Consecutive Period Race Pair Statistics for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

CPRP - a near-perfect benchmark measurement unit
CPRP – a near-perfect benchmark measurement unit

A Consecutive Period Race Pair (CPRP) is a convenient unit of measurement to assess the period-on-period improvement or decline in the performance of athletes. For the example of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, it requires us to identify perfectly each runner in successive races after which one can examine how each runner performs over time, or how a group of runners (e.g. all female runners below the age of 40) performs over time.

Repeating the same race is what matters
Repeating the same race is what matters

For the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon over the period 2010-2016 there were 7 races and, therefore, 6 sets of successive periods. Within each race, besides gender classification, there is the possibility of race-wise (half or full marathon) and age-wise categorization. I ignore the elite runners as I consider only recreational (non-professional) runners. The goal is to focus on the general population to understand how its athletic performance changes over time.

Proportion of Runners who are Repeats
Of all the runners who ran the SCMM over this period, a significant proportion were relevant for forming a CPRP, meaning they were repeat runners in the same race in consecutive years. This is useful because it allows us to describe what the entire population of recreational runners does over time, even if they did not repeat the same race in the subsequent year.

A large proportion of repeats
A large proportion of repeats

Over time, this proportion has increased for various reasons and suggests that distance running is typically something that many runners pick up for the longer term and, like is happening globally, is a positive social/cultural change.

The Results – No Comment!
What follows are tables of results. I do not want to pass detailed comment and leave it to you to reach whatever sets of conclusions you would like to reach about what has transpired over the last 7 years for each sub-category.

How has the recreational running population as a whole improved/worsened over time?

All CPRP improvements/worsening over time H = Half, F = Full
All CPRP improvements/worsening over time H = Half, F = Full

What Proportion of Men in the Open Category Improve/Worsen Their Race Performance?

These days about half the men get better, the others don't
These days about half the men get better, the others don’t

What Proportion of Women in the Open Category Improve/Worsen Their Race Performance?

The few women who opt to run the full seem to be improving so far
The few women who opt to run the full seem to be improving so far

What Proportion of Veteran Men Improve/Worsen Their Race Performance?

Men aged over 45 seem to struggle
Men aged over 45 seem to struggle

What Proportion of Veteran Women Improve/Worsen Their Race Performance?

Do more of the women over 40 understand themselves better than the men do?
Do more of the women over 40 understand themselves better than the men do?

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Dr Purnendu Nath spends his waking hours focusing on helping individuals and organizations reach their goals, to make the world a better place. He speaks, writes and advises on topics such as finance, investment management, discipline, education, self-improvement, exercise, nutrition, health and fitness, leadership and parenting.