The aspect of nationality and performance in a mountain ultra-marathon - the ‘Swiss Alpine Marathon’

Abstract

Eichenberger E, Knechtle B, Rüst CA, Lepers R, Rosemann T, Onywera VO. The aspect of nationality and performance in a mountain ultra-marathon -the 'Swiss Alpine Marathon' J. Hum. Sport Exerc. Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 748-762, 2012. Runners from East Africa and especially from Kenya dominate middle-and longdistance running races worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate the participation and performance trends regarding the nationality of runners in a mountain ultra-marathon held in partially high alpine terrain. We hypothesized that Kenyan runners, living and training in the Great Rift Valley, a predominantly hilly, mountainous and altitudinous region like the Alps, would dominate also a mountain ultra-marathon because they are accustomed to high altitudes and mountainous terrains. We examined the participation and performance trends of ultra-marathoners regarding their nationalities in the 78-km 'Swiss Alpine Marathon' including 21 km in high alpine terrain where 12,194 men and 1,781 women finished between 1998 and 2011. A total of 1,682 women and 11,580 men, corresponding to 94.9 % of all finishers, originated from Switzerland,

Analysis of over 1 million race records shows runners from East African countries as the fastest in 50-km ultra-marathons

“…The average age for first-time ultra-marathoners has remained unchanged in recent decades 71 . Several studies have analyzed the age of the best ultra-marathon performance 27,[72][73][74][75] , revealing that peak performance is generally achieved at an older age compared to the best performance in half-marathons and marathons 76 . For marathon racing, the best race time is typically achieved around the age of 30 77,78 , in ultramarathons, the age of best performance has generally been observed to be around 35 years or older 4,7,79,80 , with the age of peak ultra-marathon performance seemingly increasing as race distance increases.…”

The Role of Nationality in Ultra-Endurance Sports: The Paradigm of Cross-Country Skiing and Long-Distance Running

“…In other events, preferably local athletes competed and also local athletes were among the most successful [16,[31][32][33]. In the 'Strait of Gibraltar', the crossing between Europe (Spain) and Africa (Morocco) covering 14.3 km, Spanish swimmers were the most numerous and the fastest [16].…”

“…In 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon' held between 2006 and 2014, most of the finishers originated from Norway and the fastest race times were achieved by Norwegian women and men [31]. In the 78-km 'Swiss Alpine Marathon', Swiss runners were the most numerous and the fastest runners originated from Switzerland for both women and men [32]. In 'Powerman Duathlon World Championship' held in Zofingen, Switzerland, from 2002 to 2011, European athletes from Switzerland and Germany dominated participation in the 'Powerman World Championship' where Swiss duathletes were the fastest [33].…”