Abstract
Estimation of the age-related decline in athletic performance by analyzing age-group world record performances presents an inherent limitation because the records generally belong to different individuals. Longitudinal studies describing the changes in performance with advancing age for the same individuals with a consistent training regimen are more appropriate to determine age-related changes in performance. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the age-related decline in running performance of sub 3-h marathoners for five consecutive calendar decades. The best marathon performances for each decade from the 1970s to the 2010s were analyzed for 40 sub 3-h runners (39 males and 1 female). The cohort mean personal best performance was 2 h 23 min ± 9 min at an age of 28.6 ± 4.7 years. The mean difference in age between the first and the last sub 3-h marathon races was 32.9 ± 1.6 years. The time difference in marathon performance between the personal best and the worst performance during the 5th decade was 26 ± 9 min, corresponding to a mean increase of 1 min 4 s per year, i.e., a decrease in running speed of 0.67 ± 0.29% per year. These results suggest that with consistent training and racing regimens, it is possible to limit the age-related decline in marathon performance to less than 7% per decade at least until 60 years of age. Further studies are required to verify if such a low rate of age-related decline in endurance performance could be maintained after 60 years of age.
Highlights
The age-related decline in endurance running performance has been extensively studied, especially for the marathon (Stones and Kozma, 1980; Jokl et al, 2004; Leyk et al, 2007; Trappe, 2007; Lepers and Cattagni, 2012; Knechtle et al, 2014, 2018; Lepers and Stapley, 2016)
In the present study, based on a longitudinal analysis, we examined the age-related decline in marathon performance of these sub 3-h runners over the five consecutive calendar decades
Data were collected from the website of the Association of Road Race Statisticians2 that established a list of 41 runners (40 males and 1 female) who ran a sub-3 h marathon of the five consecutive calendar decades (1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s)
Summary
The age-related decline in endurance running performance has been extensively studied, especially for the marathon (Stones and Kozma, 1980; Jokl et al, 2004; Leyk et al, 2007; Trappe, 2007; Lepers and Cattagni, 2012; Knechtle et al, 2014, 2018; Lepers and Stapley, 2016). Sub 3-Hour Marathon Runners (Rittweger et al, 2009; Lepers and Cattagni, 2018) The reasons for this accelerated decline or “breakpoint” may be explained by different factors such as a reduction of the pool of older competitors, a decrease in the amount and intensity of training, or a reduction of integrative physiological capacity despite the maintenance of training level (Lazarus and Harridge, 2017). Estimation of the age-related decline in athletic performance is generally assessed by analyzing world record performances for each age-group category. World record holders are often different in their athletic background, demographic (nationality), and even somatotype To overcome these limitations, longitudinal studies describing the changes in performance with advancing age for the same individuals, who were consistent in their training habits, may be more appropriate to determine the age-related change in performance
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