You know the feeling. You've done a few races, and had some OK times, but how do you know if you are actually improving?
Sure you can look at the place you come, but this is highly variable when you try difference races - certain events may have a much greater depth of competition and this will affect any placings you achieve.
Well there is another way, and it is called percentage behind. What it does is allow you to compare your time with the winner in your age group. By calculating the percentage behind for each race you'll get more of an idea whether you are improving or not, and by how much.
As you get more competitive, you'll notice that the same people tend to do well in different events, and you'll know roughly how far behind those people you are.
To calculate percentage behind: P%B = (Your Time (sec) - Winners time (sec) ) / Winners Time (sec) * 100
For example, Steve finishes 10th in his age group for a Sprint triathlon.
His time of 1:05:55 converts to 3955 seconds. Bill won in 0:58:54 (3534 seconds).
So the formula is: P%B = (3955 - 3534)/3534 *100 = 11.91% behind
But it doesn't end there, you can also calculate percentage behind for swim, bike and run legs - should you do more swimming? Weak on the bike? Percentage behind can help you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and show you where you need to work in order to improve more rapidly. You can also plot percentage behind over time to see if you are actually improving.
Table of Percentage Behind
| < 5% | elite/elite age group |
| <10% | highly competitive |
| < 15% | competitive |
| 20% - 60% | varying stages of seriousness |
| > 60% | social, beginners |