All my races

For all my races I calculate a 10k equivalent time based on the formula 10k time = (6.21/D)^1.07*T where D and T are the distance and time for a known distance and a point value for the race which is just a constant divided by the 10k equivalent time.
If you are interested in converting the performance at one distance to an equivalent performance at another distance (1500m to a marathon), Runners World has an on line calculator.

At the end of each year I look at this point value to rank my races for the year. I also cut and paste into a master sheet which has the races I have run since I started in 1978. I import the data into Word and then print my ranked races by year, by distance range, and total, best to worst.

When I turned 40, someone told me about Masters Age Graded Tables, a book published by National Masters News ($6 + $1.25 postage/handling to: National Masters News, PO Box 50098, Eugene, OR 97405). These tables handicap your performance for each year after you turn 35, based on a standard for each event. I went back to my main sheet and added a column of age graded points for all races after I turned 35. Now I also print my ranked races best to worst, based on age graded points.

After reading a thread on slowing down with age, I thought I would publish my lists for anyone who wants to see how I cope with slowing down. For a while, I tried to stay competitive with my times from 5 years ago. Now, as I get slower, I compete against my younger self using the age graded point system.
Looking at my adjusted races, I see that my best race since 1994 is still only my 64th best race. But I can still compare how I did on course A in 1988 with how I ran the course last fall.

Here are my 20 best races of all time, based on the point system. I have other races I am proud of, such as a time I struggled to break 30 minutes for a 5 miler when it was 102 degrees. At the time, it was my worst point race of that year; now I cannot run nearly that fast in perfect conditions.

Distance	Date	Race	Time	Year	Pace	Points	Age
26.22	4/18/83	BAA	2:43:37	83	6:14	571	35
10	7/28/81	Newburyport	58:26	81	5:50	570	34
9.32	10/12/80	Manchester KC	54:28	80	5:50	567	33
9.9	7/18/81	Horse	58:12	81	5:52	566	33
10	8/3/82	Newburyport	58:52	82	5:53	566	35
10	7/29/86	Newburyport	58:52	86	5:53	566	39
10	5/21/83	Derry News	58:53	83	5:53	565	35
6.21	5/19/84	Pepsi	35:28	84	5:42	564	36
6.21	5/14/88	Nashua Trust	35:29	88	5:42	564	40
6.21	5/16/87	Pepsi	35:30	87	5:43	563	39
6.21	5/7/83	Pepsi	35:31	83	5:43	563	35
6.21	9/13/80	Oct/Lowell	35:34	80	5:43	562	33
6.1	11/20/83	Santa	34:54	83	5:43	562	36
5	11/10/85	Salem Screen	28:14	85	5:38	562	38
10	7/28/87	Newburyport	59:17	87	5:55	562	40
7.3	7/4/82	4th of July	42:23	82	5:48	561	34
6.21	5/15/83	Cancer	35:39	83	5:44	561	35
13.11	11/12/83	Lowell Elks	1:19:20	83	6:03	561	36
8	10/3/82	Freedom Trail	46:48	82	5:51	560	35
6.1	7/17/87	Pickering Wharf	35:04	87	5:44	560	39

Distance	Date	Race	Time	Year	Pace	Age Pts.	Age
5.7	12/6/92	Mill Cities	33:02	92	5:47	605	45
7.1	7/4/90	4th of July	41:23	90	5:49	599	42
6.21	5/14/88	Nashua Trust	35:29	88	5:42	598	40
6.21	4/12/92	Back Bay 10k	36:30	92	5:52	596	44
10	7/29/86	Newburyport	58:52	86	5:53	596	39
10	7/28/87	Newburyport	59:17	87	5:55	596	40
6.21	5/18/90	Gate City Classic	36:06	90	5:48	595	42
5	6/9/90	Windham Lions	28:40	90	5:44	594	42
6.21	8/11/89	Pickering Wharf	36:11	89	5:49	594	42
6.21	5/16/87	Pepsi	35:30	87	5:43	594	39
5	5/5/90	Wilmington	28:43	90	5:44	593	42
10	2/17/90	Tewksbury	1:00:18	90	6:01	593	42
5.9	11/15/87	Santa	33:52	87	5:44	593	40
5	10/8/89	Bobby Bell	28:46	89	5:45	592	42
6.21	5/13/89	Nashua Trust	36:04	89	5:48	592	41
5.6	12/6/87	Mill Cities	32:06	87	5:43	592	40
6.21	10/11/87	Oct/Lowell	35:52	87	5:46	591	40
5.6	12/4/88	Mill Cities	32:20	88	5:46	591	41
9.32	11/15/92	Tewskbury	57:19	92	6:08	590	45
6.21	9/11/88	Amherst	36:11	88	5:49	590	41

After compiling these lists I look for races on both lists. There were only three. Was my best race the 83 BAA, the 92 Mill Cities, or the 88 Nashua Trust, which was 9th on one list and third on the other? Too complicated to tell.

I made a leap of faith and said the age graded point system was valid. I could then see that 18 of my top 20 races were after I turned 40. Though I was slowing down, I was slowing less than the average runner my age was slowing down. I was racing well from ages 40 to 45, and I have not been racing well the last few years. It doesn't surprise me that, even with additional age points, none of the top 20 were after 1992. I really began to slow down after 1996. I am not sure why.

In 2001 I was diagnosed with EIA. Some of my races have been disasters, meaning I started o.k. based on my fitness but had breathing problems during the race which really slowed me down. In those races I put in parantheses the point where I had the breathing problem - (3.5) meanings 3.5 miles into the race.

To maintain formatting I made the lists in pdf format. To view them, you cannot download them. Then you need Acrobat Reader. To view the lists from within your browser, you need the pdf viewer installed in your browser's plug-in folder.

All 718 of my races ranked best to worst by points.

All 718 of my races ranked best to worst by age points.

Sorted by year then ranked by points.

Races sorted first by distance range, then by points.

Last updated 12/27/05.