The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020
<i>Background and Objectives:</i> The 6-h ultra-marathon is the shortest time-limited ultra-marathon race, but little has been investigated regarding this race format. Previously, only the age of peak performance in the context of longer time-limited ultra-marathons was determined. The p...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/58/2/179 |
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| author | Beat Knechtle Katja Weiss Elias Villiger Volker Scheer Thayse Natacha Gomes Robert Gajda Nejmeddine Ouerghi Hamdi Chtourou Pantelis T. Nikolaidis Thomas Rosemann Mabliny Thuany |
| author_facet | Beat Knechtle Katja Weiss Elias Villiger Volker Scheer Thayse Natacha Gomes Robert Gajda Nejmeddine Ouerghi Hamdi Chtourou Pantelis T. Nikolaidis Thomas Rosemann Mabliny Thuany |
| author_sort | Beat Knechtle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives:</i> The 6-h ultra-marathon is the shortest time-limited ultra-marathon race, but little has been investigated regarding this race format. Previously, only the age of peak performance in the context of longer time-limited ultra-marathons was determined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the trends in 6-h ultra-marathon races from 1982 to 2020 for female and male ultra-runners, the participation and performance by countries, the age of peak performance, and the differences in performance regarding countries. <i>Materials and Methods:</i> The sample included 23,203 female ultra-runners, aged 18–83 years, and 87,264 male ultra-runners, aged 18–85 years, who were finishers in a 6-h ultra-marathon held between 1982 and 2020. The age of peak performance was tested using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by the Bonferroni Correction. The difference in performance by countries was verified using a linear regression model with the fastest runners from Russia in women, and Tunisia in men, used as reference. <i>Results:</i> Over the years, the men-to-women ratio decreased. The mean age was 43.20 ± 9.30 years for female and 46.09 ± 10.17 years for male runners. Athletes in younger age groups were faster than athletes in older age groups. Most female and male participants originated from Germany. Women from Russia (10.01 ± 1.28 km/h) and men from Tunisia (12.16 ± 1.46 km/h) were the fastest. <i>Conclusions:</i> In summary, in 6-h ultra-marathons held between 1982 and 2020, the participation for both women and men increased, while the men-to-women ratio decreased. The mean age was higher in men compared to women. Most female and male runners originated from Germany, but the fastest women were from Russia, and the fastest men from Tunisia. Future studies need to investigate whether Russian women and Tunisian men are also the best in other distance-limited ultra-marathon races, such as 12-h and 24-h. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:29:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b7ee8cc783a7430a98f236c2383a165d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:29:50Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-b7ee8cc783a7430a98f236c2383a165d2023-11-23T20:59:13ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442022-01-0158217910.3390/medicina58020179The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020Beat Knechtle0Katja Weiss1Elias Villiger2Volker Scheer3Thayse Natacha Gomes4Robert Gajda5Nejmeddine Ouerghi6Hamdi Chtourou7Pantelis T. Nikolaidis8Thomas Rosemann9Mabliny Thuany10Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, 9000 St. Gallen, SwitzerlandMedbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, 9000 St. Gallen, SwitzerlandKlinik für Allgemeine Innere Medizin, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, 9000 St. Gallen, SwitzerlandUltra Sports Science Foundation, 69310 Pierre-Benite, FranceDepartment of Physical Education, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão 49100-000, BrazilCenter for Sports Cardiology, Gajda-Med Medical Center in Pułtusk, 06-100 Pułtusk, PolandHigh Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, UR13JS01, Kef 7100, TunisiaInstitut Supérieur du Sport et de l’Education Physique de Sfax, Université de Sfax, Sfax 3000, TunisiaSchool of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceInstitute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, 8000 Zurich, SwitzerlandCentre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal<i>Background and Objectives:</i> The 6-h ultra-marathon is the shortest time-limited ultra-marathon race, but little has been investigated regarding this race format. Previously, only the age of peak performance in the context of longer time-limited ultra-marathons was determined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the trends in 6-h ultra-marathon races from 1982 to 2020 for female and male ultra-runners, the participation and performance by countries, the age of peak performance, and the differences in performance regarding countries. <i>Materials and Methods:</i> The sample included 23,203 female ultra-runners, aged 18–83 years, and 87,264 male ultra-runners, aged 18–85 years, who were finishers in a 6-h ultra-marathon held between 1982 and 2020. The age of peak performance was tested using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by the Bonferroni Correction. The difference in performance by countries was verified using a linear regression model with the fastest runners from Russia in women, and Tunisia in men, used as reference. <i>Results:</i> Over the years, the men-to-women ratio decreased. The mean age was 43.20 ± 9.30 years for female and 46.09 ± 10.17 years for male runners. Athletes in younger age groups were faster than athletes in older age groups. Most female and male participants originated from Germany. Women from Russia (10.01 ± 1.28 km/h) and men from Tunisia (12.16 ± 1.46 km/h) were the fastest. <i>Conclusions:</i> In summary, in 6-h ultra-marathons held between 1982 and 2020, the participation for both women and men increased, while the men-to-women ratio decreased. The mean age was higher in men compared to women. Most female and male runners originated from Germany, but the fastest women were from Russia, and the fastest men from Tunisia. Future studies need to investigate whether Russian women and Tunisian men are also the best in other distance-limited ultra-marathon races, such as 12-h and 24-h.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/58/2/179enduranceultra-runningage of peak performancenationality |
| spellingShingle | Beat Knechtle Katja Weiss Elias Villiger Volker Scheer Thayse Natacha Gomes Robert Gajda Nejmeddine Ouerghi Hamdi Chtourou Pantelis T. Nikolaidis Thomas Rosemann Mabliny Thuany The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020 Medicina endurance ultra-running age of peak performance nationality |
| title | The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020 |
| title_full | The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020 |
| title_fullStr | The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020 |
| title_short | The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running—The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020 |
| title_sort | sex difference in 6 h ultra marathon running the worldwide trends from 1982 to 2020 |
| topic | endurance ultra-running age of peak performance nationality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/58/2/179 |
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