Abstract
ObjectivesA recent study investigating the top 10 100-km ultra-marathoners by nationality showed that Japanese runners were the fastest worldwide. This selection to top athletes may lead to a selection bias and the aim of this study was to investigate from where the fastest 100-km ultra-marathoners originate by considering all finishers in 100-km ultra-marathons since 1959.MethodsWe analysed data from 150,710 athletes who finished a 100-km ultra-marathon between 1959 and 2016. To get precise estimates and stable density plots we selected only those nationalities with 900 and more finishes resulting in 24 nationalities. Histograms and density plots were performed to study the distribution of race time. Crude mean, standard deviation, median, interquartile range (IQR), mode, skewness and excess of time for each nationality were computed. A linear regression analysis adjusted by sex, age and year was performed to study the race time between the nationalities. Histograms, density and scatter plots showed that some races seemed to have a time limit of 14 hours. From the complete dataset the finishes with more than 14 hours were removed (truncated dataset) and the same descriptive plots and analysis as for the complete dataset were performed again. In addition to the linear regression a truncated regression was performed with the truncated dataset to allow conclusion for the whole sample. To study a potential difference between races at home and races abroad, an interaction term race site home/abroad with nationality was included in the model.ResultsMost of the finishes were achieved by runners from Japan, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and USA with more than 260’000 (85%) finishes. Runners from Russia and Hungary were the fastest and runners from Hong Kong and China were the slowest finishers.ConclusionIn contrast to existing findings investigating the top 10 by nationality, this analysis showed that ultra-marathoners from Russia, not Japan, were the fastest 100-km ultra-marathoners worldwide when considering all races held since 1959.
Highlights
Ultra-marathon running, such as 100-km race, is a sport of increasing popularity [1]
Anthropometric characteristics as age, body mass, body mass index and body fat correlate with performance in this sport; they might be less important than training characteristics [7, 8]
Performance in 100-km ultra-marathon running is influenced by nationality and origin of the runners [2]
Summary
Ultra-marathon running, such as 100-km race, is a sport of increasing popularity [1]. The number of finishers in 100-km ultra-marathon running increased exponentially, both for women and men, from 1998 to 2011 [2] Performance in this sport depends on physiological, e.g. peak running velocity during a graded exercise test, anaerobic threshold, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and oxygen uptake (VO2) at 16 km/h [3] and psychological characteristics, e.g. cognitive function [4]. Another performance-related characteristic is pacing as it has been shown that faster runners exhibit smaller decrease in their speed during a race than slower runners [5]. Performance in 100-km ultra-marathon running is influenced by nationality and origin of the runners [2]
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