The Age-Related Performance Decline in Marathon Running: The Paradigm of the Berlin Marathon

Abstract

The variation of marathon race time by age group has been used recently to model the decline of endurance with aging; however, paradigms of races (i.e., marathon running) examined so far have mostly been from the United States. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the age of peak performance (APP) in a European race, the “Berlin Marathon”. Race times of 387,222 finishers (women, n = 93,022; men, n = 294,200) in this marathon race from 2008 to 2018 were examined. Men were faster by +1.10 km.h−1 (10.74 ± 1.84 km.h−1 versus 9.64 ± 1.46 km.h−1, p <0.001, η2 = 0.065, medium effect size) and older by +2.1 years (43.1 ± 10.0 years versus 41.0 ± 9.8 years, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.008, trivial effect size) than women. APP was 32 years in women and 34 years in men using 1-year age groups, and 30–34 years in women and 35–39 years in men using 5-year age groups. Women’s and men’s performance at 60–64 and 55–59 age groups, respectively, corresponded to ~90% of the running speed at APP. Based on these findings, it was concluded that although APP occurred earlier in women than men, the observed age-related differences indicated that the decline of endurance with aging might differ by sex.

Motivation in the Athens Classic Marathon: The Role of Sex, Age, and Performance Level in Greek Recreational Marathon Runners

“…Female participants were classified into three age groups (<35 years, n = 9; 35–45 years, n = 13; >45 years, n = 10), whereas male participants were classified into eight groups (<30 years, n = 7; 30–35 years, n = 8; 35–40 years, n = 25; 40–45 years, n = 34; 45–50 years, n = 32; 50–55 years, n = 16; 55–60 years, n = 6; >60 years, n = 6). The classification of male participants into age groups was in agreement with typical age groups used in marathon races [13,14]. Female participants were also classified into three performance groups (fast: n = 10, <4:15 h:min; average: n = 11, 4:15–4:45 h:min; slow: n = 11, >4:45 h: min), and male participants into quartile performance groups (Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4, Q1 being the fastest and Q4 being the slowest) based on their race time in the Athens Classic Marathon 2017.…”

The Impact of Modern Ultramarathons on Shaping the Social Identity of Runners. The Case Study of Karkonosze Winter Ultramarathon

“…The dynamic development of mass sports events comes with questions about the motivations of the postmodern man to participate in them. Recently, researchers focused mainly on mass, popular, street runs/cycling events in the context of their meaning for sporting events and active tourism or in the context of motivation for running/cycling or health implications for runners/cyclists [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Sporting events have been analyzed as a tourist phenomenon [30][31][32][33][34] and the social identity of athletes is rarely investigated in this area.…”

Do Years of Running Experience Influence the Motivations of Amateur Marathon Athletes?

“…There are many studies on the typology of runners and the sociodemographic profiles of participants in mass running events-half-marathons, marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons or ultra-triathlons-and their motivational structures. Running motivations have already been analysed for variables such as age, gender and place of residence [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. investigated age-related motivations in half-marathon participation.…”