Racing among the Ages: A Crowdsourcing Approach to Age-Grading the 5K - Paperback

by David P. Dyer Ph. D. (Author)

Age-grading metrics are used to compare performances of athletes of differing ages. With data from almost 1300 U.S. based 5K races, Racing among the Ages examines two methods for age-grading athletic performance. Current standards for age-grading, based on world records, fail miserably when applied to the performances of over one million real world race participants representing a wide range of athletic abilities. Here I propose and then develop in detail an improved method for age grading that is based on Participation Corrected Centiles (PCC). This approach is both more accurate and more credible than current methodologies. More importantly, it is applicable to race participants across the entire spectrum of athletic abilities. Extensive tables are included which allow athletes to determine their age specific centile and to compare their performance with that of any other 5K participant.

Author Biography

David P. Dyer received his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University and was a post-doctoral fellow in Statistics and Biomathematics at North Carolina State University. Employed for thirty-seven years as an industrial statistician and business analyst, his professional interests include data analytics, efficiency metrics, process design, economic optimization, experimental design, sampling, and market analysis. David's personal interests include sports math, running and racing, nine grandchildren, and his lovely wife, Kathy Mae.