Question 10.32

10.32 The Boston Marathon. Women were allowed to enter the Boston Marathon in 1972. The time (in minutes, rounded to the nearest minute) for each winning woman from 1972 to 2015 appears in Table 10.4.

Table : TABLE 10.4 Women’s winning times (minutes) in the Boston Marathon, 1972–2015
Year Time Year Time Year Time Year Time
1972 190 1983 143 1994 142 2005 145
1973 186 1984 149 1995 145 2006 144
1974 167 1985 154 1996 147 2007 149
1975 162 1986 145 1997 146 2008 145
1976 167 1987 146 1998 143 2009 152
1977 168 1988 145 1999 143 2010 146
1978 165 1989 144 2000 146 2011 143
1979 155 1990 145 2001 144 2012 152
1980 154 1991 144 2002 141 2013 146
1981 147 1992 144 2003 145 2014 139
1982 150 1993 145 2004 144 2015 145
Source: See the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_of_the_Boston_Marathon/.

  1. (a) Make a graph of the winning times.

  2. (b) Give a brief description of the pattern of Boston Marathon winning times over these years. Have times stopped improving in recent years?