Creating a Sample of Marathon Race Results for Age Analysis

The first step in analyzing the age grading system and its alternatives

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

How do you effectively compare the race results of two athletes in different age groups?

That’s the question I’m tackling in a series that I’ll be working on over the next few weeks. Currently, the most widely adopted method is to use the age grading system maintained by World Masters Athletics.

How Do You Compare Race Results Between Age Groups?

While this system has its uses, it’s not without its flaws. See the original article in the series for some of the potential issues.

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The first step in developing an alternative to the current age grading system is to collect a suitable sample of race results to use as the basis for analysis.

And that’s what I want to talk about today. What races should we look at — and once I’ve collected the data what does the sample include?