The influence of pacing strategy on marathon world records

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of the pacing strategy adopted by elite marathon runners when setting every marathon world record in the last 50 years. We divided former marathon record holders into two groups: classic athletes (record holders between 1967 and 1988) and contemporaneous athletes (record holders between 1988 and 2018). The total distance of the marathon was divided into 8 sections of 5 km and 1 last section of 2.195 km, and the relative average speed of each section was calculated individually. On average athletes were slightly faster in the first half-marathon than in the second one, where they slowed down progressively (ES = 0.28, small effect). However, when comparing classic vs. contemporaneous athletes, we observed that classic athletes started significantly faster (p < .05, ES = 1.16, moderate effect), although after 25 km, their speed dropped dramatically and was significantly slower than in their contemporaneous counterparts (ES = 2.41, very large effect). This study shows that the pacing strategies of the best marathon runners in the world have changed over the last 50 years. Although a negative pace distribution has been proposed as the most efficient option, a pacing strategy characterised by very little speed changes across the whole race may be the way to go in the future.

The Effects of a Marathon Effort on Psychomotor Performance and Catecholamine Concentration in Runners over 50 Years of Age

“…Involving more variables would require a larger test sample [47]. In future studies, the authors plan to consider specific running strategies, which is an important factor influencing the marathon running time [48]. Moreover, runners' experience and performance level should also be taken into account as they vary significantly among competitors over 50 years of age [49].…”

Pacing Strategies in the ‘Athens Classic Marathon’: Physiological and Psychological Aspects

“…A better pacing strategy could provide elite marathon runners with an economical pathway to significant performance improvements at world-record level ( Angus, 2014 ). Pacing has evolved during the last 50 years, record holders between 1967 and 1988 started significantly faster, although after 25 km, their speed dropped dramatically and was significantly slower than in record holders between 1988 and 2018 ( Diaz et al, 2018 ).…”

“…It has been observed that winners in marathons run an even pace throughout the race ( Haney and Mercer, 2011 ; Breen et al, 2018 ; Diaz et al, 2018 ), whereas runners of lesser ability slowed as the race progressed, particularly after 20–25 km ( Ely et al, 2008 ). In addition, faster marathoners tend to run at a more consistent pace compared with slower runners ( March et al, 2011 ), whereas slower marathon finishers had greater variability of pace compared to faster marathoner finishers ( Haney and Mercer, 2011 ).…”

The Analysis of The Pacing Profiles Based on The Performance Level of The Finishers in The Istanbul Marathon

“…While the pace profiles of the runners with Marathon World record showed a positive structure in the past years, in more current records, in the last 5 kilometers of this race, which was the fastest part, they began to change towards negative profiles. However, strategies characterized by minimum speed changes are indicated to be the most effective pacing strategies (6). From this point of view, differentiation of the results of this research from the pace profiles shows that the İstanbul Marathon is open to change and development in terms of pace profiles and pacing strategies.…”