What is age grading?
Age grading puts every runner on the same scale, regardless of age or sex. It compares your finish time with an age standard: the best time considered achievable by someone of exactly your age and sex over the same distance. The result is a percentage that lets a 68-year-old woman, a 24-year-old man and a 45-year-old club runner compare their performances fairly.
age-graded (open-equivalent) time = your time × open standard ÷ age standard
This calculator uses the 2025 road running age standards developed by Alan Jones, working with single-age best performances compiled by Tom Bernhard, and approved by the USATF Masters Long Distance Running Council on 10 January 2025. The standards are the successor to the WMA 2020 tables and are published in the public domain (CC0).
What your age-graded percentage means
| Score | Level | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 100 % | World record level | Matches the age standard — the best known performance for that age. |
| 90 %+ | World class | Contends for world age-group titles and records. |
| 80 %+ | National class | Wins or places in national age-group championships. |
| 70 %+ | Regional class | Regularly places in age groups at larger races. |
| 60 %+ | Local class | A strong, well-trained club runner. |
| Below 60 % | Recreational | Most regular runners; plenty of room to improve with structured training. |
2025 age standards: 5K, 10K, half and marathon
These are the age-standard times (100 % performances) from the 2025 tables at selected ages. Your age-graded percentage is simply the standard divided by your time.
Men
| Age | 5K | 10K | Half | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 12:49 | 26:29 | 57:31 | 2:01:33 |
| 25 | 12:49 | 26:24 | 57:31 | 2:00:35 |
| 30 | 12:49 | 26:24 | 57:31 | 2:00:35 |
| 35 | 13:03 | 26:39 | 57:56 | 2:00:35 |
| 40 | 13:32 | 27:24 | 59:41 | 2:03:15 |
| 45 | 14:03 | 28:30 | 1:02:11 | 2:08:39 |
| 50 | 14:36 | 29:43 | 1:04:55 | 2:14:32 |
| 55 | 15:13 | 31:01 | 1:07:54 | 2:20:59 |
| 60 | 15:52 | 32:27 | 1:11:10 | 2:28:05 |
| 65 | 16:35 | 34:01 | 1:14:46 | 2:35:56 |
| 70 | 17:26 | 35:45 | 1:18:45 | 2:44:40 |
| 75 | 18:43 | 38:06 | 1:24:13 | 2:55:51 |
| 80 | 20:42 | 41:54 | 1:33:00 | 3:13:54 |
Women
| Age | 5K | 10K | Half | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 13:54 | 28:49 | 1:03:22 | 2:16:01 |
| 25 | 13:54 | 28:46 | 1:02:52 | 2:10:05 |
| 30 | 13:57 | 28:49 | 1:03:00 | 2:10:09 |
| 35 | 14:12 | 29:11 | 1:03:50 | 2:11:31 |
| 40 | 14:38 | 29:54 | 1:05:29 | 2:14:14 |
| 45 | 15:19 | 31:00 | 1:08:05 | 2:18:26 |
| 50 | 16:11 | 32:36 | 1:11:49 | 2:24:24 |
| 55 | 17:09 | 34:33 | 1:16:20 | 2:32:36 |
| 60 | 18:14 | 36:45 | 1:21:27 | 2:43:08 |
| 65 | 19:29 | 39:14 | 1:27:19 | 2:55:18 |
| 70 | 20:54 | 42:06 | 1:34:04 | 3:09:26 |
| 75 | 22:33 | 45:24 | 1:41:58 | 3:26:34 |
| 80 | 24:39 | 50:04 | 1:53:12 | 3:53:49 |
How to use your age-graded score
- Track progress across the years. Your raw times will eventually slow with age, but your age-graded percentage can keep rising if your training improves.
- Compare different distances. A 72 % 5K and a 66 % marathon suggest your endurance is lagging your speed — a useful training clue.
- Compare with friends and family. Age grading makes a parent-and-child or mixed-age club comparison fair.
- Enter age-graded competitions. Many parkruns, club championships and races publish age-graded results and prizes.
Use the right age. Use your age on the day of the race, not your age now. The standards are single-year, so the difference between 49 and 50 does change your score slightly.
Road vs track, and certified courses
These are road standards. Track races have their own WMA tables, and cross-country and trail races are not suitable for age grading because course difficulty varies so much. For the most meaningful score, use a result from a certified, reasonably flat road course.
Want to know what your age-graded performance could mean over other distances? Use the race time predictor, then set your training paces with the VDOT calculator.
- Jones, A. (2025). Age-Grade-Tables: 2025 road running age standards (CC0). github.com/AlanLyttonJones/Age-Grade-Tables
- USATF Masters Long Distance Running Council — approval of the 2025 road standards, January 2025.
Last reviewed: September 2026 · Health disclaimer