PR's Revisited

[MichaelMc]

"I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken..."

Michael

[Corpus Cani]

Found this at Wikipedia:

World records were not officially recognized by the IAAF until January 1, 2004; previously, the best times for the marathon were referred to as the 'world best'. Courses must conform to IAAF standards for a record to be recognized. However, marathon routes still vary greatly in elevation, course, and surface, making exact comparisons impossible.

Thanks Darth.

Looks like I was wrong on this one Michael, just shows I haven't been keeping up with things.

Well I was until 1st. January 2004.

[Corpus Cani]

I would think that the track is almost always faster. The top guys like Geb have always ran a bit faster on a track.
If you have a faster road time you can be sure it is because of a favorable wind or a drop in elevation.
I doubt very many average runners have ever had the chance to run many track races for comparison.
It is a pretty rare opportunity to find a track 5 or 10 unless you are an elite.
En route PB's do tend to be in events close in distance where average speed is nearly the same.

Pat, can't you take yourself and a couple of mates down to your local track and run your own 5/10km.?

I stand by what I said earlier, track are slower than road times, even more so for us; the great unwashed.
I think you will find around a 2 minute difference over 10,000m. Don't take my word for it try it out for yourself

Just checked Adeel's figures

Gebrselassie 20km. Road. 55m. 48s.
,, 20,000m. 56m. 26s.

Gebreselassie 30km. Road 1h. 28m 01s
Toshihiko Seko 30,000 1h. 29m. 18s

Kenensia Bekele 10km. Road 26m. 17s.
Gebrselassie 10,000m. 27m. 02s

[rundmc]

Gebrselassie 20km. Road. 55m. 48s.
,, 20,000m. 56m. 26s.

Gebreselassie 30km. Road 1h. 28m 01s
Toshihiko Seko 30,000 1h. 29m. 18s

Kenensia Bekele 10km. Road 26m. 17s.
Gebrselassie 10,000m. 27m. 02s

Bekele has never run a road 10k. He ran 26:17 in Brussels in August 2005, it was definitely on the track. Here's a picture:

http://www.futanet.hu/hir/img_2006/beke ... rddal.jpeg

Gebrselassie's 10k on the road was 27:02, 40 seconds slower than his best on the track.

Geb's 20k is slower on the track because the old record was very soft. He ran just fast enough to beat it. He broke Arturo Barrios' record of 56:55, which dates back to 1991. He was running en route to breaking Barrios' record for the one-hour run, another very soft record.

The 30k is similar. Seko isn't nearly as good as Geb, and no one takes the 30,000 seriously at all (75 laps of a track?). If there were pacemakers, money and glory on the line the way there is in a marathon, you would see that time drop to maybe 1:26.

[Pat Menzies]

CC, I can't agree on that. Unless the road course has a drop or a tailwind it seems extremely unlikely.
On the track the surface provides perfect energy return. The option of wearing spikes further enhances energy return in the lower legs and that gives a faster time.
I once jumped into a track 5k after missing the start of an 800 and ran faster than I ever have on any other surface.
I wouldn't think running a group time trial would give a realistic comparison.
I race much better than I do in training. Even in a "competitive" training situation.
I would agree that the times could be very close if the road course is very track-like.
I remember Mark Nenow running a WR road time of 27:22 at the Crescent City Classic and then a 27:20 at the Van Damme Memorial.