PR or PB: A Clear Line Divides Record and Best

PR or PB? Which one did you accomplish during your fastest race? It may have been both, but it definitely wasn’t neither.

How is that possible?

If you are new to running, or just too embarrassed to ask at this point, we got you. It is actually quite simple. But, also not so simple that I can write you a short article on it.

What is a PR?

To PR is to set a personal record. It is based on the course you have completed at a certain distance in the fastest time ever, for you. Not to be confused with a course record, which is held by whomever was the fastest overall on that same course.

But if you change the course of a specific race then all bets are off, and new records get set. Why? Changes to the terrain, elevation, and even general direction can have influences over pace. There will be more on that later.

The personal record is just meant to be for you. It is your fastest time for a certain distance. You can have a PR for every distance you run, you can have PR’s for road, trail, or track, and you can even have PR’s for each course you have done (if you did it more than once.) But whatever time is your fastest, that is your PR for that distance.

What is a PB

A PB is exactly the same as a PR.

Article over.

Just Kidding, Come Back

The terms do literally mean the same thing, and it seems to be a geographical response.

In 1990 the World Athletics (formally IAAF) officially created the World’s Best distinction for the marathon, before changing it to a World Record in 2004 (we will get that more in a minute.) Being an international body it seems to have dictated that “Best” is preferred to “Record.”

Well, in comes the US. In fairness we had been using the term Personal Record for a long time for multiple sports and activities. To refer to your best running time as a PR was second nature.

With the official distinction set in 1990 and then the spreed of communication technology the term PB started to spread from Europe, Canada, and pretty much everywhere into the US. Funnily enough the WA then changed the term to World Record in 2004, then Boston revolted and brought back World Best. (More on that in a minute, keep reading.)

PR or PB, Just Not PBR

They do both mean the same thing. You can have a personal record or a personal best. But you can not a personal best record, cause that is redundant and already trademarked by someone else.

When to Use PR or PB?

Whenever you want, as long as it is describing your personal record/best time in an event or distance. You can’t say you PR’d that ice cream cone, or PB’d that job interview, But you can say either about a race.

Does a PR or PB Only Count in a Race?

Technically yes, but I see some wiggle room. A proper race is suppose to have their distance certified by a governing body, whether that is the World Athletics, the USATF, or someone else. That ensures that the race distance is accurate, something you do not necessarily get from your GPS watch.

GPS Doesn’t Quite Count

GPS is awesome and a great training tool, but is not 100% accurate. Stand near the end of a race and see how many people complain about the race distance. You will hear it was too short and too long compared to their watch measurement. GPS signals get blocked at many stages through your run by buildings, trees, clouds, and even space stuff like solar winds.

That is why if you run your own race using your watch for distance recording, it doesn’t quite count as an official time. But then there are such things as virtual races, where you do have to use your own watch. Technically, that is an official race because they took your money. So, I would definitely count it.

What is World Record vs World Best?

You can thank the people of Boston for this one. A World Record is the official term since 2004, before then it was World Best. In 2011 the World Best moniker was reappropriated by the Boston Marathon. That’s because they was upset that they had the fastest time, but weren’t going to get the credit.

The Guidelines to PR or PB

In 1990 the World Athletics (WA) wanted to create race guidelines to prevent unfair advantages. The idea was that some courses held an edge that allowed humans to exceed their actual potential.

Two of the major factors was no point to point races and net downhill had to be less than 1.1 meters per kilometer. Point to point races, especially those that in straight line like Boston, can give major advantages, and disadvantages, depending on the wind.

A tailwind (wind pushing you) can shave multiple minutes off of a finish time during a marathon. A headwind can be more divesting than a tailwind is beneficial. It creates a situation where either everyone is amazing, or they are garbage. Having the course loop, or go out in back, helps ensure that wind will be even in both directions.

And even though Boston has some uphills it registers overall at 3.3 meters of downhill per kilometer. Combine that with a killer tailwind and you can see why it would be a bit unfair to all the other races.

Official Score

When they set these rules it would mean that whoever held the fastest time overall for any course that was certified by these rules would obtain the title of World’s Best. Before 1990, technically any course with the fastest time could have it. In 2004 the WA changed the wording the World Record and began to officially keep track.

True Story

For example in 2011 Geoffrey Mutai had a time of just over 2 hours and 3 minutes, which was the fastest time in any marathon ever. The World Athletic said the record did not count due to Boston’s unique design and barred it from being credited as a World Record. In fairness there was a tailwind that day which pushed Geoffrey and other races faster down the course. The Boston Athletic Association (BAA), who organizes the race, in a snub to the WA, gave Geoffrey the designation of “World’s Best.”

Seems Unnecessary

It kind of is unnecessary to have the two different distinctions, and officially there isn’t. But for those courses that are primarily downhill the World’s Best title is unofficially on the line. But getting the fastest time. on a course like that seems a bit wrong. It’s similar to setting a video game on easy mode and bragging you got the high score.

In fact, just this year the Boston Marathon has begun to penalized marathoners who use downhill marathons to qualify for their race. They aren’t really doing it as punishment, but more to level the playing field. These downhill races only have so many entry slots and force many runners to try to get in on harder courses, which means that many more capable runners get shut out because they couldn’t get into a downhill race.

Fair Play

To give Credit to the WA they also refused to sanction the marathon time of Eliud Kipchoge when he broke 2 hours. While he was on a course that would normally fit the guidelines of the WA, so many other factors didn’t. There was no competition, water was delivered by bicycle, and he had pacers to guide and act as wind shields.

Last Thoughts PR or PB

Honestly, who really cares which one you use? If you do, you need to worry about something else.