Question

In 1982, the winner of the Boston Marathon was A. Salazar, whose time was 2 hours, 23 min and 3.2 sec. The marathon race covers 26 miles and 385 yards. Given that one of the traditional definitions of standard performance is a person walking at 3.0 miles per hour, what was Salazar’s performance rating in the race?

Answer 1

first, we need to convert the time in hour and distance covered in miles

So, time taken was 2 hours 23 min and 3.2 sec = 2 hours + (23*0.017) hours + (3.2*0.00028) hours

{here we multiplied minute by 0.017 because 1 minute = 1/60 hour or 0.017 hours

similarly 1 second=1/(60*60) hour = 0.00028 hour}

So, time taken = 2.4 hours

Calculation for the distance

Distance in miles = 26 miles + (385/1760) miles

{we know that 1 yard = 1/1760 miles}

So, distance in miles = 26.2 miles

Using the formula average speed = distance/time = (26.2miles)/(2.4 hours) = 10.9 miles per hour

Performance rating = [(Salazar speed)/(standard speed)]*100 = [(10.9)/3]*100 = 363.33%

So, the performance rating of Salazar was 363.33% higher as compared to standard speed.