It’s marathon season in Texas. How does the Lone Star State stack up against the rest of the country? – Austin American-Statesman

The winter months are prime marathon season in the state of Texas, thanks to mild temperatures that are a welcome relief from the scorching summer months. Since December, the cities of Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Austin have all hosted half or full marathons, with the capitol city’s eponymous race scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 16. There’s certainly plenty of races on the calendar. But how do Texans compare, time-wise, to recreational distance runners in other parts of the country?

A new study published on RunRepeat.com reveals average marathon times by state, where Texas is on the middle-to-slower end of the rankings. This study excludes elite running results and is solely an analysis of recreational runners from 2004 to 2018.

Female marathoners in Texas recorded an average time of 4:52:22, which ranks 28th in the United States, while male marathoners in Texas averaged 4:31:02 to rank 35th in the nation. The Lone Star State’s composite ranking is 32nd, with a 4:39:19 average time.

The No. 1 ranked state in male, female and combined gender categories is Massachusetts, home of the Boston Marathon. Average male marathon time in the state is 3:54:31, average female time is 4:15:01 and combined gender average is 4:04:20.

The bottom ranked state in all three categories is Hawaii, with a 6:16:06 average combined time, 6:35:49 average women’s time and 5:59:12 average men’s time.

See the full results here.