Good For Age

Hi

I keep hearing about 'good for age' times and as I didnt understand what it was about I did some googleing. There are some race specific GFA times (VLM, Edinburgh, Boston etc) but these are based on age and time. I have seen an iPhone app called Score My run that also includes the hilliness of the run.

I was wondering what people's views are on using a GFA calculator ? Is this information giving me anything I dont already know ? (apart from if my run was good for age or not). Is it worth getting this app or should I just use my times to rate my own performance ?

Cheers

I'd not bother with an app. Isnt the aim to improve your times ? Not slow down with age anyway ?  

By all means console yourself with being 'quite good for your age' but just by running you're ahead of 95% of people your age anyway.

http://wavacalculator.appspot.com/

this can give you an age equivalent time.park runs give you these so you can compare your percentage with others........younger and older..

the GFA are just times set by different races  to get their numbers right...

wava is great to compare father and son  race times though.the young can be so cocky about teir times until they see the WAVA scores 

As a 53 year old, I like WAVA grades. My times are not getting any faster, but my WAVA percentage is still more or less what it was fifteen years ago, so I should really be satisfied. (I'm not, of course!) I dont need WAVA to compare with my son yet, but now he's been running almost a year, it may start to be brought into play.

runs-with-dogs wrote (see)

I intend to use the WAVA headings as an incentive for my dad when I manage to cajole him back into running again. He's 66 now and he used to run a 3:15 marathon. I'm not sure what the 66 year old equivalent is of his 35-ish year old time, but I'll be finding out!

It's easily done.  Stick 35yrs/3:15 in the calculator that Seren linked to above and it gives you a WAVA score of 63.6.  Plug that back in for a 66yo and it gives you 4:14.

Obviously being a "Vet" I'm paying more attention to WAVA numbers all the time , but you need to remember that they're based on world best performances at different ages, and tend to get a little softer the higher you go, because older athletes aren't going to be full-time like their younger, elite, sponsored counterparts, and there are simply fewer people at the older end competing.  Still a useful incentive to keep going though.

I track the wava ratings but don't take them too seriously, in my view they flatter the older folk (like me!). Going up an age group is more stimulating. Heading for M50 and can't wait to set a string of pbs.

seren nos wrote (see)

wava is great to compare father and son  race times though.the young can be so cocky about teir times until they see the WAVA scores 

Relying on WAVA to beat your own offspring must be a sad day for any runner

wait till you get old stevie

i'd be such an old dad there won't be any prospect of me starting a race, let alone finishing one!

Stevie G . wrote (see)

i'd be such an old dad there won't be any prospect of me starting a race, let alone finishing one!

I thought you were only in your 20s??

alas the winds of time age us all

I don't fart that much.