Changes to Target Times for 2016
Note to runners preparing for the 2016 racing season: we've made major changes to the Kansas honor-roll standards that should make it easier to qualify.
The Kansas road-running honor roll has been in existence for about 30 years and was maintained for most of that time by Millard (Jack) Crook.
There were only a few minor revisions to the initial standards over that period, a time when race organizers often invited some of the best runners in the country and there was generally a high level of competition among "recreational" runners. (Note that Frank Shorter is tied for 40th on our Male Open 10K list, several other Olympians are on the list as well, and the Kansas-resident record holder is only 14th on the list from a race in which he finished fifth - in 1994.)
In more than 30 years, only 11 Kansas residents achieved the Male Open standard of 30:15, and only one of them since 1994.
The Male Open list included a "Kansas Additions" standard of 31:00, which was achieved by only 19 Kansas residents, only four of them in the past 15 years.
A similar pattern is evident in the marathon, where the state record dates from 1982 and only three Kansas residents in the past 15 years have qualified under the long-standing honor-roll mark of 2:32:00 - this at a time when the "second running revolution" has produced a boom in the number of marathons and marathon finishers.
The Kansas honor roll was based in part on tables devised by the World Association of Veteran Athletes, now known as World Masters Athletics, to allow comparisons based on age and sex and compensate for the decline associated with aging.
WMA revised those tables in 2015 to account for improved performances in recent years, so we decided the time was right to revise the Kansas honor-roll standards.
We have reviewed the standards for every event from the one mile through the marathon, calculated the age-graded percentage for every age group under the updated WMA standards, and revised most - but not all - of those standards.
We have used the WMA tables as guidelines in making these revisions, not as absolutes, and they are subject to future revision.
In the vast majority of cases, but not all, we have considerably relaxed the previous standards. The exceptions largely apply to older age groups at the more popular and frequently run distances. The original standards for many of those were relatively "soft," having been established at a time when few older people were running at all, much less running at a high level.
In recent years, that has changed. More runners are staying with the sport as they age and running at a higher level than ever before, and many who ran in their younger days have returned to the sport.
For the most part, in revising the honor-roll standards we have lowered the mark to the previous Kansas Additions standard (where there was one) or lower and have incorporated the Kansas Additions list into the overall list for each age group.
In a few cases, where there were existing times on the list that didn't meet the published standard, we have retained those times on the list. Most of these are very old listings that date from a time when few people in that age group were competing. We have tried to avoid deleting anyone currently on the list. In the future, we may review the softer times with a view toward deleting some and making standards more consistent across the board.
In some cases, notably the marathon, we have established a Kansas Additions list where none existed before in order to recognize more achievements by Kansas residents. The marathon has seen a moderate number of qualifiers in many age groups in recent years - most of them out-of-state runners presumably taking part through 50-states groups, Marathon Maniacs, or similar organizations. There hasn't been a similar increase in Kansas-resident qualifiers, whom we hope to recognize through the Kansas Additions revisions.
Revised standards are indicated by ";2016 REVISION" adjacent to the target time (indicated by T.T.) for that age group. Some target times were not revised, particularly in younger age groups. In these cases, there is no "2016 REVISION" noted adjacent to the target time.
We have left the 12K and 15K standards unchanged except to lower some standards in order to incorporate already listed times in certain age groups. The existing standards are soft, but there are currently no 12K races and only one 15K and few people have qualified at either distance.
As time permits, we will review past races for which results are available and include runners who qualify under the revised standards.
We invite runners who didn't qualify under previous standards but who qualify under the new standards to send us their names, times, and race details. There must be some objective verification of the time such as a finisher's certificate or race-results list. Qualifying races are listed under the RACES RESEARCHED tab for each event.
We also encourage runners to provide results for any races not included on the RACES RESEARCHED tabs. We update results on a regular basis.
We welcome your comments.
Dick Lipsey & Gene Wee
Honor Roll Target Times
All individual times that meet or better the listed "Target Time" established for each age group and distance, will be listed in the state Honor Roll files. However, these Target Times (abbreviated T.T.) are subject to being updated from time to time to stay in line with changes in the World Masters Athletics published factors for each distance and age within that distance.
Our regional T.T.'s are then adjusted to be more attainable than the World factors. Our regional factors are also sometimes adjusted when it becomes obvious that our T.T.'s are too lax or too difficult to attain.
In the primary Honor Roll, all times are listed that bettered the T.T.'s in any single age group during the past racing season. This is followed by the "ALL TIME BESTS" list that shows only the "best" time that each individual has achieved since the start of course certification in Kansas in the 1970's.
Additional T.T.'s times achieved by each individual are shown in the Log File APPENDIX listed for each sex, age group and distance. Also note that in some instances we list some BEST TIMES that are inferior to the Target Time. These are usually older times in events with few results.
Age Groups
- 12 & under
- 13-15
- 16-19
- OPEN - this grouping includes all ages, but is the only group in
which ages 20
through 34 can be listed
- 35-39
- 40-44
- 45-49
- 50-54
- 55-59
- 60-64
- 65-69
- 70-74
- 74-79
- 80-84*
- 85 & up**
* At present, most distances except the 5K have only an 80 & UP group and some of the longer distances may not have any qualifiers in this group.
** A 90 & UP group may be established for some distances (see 5K)
In some events and age groups, a “Kansas Additions” list has been added to recognize Kansas residents who don’t meet the primary standard.