hi guys,
would like to know how a 10k time on a track compares with a 10k time on a track (a fast flat 10K)
Iam getting many different answers…
If you could direct me to any serious articles or have long time experience I would like to hear your comments.
so for e.g. if you run 33 min on the track for 10k in god conditions how would that compare with a fast road race.
Also how much faster do you run a 10k race vs a time trial ?
cheers
p
I don’t have any articles, but my coach told me to expect approx. 15 seconds faster on the track over 5,000m compared to a flat 5k road race. For a 10k, maybe 30 seconds or so?
I’m curious to hear what others think. I guess on a road course with lots corners, and if you run the tangents, then it’s possible certain road courses may be quicker?
I would just check the WR times for both, and from there you can do a % to your times…WR’s are a good barometer because they have been attacked by all the best in the sport, on every course and conditions…As to track, you have to do different differences for indoor and outdoor too, but use the WR there too…
Provided you’re a fit athlete, the average is 3.33% slower on the roads.
I would move the scale towards the 4-5% range for most road races becasue many of the times used are road races that were designed to be fast, like Carlsbad 5000. There are rules about the elevation drop/gain in order to count the time as a ture open time, so your average road race will not be as fast as a course like CB5000.
33min track would be around a 34:05ish, but could see 34:39… on a flat fast course.
No idea on the TT. Depends on the persons ability to focus. One of Gebs 5k records, he ran the last half of the race alone. Who knows what he would have run if is pace makers had been up to the task.
Thanks for that info could you name me the source for those calculation (the 3.33%)
the 10 road race record is 6 years old would that suggest it isnt that prestigious as the 10 k track world record and there for 40 od seconds slower ???
interestingly enough gebreselassies 20k record on the track is 56.25 min
on the road it is 55 48.
Its interesting many people have the believe that a 400m track is actually slower because of the bends than a flat road race.
from my guts feeling, Id agree with, that the track is 10- 15 sec faster for 5 k over a fast course which is still within IAAF legal rules. That seems a reasonable bench mark. and All i need to know 
but still interested.
I asked 10 people yesterday and 9 out of ten said that the track is slower …
p
I’ve run 15:50 for a 5k TT on the track, best road 5k race was 16:10. Never ran a 10k on the track so no direct experience there.
I’d expect the 5k track to be faster than most road 5ks:
Though a flat out-and-back closed course road might be close to the track speed.
I’m not gong to drag any of the people that I’ve worked with over the years into the conversation. I guess I can’t speak for them. Sorry bout that…
I’ve had the opportunity to work with and pick the brain if some of the best coaches and athletes in the world and the 3.33 was a general rule used for highly trained athletes. It’s a baseline, but there is no way to be exact.
Racing on the track, like stated above by someone else, is very constant and the surface is designed to be fast… or durable. But tis a fast surface. Road racing on the other hand is a totally different animal. Road races have personality. if you know the course well, you’ll have an advantage and be able to run faster on it. Knowing the tangents, the turns, the ups and downs.
So the 3.3 is a baseline, but the road course will dictate the true conversion. If you raced the same road 5k 10 times in a year, you’d be faster becasue you were training over the year, but also faster if the course is learned and you can plan your efforts to maximize your energy.
It seems the road is generally a bit slower:
i find it intersting that not one person has come up with a somewhat scientific article.
which involved more subjects
I certainly agree that the track is faster but I would not be surprised that at around 15-16k there is a turning point as in the bends you do put different forces on each leg (use only own experience) which at some stage are likely to tighten muscles and slows one down.
not so suprisingly walkers tend to be faster on the road than on the track .
and gebresalassie was faster over 20 k on the road (IAAF legal conditions ) than 20k on track, when over 10 k he was indeed faster on the track .(of course thats only a single person but he is not such an bad person to use, as he runs well on every surface)
i find it intersting that not one person has come up with a somewhat scientific article.
which involved more subjects \\
I think I did just that, but not in the published sense…Go look at all the world records through the years, and compare them to each other, and to runners that have done both the track and road. You have to do a little work, but it would be scientific, and involves a lot of subjects. In order to set a WR, you have to beat everyone in the world at that time, so the subjects are limitless…It is the pointy end of the scale, so you will have to use % to get what you are looking for in your own personal range. It’s pretty much the same thing that is used in swimming to determine the difference between yards and meters pools…
i find it intersting that not one person has come up with a somewhat scientific article.
which involved more subjects
I certainly agree that the track is faster but I would not be surprised that at around 15-16k there is a turning point as in the bends you do put different forces on each leg (use only own experience) which at some stage are likely to tighten muscles and slows one down.
not so suprisingly walkers tend to be faster on the road than on the track .
and gebresalassie was faster over 20 k on the road (IAAF legal conditions ) than 20k on track, when over 10 k he was indeed faster on the track .(of course thats only a single person but he is not such an bad person to use, as he runs well on every surface)
Because who is going to pay for it and what value would it be to the industry/sport? It would satisfy someone’s curiosity but has little relevance to the sport to know that. There are way too many variables involved.
"so for e.g. if you run 33 min on the track for 10k in god conditions how would that compare with a fast road race. "
I think that if I ran it in god conditions the times would be the same. Probably WR pace. :^)