Wall Street Journal: 'Are Europeans Faster Than Americans?' Features RunTri.com Analysis

Our comprehensive endurance racing coverage has included contributions to other sports media, including this Wall Street Journal article by Kevin Helliker about the New York City Marathon, published 10/31/13. Click any of the article images to be taken to the article on www.wsj.com.

For more, see our complete New York City Marathon Analysis; for even more, visit our more than 200+ Race Stats, Results and Analysis articles; and for everything else, see our site index, visit our Home Page.







For more, see our complete New York City Marathon Analysis; for even more, visit our more than 200+ Race Stats, Results and Analysis articles; and to see our site index, visit our Home Page.

Marathon Finishers by Geography: Chicago Marathon, New York Marathon, Paris Marathon and London













Ironman Kona World Championship 2013 Top 10 Finishers by Age Group and Geography
































Marine Corps Marathon Advice, Analysis, Pace Charts, and more

Detailed Race Data Analysis

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Course Description: The course showcases the best of Arlington, VA and the nation’s capital. The USATF certified route starts in Arlington, VA, and winds its way through Rosslyn along Lee Highway before turning on Spout Run and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Runners will experience a climb on Lee Highway in the first few miles of the course, but are rewarded with a descent along Spout Run and the Parkway.

After crossing Key Bridge into Georgetown, runners turn toward the Palisades Com- munity when the course follows Canal Road, up to the reservoir and down MacArthur Boulevard. The course guides runners down popular M Street in Georgetown.

Runners will turn on Wisconsin Avenue and then K Street. The course passes the Kennedy Center and takes runners into Hains Point at the halfway point of the race.

Outside Potomac Park, runners pass the Jefferson Memorial before entering the National Mall and running by landmarks like the Lincoln, FDR, Korean War and Vietnam Veteran’s memorials, Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol. Runners continue along Jefferson Drive and turn onto 14th Street to “Beat the Bridge” at Mile 20 before returning to Virginia.

For the last 10K runners will venture through the color and energy of Crystal City, pass the Pentagon and charge the hill to the finish at the Marine Corps War Memorial. It is truly a beautiful course and aptly nicknamed “The Marathon of the Monuments.”

New York City Marathon: Impact of Weather Conditions on Finish Times

We've closely studied the relationship between weather conditions and finish results over a multi-year period for some of the world's top endurance events, including the Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon and Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

We've also analyzed New York City Marathon results vs weather conditions over a 10-year period, and here are the results. While not definitive, it appears faster marathons in New York City are run when temperatures are between 48 and 52 degrees. Naturally, hotter days lead to much slower times.


For comparison, take a look at our analysis of Weather Condition Impact on Race Performance at the Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon.



For more, see our complete New York City Marathon Coverage, and for even more, see our comprehensive analytics archive, including more than 200 posts, in our Stats/Results/Analysis tab.

Marine Corps Marathon: Pace Charts by Age Group

We analyzed results of all 20,000+ finishers in the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon to identify the actual  splits at major checkpoints, and pace per mile of each age group, by section of the course. If you're looking to run at about the average pace for your age group, these are your targets. If not, use these as approximate guides to calibrate your own pace chart. For more, see our Complete Marine Corps Marathon Coverage.






Ironman SwimSmart Initiative = 3% to 4% Faster Average Swim Splits

As anyone who's been through it will tell you, starting the swim simultaneously with 2500 splashing, thrashing and smashing triathletes is unpleasant at the least. In response to the increasing challenges of mass swim starts, Ironman has introduced the SwimSmart Initiative in North America to eliminate many of the hassles and even the dangers of starting all athletes at once. The initiative has many very sensible elements, the most important being a self-seeded gradual swim start. Details here.

The Big Question: Will the SwimSmart Initiative Lead to Faster Swim Splits?

The answer, based on the initiative's debut at Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2013 is: a 3% to 4% faster swim, or 2.5 minutes faster, on average, compared to IM CDA's 2010 to 2012 swim splits; 5% or more if you just compare 2012 and 2013. More important is the improvement in results by age; many of the younger, and typically faster, age groups saw improvements in the 5% to 6% range. That's a 4 or 5 minute swim split improvement.

Safer swim starts and faster swim splits. Can't beat that. Here's our analysis comparing swim splits by age group at Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2012 and 2013.

For more, see our complete IM CDA 2013 Results Analysis, our Stats/Results/Analysis Archive or Home Page/Index.








For more on SwimSmart results, see the Triathete Magazine article featuring our analysis.









Marine Corps Marathon: Predicting Full Marathon Time Using Half Marathon Split

At the Marine Corps Marathon, when you get to the 13.1 mile point, you are likely to wonder what your finish time might be. At MCM, for the average runner, here's the approximate formula: half marathon time x 2.2 = full marathon time.


Example, if you're M30-34, and you've run a 2:03 half marathon, your finish time is likely to be 4:28. With an R-squared of .83, confidence in this prediction is fairly high. For more MCM stats and FAQ, see our Complete Marine Corps Marathon Coverage.




New York City Marathon Geographic Results Analysis: Finish Times by State/Country and its Age Groups

New York City Marathon Average Finish Times by State or Country and by the Region's Age Groups



For more, see our complete New York City Marathon Coverage, and for even more, see our comprehensive analytics archive, including more than 200 posts, in our Stats/Results/Analysis tab.

What Will Be Your New York City Marathon Finish Time? Predicting Your Results Based on NYC Half Marathon Time

What might your New York City Marathon Finish Time be, based on your half marathon finish times?

Glad you asked. We analyzed the finish times by age group, comparing results of 43,000 New York City Marathon finishers and 15,000 New York City Half Marathon finishers, and the answer is, on average:

2.2

As in, NYC Half Marathon Finish Time * 2.2 = NYC Marathon Finish Time (on average).


[Want a second opinion? See our New York City Marathon Average Finish Times by Age Group; for further comparison, see our analysis re: predicting Marine Corps Marathon Finish Times]

Here's more detail about finishers and finish times by event and age group that went into our analysis. For more, see our complete New York City Marathon Coverage, and for even more, see our comprehensive archive of 200+ Stats/Results/Analysis articles.










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