Not All Runners Cross the Same Finish Line: Sociodemographic Inequalities in COVID-19 Recovery After a Mass Sporting Event

Daniel Martínez-Cevallos, Alejandra Proaño-Grijalva, Frano Giakoni-Ramírez and Daniel Duclos-Bastías ()
Additional contact information
Daniel Martínez-Cevallos: Facultad de Cultura Física, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
Alejandra Proaño-Grijalva: Universidad Internacional de la Rioja, 26006 Logroño, Spain
Frano Giakoni-Ramírez: Instituto Del Deporte y Bienestar, Facultad de Educación y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Andres Bello, Las Condes, Santiago 7550000, Chile
Daniel Duclos-Bastías: iGEO Group, School of Physical Education, Faculty of Philosophy and Education, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2362807, Chile

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted patterns of physical activity and participation in mass sporting events, with recreational runners in Latin America among the most affected. In Colombia, pre-existing inequalities in access to sport further exacerbated these impacts. Nevertheless, evidence on post-COVID-19 impact and recovery experiences among regional runners remains limited. Objective: We examined the sociodemographic profiles, athletic experience, and perceptions of COVID-19-related impact and recovery among participants in the 2023 Medellín Marathon, and to assess differences by educational attainment, employment status, age group, and geographic origin. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken involving 2486 registered marathon runners. An ad hoc questionnaire assessed COVID-19 symptoms and sequelae, perceived respiratory and physical limitations, fears associated with group exercise, and self-reported recovery. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate comparisons and one-way ANOVA tests. Results: Older participants, retirees and those with lower educational levels reported significantly greater COVID-19 impact, longer recovery periods and higher perceived physical and respiratory limitations. In contrast, younger runners and those with a college education showed more complete physical recovery and attributed protective benefits, such as improved cardiorespiratory function and a lower incidence of respiratory symptoms, to their training. Additionally, runners originating from smaller municipalities and other Latin American countries reported higher levels of impact and lower perceptions of recovery. Conclusions: Post-COVID-19 effects among marathon runners are not uniform but vary according to sociodemographic and contextual factors. These findings underscore the importance of tailored support and readaptation strategies—particularly for vulnerable subgroups—to ensure their safe and equitable return to mass endurance events.

Keywords: COVID-19; running; physical activity; sports participation; health promotion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/9/1351/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/9/1351/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:9:p:1351-:d:1736670

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().