As the years roll on and the chance of a PB has disappeared into the sunset, age-grading has given me the motivation to train a little harder and more often.
I'll never be able to achieve what I did in my forties and fifties but I can compare my previous times using this system. I think that the first time I came across WAVA or age-graded was when I entered the PFR winter handicap. It gave me a chance to look at my performance and compare it with people who were younger and faster. The Power of 10 site provides you with a whole host of information.
These are the top 10 age-graded performances for me:
Event | Perf | Points | AGrade | Age | Pos | Venue | Meeting | Date | |||||||
1 | 5M | 31:30 | 67.72 | 81.36 | 56 | 65 | Oxspring | South Yorkshire Road League | 8 Apr 09 | ||||||
2 | 10M | 65:37 | 67.64 | 80.87 | 56 | 16 | Selby | Selby 10 | 13 Sep 09 | ||||||
3 | 10K | 40:18 | 66.63 | 80.72 | 57 | 102 | Rothwell | Rothwell 10K | 3 May 10 | ||||||
4 | 10K | 40:22 | 40:18 | 66.52 | 80.59 | 57 | 86 | Barnsley | Barnsley 10K | 15 Nov 09 | |||||
5 | HM | 87:59 | 67.30 | 80.20 | 56 | 65 | Bridlington | Bridlington Half Marathon | 18 Oct 09 | ||||||
6 | 10K | 42:31 | 42:21 | 63.15 | 78.52 | 60 | 112 | 3 | Royston | Barnsley 10K | 18 Nov 12 | ||||
7 | HM | 90:43 | 65.28 | 77.78 | 56 | 47 | 1 | Liversedge | Liversedge Half Marathon | 15 Feb 09 | |||||
8 | HM | 92:26 | 64.06 | 77.74 | 58 | 39 | 2 | Doncaster | Isle of Axholme Half Marathon | 11 Sep 11 | |||||
9 | HM | 94:33 | 94:22 | 62.63 | 77.42 | 60 | 86 | 1 | Roberttown | Liversedge Half Marathon | 10 Feb 13 | ||||
10 | 5KNAD | 20:50 | 61.92 | 76.99 | 60 | 12 | 1 | Barnsley | Barnsley parkrun 5K Event 102 | 12 Jan 13 |
No matter what age I run at, I can set myself realistic or not so realistic targets to aim for. It motivates me far more than anything else. I've managed to achieve over 80% on five occasions. Now that I'm retired, I might be able to get somewhere near that 80 figure again. I wasn't too far off my previous excursion at Liversedge in 09, which is quite promising considering the lack of training this winter.
One PB I should be able to set is for a 5k. I've only ever done the Locke Park run but I'm determined to go to Doncaster this year. Due to work commitments, I've never managed it before.
I'm not sure which age-graded system Power of 10 uses, but I'll need to run a 1:31 ish half-marathon and a 68 min 10 miler. Let's hope the weather improves and I can get back to some sort of training.
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