Trends in Participation, Sex Differences and Age of Peak Performance in Time-Limited Ultramarathon Events: A Secular Analysis

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Increases in the number of participants in time-limited ultra-marathons have been reported. However, no information is available regarding the trends in participation, performance and age in 12 h and 24 h time-limited events. The aim of the study was to describe the trends in runners’ participation, performance and age in 12 h and 24 h ultra-marathons for both sexes and to identify the age of peak performance, taking into account the ranking position and age categories. Materials and Methods: The sample comprised 210,455 runners in time-limited ultra-marathons (female 12 h = 23,706; female 24 h = 28,585; male 12 h = 61,594; male 24 h = 96,570) competing between 1876 and 2020 and aged 18 to 86 years. The age of peak performance was tested according to their ranking position (first–third; fourth–tenth and >tenth position) and taking into account their running speed in different age categories (<30 years; 31–40 years; 41–50 years; 51–60 years; >60 years), using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by the Bonferroni adjustment. Results: An increase in the number of participants and a decrease in running speed were observed across the years. For both events, the sex differences in performance decreased over time. The sex differences showed that male runners performed better than female runners, but the lowest differences in recent years were observed in the 24 h ultra-marathons. A positive trend in age across the years was found with an increase in mean age (“before 1989” = 40.33 ± 10.07 years; “1990–1999” = 44.16 ± 10.37 years; “2000–2009” = 45.99 ± 10.33 years; “2010–2020” = 45.62 ± 10.80 years). Male runners in 24 h races were the oldest (46.13 ± 10.83 years), while female runners in 12 h races were the youngest (43.46 ± 10.16 years). Athletes ranked first–third position were the youngest (female 12 h = 41.19 ± 8.87 years; female 24 h = 42.19 ± 8.50 years; male 12 h = 42.03 ± 9.40 years; male 24 h = 43.55 ± 9.03 years). When age categories were considered, the best performance was found for athletes aged between 41 and 50 years (female 12 h 6.48 ± 1.74 km/h; female 24 h 5.64 ± 1.68 km/h; male 12 h 7.19 ± 1.90 km/h; male 24 h 6.03 ± 1.78 km/h). Conclusion: A positive trend in participation in 12 h and 24 h ultra-marathons was shown across the years; however, athletes were becoming slower and older. The fastest athletes were the youngest ones, but when age intervals were considered, the age of peak performance was between 41 and 50 years.

Differences in training characteristics of recreational endurance runners by race distance – results from the NURMI Study (Step 2)

“…Training routines and exercise habits of endurance runners active in running events were described by the following items regarding race distance: original and present motives to run (health, recreation, performance); favorite season and time of day to run (outdoors, indoors); total training timespan (duration preparing for the main race); training guidance (unsupervised, professional, or alternative); parallel sports participation (winter sports, summer sports); periodized training routines, including volume (weekly running sessions, average weekly and daily breadth of training (km, hours)) linked with training period and preparation conditions ( Hulteen et al, 2017 ; Waśkiewicz et al, 2019b ; Thuany et al, 2022a ; Yang et al, 2022 ).…”

“…The global trends in sports and physical activities emphasize running as one of the main activities worldwide ( Hulteen et al, 2017 ). In long-distance running, the number of marathoners ( Thuany et al, 2022a ; Yang et al, 2022 ) and ultra-marathoners ( Thuany et al, 2022a ) has considerably increased in recent decades, with the motivations for training changing according to the distance ( Waśkiewicz et al, 2019a , b ). In marathon running, women focus more on body weight, life meaning, and self-esteem compared to men ( Waśkiewicz et al, 2019b ), whereas ultra-marathoners reported higher scores in affiliation and life meaning, and lower scores for weight concern, personal goal achievement, and self-esteem ( Waśkiewicz et al, 2019a ).…”

Does Age Influence Gastrointestinal Status Responses to Exertional-heat Stress?

“…Further emphasis for warranting research in this age-related area is the increasing popularity of ultra-endurance events among masters athletes (i. e. ≥ 40y), with a substantial increase in participation numbers among this age group [29,30]. This observation is of prime importance considering EIGS and Ex-GIS manifestations are predominantly and exaggeratively observed in such ultra-endurance events, and in some cases may impact performance outcomes and/or warrant medical attention [3,4,8,10,31].…”

Could Repeated Cardio-Renal Injury Trigger Late Cardiovascular Sequelae in Extreme Endurance Athletes?

“…The percentage of female ultra-marathon competitors increased from close to 0 in the 1970s to about 10-20% in 2000 and remained fairly stable subsequently [73,74]. Since then, physiological differences between the sexes in EEE-relevant aspects are being increasingly acknowledged [75][76][77][78]. Female advantages may include greater fatigue resistance and substrate efficiency, as well as lower energetic demands [79].…”