John B
12-11-2009, 13:31
Below is the Jan. 2010 Running Times p. 09 "Did You Know" and "Quoteworth" column in its entirity:
"Did you know as U.S. marathon participation numbers have risen from 143,000 in 1980 to 425,000 last year, average finishing times have gotten much slower. In 1980, the median finishing time for male runners in US marathons was 3:32:17 (roughly 8:06 per mile), whereas last year the median finishing time was 4:16 (or a 9:45 pace) (Median times for men have fluctuated between 4:15 and 4:20 since 2002.) For women, the median marathon time in 1980 was 4:03:49 (9:17 pace), compared to 4:43:32 (10:48 pace) last year.
Quoteworthy
"It's a joke to run a marathon by walking every other mile or by finishing in six, seven, eight hours. It used to be that running a marathon was worth something -- there used to be a pride in saying that you ran a marathon, but not anymore. Now it's, 'How low is the bar?'"
Adrienne Wald, Women's Cross Country Coach at the College of New Rochelle, who ran her first marathon in 1984."
"Did you know as U.S. marathon participation numbers have risen from 143,000 in 1980 to 425,000 last year, average finishing times have gotten much slower. In 1980, the median finishing time for male runners in US marathons was 3:32:17 (roughly 8:06 per mile), whereas last year the median finishing time was 4:16 (or a 9:45 pace) (Median times for men have fluctuated between 4:15 and 4:20 since 2002.) For women, the median marathon time in 1980 was 4:03:49 (9:17 pace), compared to 4:43:32 (10:48 pace) last year.
Quoteworthy
"It's a joke to run a marathon by walking every other mile or by finishing in six, seven, eight hours. It used to be that running a marathon was worth something -- there used to be a pride in saying that you ran a marathon, but not anymore. Now it's, 'How low is the bar?'"
Adrienne Wald, Women's Cross Country Coach at the College of New Rochelle, who ran her first marathon in 1984."