The Age-Related Performance Decline in Marathon Running: The Paradigm of the Berlin Marathon

Pantelis T. Nikolaidis, José Ramón Alvero-Cruz, Elias Villiger, Thomas Rosemann and Beat Knechtle
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Pantelis T. Nikolaidis: Exercise Physiology Laboratory, 18450 Nikaia, Greece
José Ramón Alvero-Cruz: Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaga—Andalucia Tech, 29071 Malaga, Spain
Elias Villiger: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
Thomas Rosemann: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
Beat Knechtle: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: The variation of marathon race time by age group has been used recently to model the decline of endurance with aging; however, paradigms of races (i.e., marathon running) examined so far have mostly been from the United States. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the age of peak performance (APP) in a European race, the “Berlin Marathon”. Race times of 387,222 finishers (women, n = 93,022; men, n = 294,200) in this marathon race from 2008 to 2018 were examined. Men were faster by +1.10 km.h −1 (10.74 ± 1.84 km.h −1 versus 9.64 ± 1.46 km.h −1 , p <0.001, η 2 = 0.065, medium effect size) and older by +2.1 years (43.1 ± 10.0 years versus 41.0 ± 9.8 years, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.008, trivial effect size) than women. APP was 32 years in women and 34 years in men using 1-year age groups, and 30–34 years in women and 35–39 years in men using 5-year age groups. Women’s and men’s performance at 60–64 and 55–59 age groups, respectively, corresponded to ~90% of the running speed at APP. Based on these findings, it was concluded that although APP occurred earlier in women than men, the observed age-related differences indicated that the decline of endurance with aging might differ by sex.

Keywords: aerobic capacity; ageing; age of peak performance; exercise; gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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