This time around we’re taking a look at the men’s Division I 400.

To start, below is a chart of the percentile rankings for the 400 in Division I. These stats come from the 2009 Outdoor Conference Championships.

                                     10th                 25th                 50th                 80th                 Total

                                    Percentile        Percentile        Percentile        Percentile        Entries

Division I                    47.04               47.92               48.92               50.53               590

Winning times in the 400 in Division I range from 45.01 to around 47.75. A few of the weaker conferences have winning times over 48 but most are 47.75 or under. Here’s a look at the top times in D1 Conferences. Please note, top times could be run in either the trials or finals.

Top time:

Under 46.0                              4 Conferences

Between 46.0 and 47.0           13 Conferences

Between 47.0 and 48.0           10 Conferences

Over 48.0                                3 Conferences

We use the sixth fastest time (again in either trials or finals) to compare the last scoring place. Please note that some conferences score to 8th place but we use sixth place for consistency purposes.  The sixth fastest time at each Outdoor Conference Championships ranged from under 46.5 to 49.5, again with a few weaker conferences over 49.5. It took under 46.5 to be in the top six in the SEC and the Big 12. Here’s a look at the rest of D1.

Sixth fastest time (trials or finals)

Under 46.5                              2 Conferences

Between 46.5 and 48.0           8 Conferences

Between 48.0 and 49.0           14 Conferences

Over 49.0                                6 Conferences

To give you an idea of what it takes to be competitive, we also look at last competitive time. That is the last place time, minus anyone significantly off the pace. Basically, everyone in the race ran this time or faster. In D1, all Leagues with the exception of four had a last competitive time of 52.4 or faster.

Under 50.0                              4 conferences

Between 50.0 and  51.0          7 conferences

Between 51.0 and 52.4           15 Conferences

Over 52.0                                4 Conferences

A more detailed breakdown of these statistics are available to subscribers of RunInCollege.com. The database has over 45,000 individual performances from this year’s outdoor Division I, II and III conference championships. Athletes can see where they would have finished in any conference championship in the country and can rank the conferences by first-place performance, sixth-place performance and last competitive place.

To give you a general idea of what it takes to be competitive, below is a chart using 2009 Conference Championship results, showing the 10th, 25th, 50th and 80th percentile for women runners in the 1500.

                                    10th                 25th                 50th                 80th                 Total Runners 

Division I                    4:28.3              4:37.9              4:47.2              5:04.0              617

Division II                   4:41.6              4:50.2              5:02.5              5:31.5              232

Division III                 4:47.2              04:57.5            05:10.5            05:32.7            520

I generally used the 80th percentile as the minimum to “be competitive” in each division, although much depends on which conference you are competing in. In a field of 617 runners in D1, 120 people ran slower than 5:04 so it’s not an absolute minimum but more of a guideline. Of course keep in mind, 500 people ran faster than 5:04 at the D1 Conference Championships in 2009.

Not all conferences are created equal. In the Pac-10, the last-place finisher ran a 4:40. So looking at our chart above, you need to be in the top 25 percent of all D1 1500 meter runners just to compete in the Pac-10.

To give you an idea of what it takes to make the field in the various conferences, we look at “last competitive place.” This is the last-place finish, minus anyone who was significantly off the pace.  So if someone finishes 20 seconds behind the second-to-last person, we don’t count them. Again, the idea is to provide a time you need to run to be competitive. Another way to look at “last competitive place” is this: everyone in the conference ran at least this fast.

This chart might help for D1 Conferences

If you Run                           You would been faster than the last competitive time in

4:50                                        24 Conferences

5:00                                        17 Conferences

5:10                                        8 Conferences

5:20                                        4 Conferences

In Division II there are only 15 conferences. Last competitive place in the top six conferences was 5:18 or faster, with the toughest conference being the Great West Conference which had a last competitive place of 4:52 (good for 15th place).  The last competitive time for the next five conferences is between 5:18 and 5:40 and the bottom four range from 6:05 to over 7 minutes.  So for Division II:

If you Run                           You would been faster than the last competitive time in

4:50                                        All 15 Conferences

5:00                                        13 Conferences

5:20                                        9 Conferences

5:30                                        6 Conferences

In Division III there is also a wide range of competitive times

If you Run                           You would been faster than the last competitive time in

5:00                                        All 30 Conferences

5:15                                        24 Conferences

5:30                                        19 Conferences

5:40                                        12 Conferences

5:50                                        8 Conferences

As you can see, there is no magic number you need to run to be a D1, D2 or D3 runner. But the closer you are to the 50th or 25th percentile, the more options you’ll have at that level. If you run a 5:05, your options in D1 will be limited with many more prospects at the D2 and D3 level.

A more detailed breakdown of these statistics are available to subscribers of RunInCollege.com. The database has over 45,000 individual performances from this year’s Division I, II and III conference championships. Athletes can see where they would have finished in any conference championship in the country and can rank the conferences by first-place performance, sixth-place performance and last competitive place.

To further assist high school runners, we will use this space to provide further analysis on specific events and conferences. Please check back for analysis of your event. Up next — A look at the women’s 1500.