Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
i love stats
Nope. That's the median.
The average is what happens when you add 'em all up, and divide by how many there are.
If the distribution of running times is symmetric, then yes, they're the same. I have no reason to suspect that running times are distributed symmetrically.
For one, this is not a random selection of all people who run 10K; rather, it is a self-selected group of people who elect to participate in 10K races. For another, the rules change if a prize is involved. Large prizes draw competitors, where "fun-runs" draw crowds.
http://centerspace.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/CDF-of-running-data.png
Another problem with competitive racing is the application of cutoff times, which eliminate the long tail which would otherwise occur in the distribution
M O B J E C T I V I S T: Marathon Dispersion
Furthermore, simply looking at some actual figures, we see the following distribution of times from a 10K in Ottawa last year, with over 8000 participants: Ottawa Race Weekend
minutes count proportion
30 13 0.2%
40 166 2.0%
50 1039 12.4%
60 2754 33.0%
70 2441 29.2%
80 1079 12.9%
90 386 4.6%
100 229 2.7%
110 165 2.0%
120 60 0.7%
130 14 0.2%
The average finish time was 63 minutes. The median finish time was 61 minutes. This means half finished in under 61 minutes, and half finished in over 61 minutes, but there were some stragglers who brought up the mean.
Note that of the 8,346 finishers, fewer than 15% finished in under 50 minutes.
[/geek]
As a former 70-minute 10k gal, trust me, I was trying. 39 minutes for a 10k is faster than most folks could manage, no matter how hard they tried.
average in my book.
average in my book.
average in my book.
Nope. That's the median.
The average is what happens when you add 'em all up, and divide by how many there are.
If the distribution of running times is symmetric, then yes, they're the same. I have no reason to suspect that running times are distributed symmetrically.
For one, this is not a random selection of all people who run 10K; rather, it is a self-selected group of people who elect to participate in 10K races. For another, the rules change if a prize is involved. Large prizes draw competitors, where "fun-runs" draw crowds.
http://centerspace.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/CDF-of-running-data.png
Another problem with competitive racing is the application of cutoff times, which eliminate the long tail which would otherwise occur in the distribution
M O B J E C T I V I S T: Marathon Dispersion
Furthermore, simply looking at some actual figures, we see the following distribution of times from a 10K in Ottawa last year, with over 8000 participants: Ottawa Race Weekend
minutes count proportion
30 13 0.2%
40 166 2.0%
50 1039 12.4%
60 2754 33.0%
70 2441 29.2%
80 1079 12.9%
90 386 4.6%
100 229 2.7%
110 165 2.0%
120 60 0.7%
130 14 0.2%
The average finish time was 63 minutes. The median finish time was 61 minutes. This means half finished in under 61 minutes, and half finished in over 61 minutes, but there were some stragglers who brought up the mean.
Note that of the 8,346 finishers, fewer than 15% finished in under 50 minutes.
[/geek]
As a former 70-minute 10k gal, trust me, I was trying. 39 minutes for a 10k is faster than most folks could manage, no matter how hard they tried.