Abstract
BackgroundThis study investigated changes in normalised running speed as a proxy for effort distribution over segments in male elite and age group 100 km ultra-marathoners with the assumption that older runners would slow down more than younger runners.MethodsThe annual ten fastest finishers (i.e. elite and age group runners) competing between 2000 and 2009 in the ‘100 km Lauf Biel’ were identified. Normalised average running speed (i.e. relative to segment 1 of the race corrected for gradient) was analysed as a proxy for pacing in elite and age group finishers. For each year, the ratio of the running speed from the final to the first segment for each age cohort was determined. These ratios were combined across years with the assumption that there were no ‘extreme’ wind events etc. which may have impacted the final relative to the first segment across years. The ratios between the age cohorts were compared using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc test. The ratios between elite and age group runners were investigated using one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparison post-hoc tests. The trend across age groups was investigated using simple regression analysis with age as the dependent variable.ResultsNormalised average running speed was different between age group 18–24 years and age groups 25–29, 30–34, 35–39, 40–44, 45–49, 50–54, 55–59 and 65–69 years. Regression analysis showed no trend across age groups (r2 = 0.003, p > 0.05).ConclusionTo summarize, (i) athletes in age group 18–24 years were slower than athletes in most other age groups and (ii) there was no trend of slowing down for older athletes.
Highlights
This study investigated changes in normalised running speed as a proxy for effort distribution over segments in male elite and age group 100 km ultra-marathoners with the assumption that older runners would slow down more than younger runners
Normalised average running speed was different between athletes ranked in age group 18–24 years and athletes ranked in age groups 25–29 years, 30–34 years, 35–39 years, 40–44 years, 45–49 years, 50–54 years, 55–59 years and 65–69 years (Table 1 and Figure 1)
Since too few women competed in this race, we had to limit to male competitors
Summary
This study investigated changes in normalised running speed as a proxy for effort distribution over segments in male elite and age group 100 km ultra-marathoners with the assumption that older runners would slow down more than younger runners. Among the different race distances, the 100 km ultra-marathon distance is highly popular where the number of female and male finishes increased exponentially in the last 50 years [2]. For 100 km ultra-marathon running, age [3] and the origin [2] of the fastest finishers are known. Faster runners started at a faster running speed, finished the race within 15% of their starting speed, and maintained their starting speed for ~50 km before slowing down [4].
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