Male and female Ethiopian and Kenyan runners are the fastest and the youngest in both half and full marathon

Abstract

In major marathon races such as the ‘World Marathon Majors’, female and male East African runners particularly from Ethiopia and Kenya are the fastest. However, whether this trend appears for female and male Ethiopians and Kenyans at recreational level runners (i.e. races at national level) and in shorter road races (e.g. in half-marathon races) has not been studied yet. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine differences in the performance and the age of female and male runners from East Africa (i.e. Ethiopians and Kenyans) between half- and full marathons. Data from 508,108 athletes (125,894 female and 328,430 male half-marathoners and 10,205 female and 43,489 male marathoners) originating from 126 countries and competing between 1999 and 2014 in all road-based half-marathons and marathons held in one country (Switzerland) were analysed using Chi square (χ2) tests, mixed-effects regression analyses and one-way analyses of variance. In half-marathons, 48 women (0.038 %) and 63 men (0.019 %) were from Ethiopia and 80 women (0.063 %) and 134 men (0.040 %) from Kenya. In marathons, three women (0.029 %) and 15 men (0.034 %) were from Ethiopia and two women (0.019 %) and 33 men (0.075 %) from Kenya. There was no statistically significant association between the nationality of East Africans and the format of a race. In both women and men, the fastest race times in half-marathons and marathons were achieved by East African runners (p < 0.001). Ethiopian and Kenyan runners were the youngest in both sexes and formats of race (p < 0.001). In summary, women and men from Ethiopia and Kenya, despite they accounted for <0.1 % in half-marathons and marathons, achieved the fastest race times and were the youngest in both half-marathons and marathons. These findings confirmed in the case of half-marathon the trend previously observed in marathon races for a better performance and a younger age in East African runners from Ethiopia and Kenya.

Performance Differences Between the Sexes in the Boston Marathon From 1972 to 2017

“…Improvements in marathon race times among elite runners in the past decades might be explained by the increased participation of East African runners in large city marathons. It has been reported for city marathons held in Switzerland that the fastest race times were achieved by female and male runners from Kenya and Ethiopia (11). East African runners from Kenya and Ethiopia were also the fastest for races in the World Marathon Majors (i.e., Boston, Berlin, Chicago, and New York), (10).…”

The Role of Environmental Conditions on Marathon Running Performance in Men Competing in Boston Marathon from 1897 to 2018

“…Our findings improved the knowledge about the association between weather conditions and their relationship with performance level in male marathon runners. Considering the popularity of the particular marathon and of marathon races in general [32], the results would have important practical applications for runners and practitioners working with them. Although the results could be applied directly only to runners of the Boston Marathon, it was assumed that similar patterns of the relationship between weather conditions and race time would be expected in other marathon races, too.…”

Pacing of Women and Men in Half-Marathon and Marathon Races

“…On the other hand, strength was the novelty as it added original information in the existing literature with regards to one of the most popular race distances. Considering that half-marathon was the most popular running race event in terms of annual number of races and participants [1,5], the findings of the present study would have practical applications for a wide range of professionals working endurance runners, e.g., coaches, fitness trainers, nutritionists, and physicians. As it has been shown that endurance runners might compete to both half-marathon and marathon [39], it would be of great practical relevance to know how these two race distances differed in pacing.…”

“…The half-marathon has evolved as a sport discipline of increasing popularity, documented by the annual number of finishers and races taking place worldwide [1]. In general, performance in endurance running, as well as in endurance sports of other modes of exercise (cycling, swimming, cross-country skiing), has been shown to be associated with pacing, among other physiological and psychological variables [2,3].…”