Methodology and data sources.

What the calculator does

The calculator takes a raw finish time, distance, age and gender. It then compares that result with sourced road-running age standards for the same distance, age and gender.

From that comparison, TruePace Run shows an age-graded percentage and an age-adjusted equivalent time. The percentage gives a quick sense of how strong the result is against the relevant age standard. The adjusted time estimates what the performance is roughly equivalent to against the open standard for that distance.

A worked example

Take a 57-year-old male runner completing 10K in 55:00. In the current source data, the 57-year-old male 10K age standard is 31:35 and the male open 10K standard is 26:24.

The age-graded percentage is calculated by comparing the age standard with the runner's finish time: 31:35 divided by 55:00, shown as a percentage. Rounded for display, that gives 57.4%.

The age-adjusted equivalent time uses the same relationship in the other direction: 55:00 multiplied by the open standard, then divided by the age standard. Rounded for display, this gives an age-adjusted 10K time of about 45:58.

That does not mean the runner officially ran 45:58. It means the 55:00 performance sits roughly where a 45:58 open-age 10K would sit against the same set of road-running standards.

Supported distances and ages

TruePace Run currently supports 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon road-running results. Source standards are available in the calculator for ages 5 to 100; unsupported ages are not guessed.

Data source

Results use 2025 road age standards from Alan Lytton Jones' Age-Grade-Tables project (CC0-1.0). The source project is published under the CC0-1.0 licence, and TruePace Run keeps the source note visible near calculator results.

Source repository: Alan Lytton Jones Age-Grade-Tables.

Uses CC0 road-running age standards. Results are informational age-graded estimates, not official WMA rankings. Source files: 2025 Files/MaleRoadStd2025.xlsx, 2025 Files/FemaleRoadStd2025.xlsx at commit 4aac6737cb9f216c90a0a610355667cd3d921c61.

What the calculator does not adjust for

Age grading is useful context, but it is not a full performance model. TruePace Run does not adjust for:

• heat
• humidity
• wind
• hills
• course surface
• race congestion
• training status
• injury or health

Those factors can change the difficulty of a race substantially, so the result should be read alongside course conditions, training history and common sense. It is not coaching advice, medical advice or a prediction of what someone should be able to run.

Independence and limits

TruePace Run is independent from parkrun, World Masters Athletics, USATF, race organisers and timing providers. Results are informational estimates only. They are not official WMA rankings, parkrun results, race results, qualification decisions or timing-provider records.

Editorial and source standards

Articles are written to explain the calculator in plain English and to help runners make better sense of their own results. Source links are shown when an article relies on outside data, research or public definitions. TruePace Run avoids copied tables, invented citations and claims of official status.

If a calculation or article looks wrong, please report it with the distance, time, age, gender and page URL so it can be checked against the source data and current methodology.