 minutes. If he held the world record for his age, he'd be able to fly through the distance in a breathtaking 13:28.8. Instead of beating himself up for not being able to get closer to 16 minutes, Joe can divide the world record in seconds by his time in seconds (808.8 divided by 1140) and find out he's already reached 71 percent of the potential for his age. So now let's compare Joe's 19-minute 5K to his friend, Ray, who at 34 can just barely edge out Joe with an 18:45-minute 5K. Check the charts and divide the 34-year-old world-record time of 12:58.4 in seconds by 18:45 in seconds (778.4 divided by 1125) to discover that the older Joe, although slightly slower, is actually more fit than Ray who is only running at 69 percent of his potential! Gotcha! Age wins! You don't have to compete to rate your times. Fitness walkers can check out how they're doing compared to others, too. Once you've reached about 35 percent of your potential, you're going to improve your fitness. A 45-year-old woman who walks a mile in 17 minutes is already at 40 percent, and a 60-year-old woman who walks the mile in 19:38 has also reached 40 percent. To reach 55 percent, the 45-year-old would need to stride the mile in about 12 and 1/2 minutes, while the 60-year-old could reach 55 percent with a 14:15 mile. The numbers on the tables can become a little addictive as you start to compete with yourself: Let's see if I can do the distance X seconds faster, how many percent would I raise myself? Unfortunately, as you get faster, it gets more difficult to make huge gains, but even those fractional increases can be like a carrot dangling in front of your nose. This could be one trick to keep yourself going on an exercise routine. And who doesn't need a trick now and then? ---- If you're interested in receiving a booklet with a full set of age-graded tables, as well as explanations and sample formulas, send $6, plus $1.25 postage, to: National Masters News, P.O. Box 50098, Eugene, OR 97405.
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