Abstract
Aim: This study investigated the influence of weather conditions on running performance in female and male age group runners in the largest marathon in the world, the “New York City Marathon.”Methods: The analysis included data from 1,280,557 finishers the “New York City Marathon” from the years 1970 to 2019. Linear mixed models for men and women finishers with race time (min) as dependent variable and 5-year age groups, temperature, wind and relative humidity tertiles (low, medium, high) as independent factors and finisher as random intercept was performed. Additional models with an interaction between age groups and one weather variable each were performed.Results: Temperature was positively associated with race time while wind speed and humidity were negatively associated (p < 0.001). Men were significantly greater affected wind speed and humidity than women (p < 0.001 for interaction) but not by temperature (p = 0.17 for interaction). With an average of 8 min longer race time, high temperature had the greatest effect on race time. The effect of high humidity on race time was significantly increased in 40–59 years old men and 25–65 years old women. High temperatures had an increased effect on race time in 30–64 years old men and 40–64 years old women. The inverse association between race time and high wind speed was pronounced in finishers with younger age.Conclusion: Performance was lower on days with high temperature, low humidity and low wind speed. Men seemed to benefit more from higher humidity and wind speed than women. Aged (70 +) finishers were not greater affected by high temperatures.
Highlights
Marathon running is of high popularity with increasing numbers of participants especially for master marathoners (Jokl et al, 2004) and female runners (Vitti et al, 2020)
Environmental temperatures seemed to have a high impact on marathon running performance (Ely et al, 2007, 2008; Vihma, 2010; El Helou et al, 2012; Knechtle et al, 2019; Gasparetto and Nesseler, 2020) where increasing air temperatures seemed to have the highest impact on marathon race times (Cheuvront and Haymes, 2001; Ely et al, 2007; Montain et al, 2007; Vihma, 2010; Gasparetto and Nesseler, 2020)
(i.e., ambient temperature, humidity, precipitation, and wind speed) on marathon running performance in age group marathoners competing in the largest city marathon in the world, the “New York City Marathon” with the hypothesis that performance would decrease with increasing ambient temperature, especially with increasing age of both female and male age group marathoners
Summary
Marathon running is of high popularity with increasing numbers of participants especially for master (i.e., age group) marathoners (Jokl et al, 2004) and female runners (Vitti et al, 2020). Effects of warm weather seemed to be less evident for female than male marathoners (Vihma, 2010)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
