Age-related Changes in Marathon and Half-Marathon Performances

Abstract

We examined age-related changes in endurance performance of marathon and half-marathon finishers. A total of 405 515 running times were separated into groups based on age, sex, and distance. After exclusion of repetitive running times, 300 757 runners were analyzed by ANOVA (factors: age, sex). For each age group (six decades, 20 - 79 years), mean running times for all finishers, as well as top-ten performers, were assessed. As expected, age and sex had significant influence on running times. Female running times were about 10 % (marathon) and 13 % (half-marathon) above the corresponding times of their age-matched peers. The main finding is that in our sample of trained subjects significant age-related losses in endurance performance did not occur before the age of 50 years. Mean marathon and half-marathon times were virtually identical for the age groups from 20 - 49 years. Moreover, age-related performance decreases (p < 0.01) of the 50 - 69-year-old subjects were only in the range of 2.6 - 4.4 % per decade. These results suggest that the majority of older athletes are able to maintain a high degree of physical plasticity. The hypothesis that lifestyle factors have considerably stronger influences on functional capacity than the factor age is also supported by these findings from physically active and fit elderly.

Aging - gender - endurance - aerobic capacity - long-distance running

References

• 1 Allen W E, Seals D R, Hurley B F, Ehsani A A, Hagberg J M. Lactate threshold and distance-running performance in young and older endurance athletes.  J Appl Physiol. 1985;  58 1281-1284
• 2 Burtscher M. Endurance performance of the elderly mountaineer: requirements, limitations, testing, and training.  Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2004;  116 703-714
• 3 Daniels J. A physiologist's view of running economy.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1985;  17 332-338
• 4 Evans S L, Davy K P, Stevenson E T, Seals D R. Physiological determinants of 10-km performance in highly trained female runners of different ages.  J Appl Physiol. 1995;  78 1931-1941
• 5 Fitzgerald M D, Tanaka H, Tran Z V, Seals D R. Age-related declines in maximal aerobic capacity in regularly exercising vs. sedentary women: a meta-analysis.  J Appl Physiol. 1997;  83 160-165
• 6 Fleg J L, Lakatta E G. Role of muscle loss in the age-associated reduction in V·O_2max.  J Appl Physiol. 1988;  65 1147-1151
• 7 Gass G C, Gass E M. Is exercise the “wonder drug” for older individuals?.  Eur Rev Aging Phys Act. 2004;  1 4-17
• 8 Hagberg J M. Effect of training on the decline of V·O_2max with aging.  Fed Proc. 1987;  46 1830-1833
• 9 Hausswirth C, Lehénaff D. Physiological demands of running during long distance runs and triathlons.  Sports Med. 2001;  31 679-689
• 10 Heath G, Hagberg J, Ehsani A, Hollszy J. A physiological comparison of young and older endurance athletes.  J Appl Physiol. 1981;  51 634-640
• 11 Jackson A S, Beard E F, Wier L T, Ross R M, Stuteville J E, Blair S N. Changes in aerobic power of men, ages 25 - 70 yr.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1995;  27 113-120
• 12 Jokl P, Sethi P M, Cooper A J. Master's performance in the New York City Marathon 1983 - 1999.  Br J Sports Med. 2004;  38 408-412
• 13 Kasch W F, Boyer J L, Van Camp S, Nettl F, Verity L S, Wallace J P. Cardiovascular changes with age and exercise: a 28-year longitudinal study.  Scand J Med Sci Sports. 1995;  5 147-151
• 14 Kasch W F, Wallace J, Van Camp S, Verity L. A longitudinal study of cardiovascular stability in active men aged 45 to 65 years.  Phys Sportsmed. 1988;  16 117-124
• 15 Maharam L G, Bauman P A, Kalman D, Skolik H, Perle S M. Masters athletes. Factors affecting performance.  Sports Med. 1999;  28 273-285
• 16 Marti B, Howald H. Long-term effects of physical training on aerobic capacity: controlled study of former elite athletes.  J Appl Physiol. 1990;  69 1451-1459
• 17 Murray L A, Reilly J J, Choudhry M, Durnin J V. A longitudinal study of changes in body composition and basal metabolism in physically active elderly men.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1996;  72 215-218
• 18 Neder J A, Jones P W, Nery L E, Whipp B J. The effect of age on the power/duration relationship and the intensity-domain limits in sedentary men.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 2000;  82 326-332
• 19 Pimentel A E, Gentile S L, Tanaka H, Seals D R, Gates P E. Greater rate of decline in maximal aerobic capacity with age in endurance-trained than in sedentary men.  J Appl Physiol. 2003;  94 2406-2413
• 20 Pollock M L, Foster C, Knapp D, Rod J L, Schmidt D H. Effect of age and training on aerobic capacity and body composition on master athletes.  J Appl Physiol. 1987;  62 725-731
• 21 Pollock M L, Mengelkoch L J, Graves J E, Lowenthal D T, Limacher M C, Foster C, Wilmore J H. Twenty-year follow-up of aerobic power and body composition of older track athletes.  J Appl Physiol. 1997;  82 1508-1516
• 22 Rivera A M, Pels I IIAE, Sady S P, Sady M A, Cullinane E M, Thompson P D. Physiological factors associated with the lower maximal oxygen consumption of master runners.  J Appl Physiol. 1989;  66 949-954
• 23 Sjödin B, Svedenhag J. Applied physiology of marathon running.  Sports Med. 1985;  2 83-99
• 24 Sleivert G G, Rowlands D S. Physical and physiological factors associated with success in the triathlon.  Sports Med. 1996;  22 8-18
• 25 Sparling J B, O'Donnell E M, Snow T K. The gender difference in distance running performance has plateaued: an analysis of world rankings from 1980 to 1996.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998;  30 1725-1729
• 26 Tanaka H, DeSouza C A, Jones P P, Stevenson E T, Davy K P, Seals D R. Greater rate of decline in maximal aerobic capacity with age in physically active vs. sedentary healthy women.  J Appl Physiol. 1997;  83 1947-1953
• 27 Tanaka H, Seals D R. Dynamic exercise performance in Masters athletes: insight into the effects of primary human aging on physiological functional capacity.  J Appl Physiol. 2003;  95 2152-2162
• 28 Tanaka H, Takeshima N, Kato T, Niihata S, Ueda K. Critical determinants of endurance performance in middle-aged and elderly endurance runners with heterogeneous training habits.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1990;  59 443-449
• 29 Taylor A H, Cable N T, Faulkner G, Hillsdon M, Narici M, van der Bij A K. Physical activity and older adults: a review of health benefits and the effectiveness of interventions.  J Sports Sci. 2004;  22 703-725
• 30 Wiswell R A, Hawkins S A, Jaque S V, Hyslop D, Constantino N, Tarpenning K, Marcell T, Schroeder E T. Relationship between physiological loss, performance decrement, and age in master athletes.  J Gerontol Med Sci. 2001;  56 A 618-626
• 31 Trappe S W, Costill D L, Vukovich M D, Jones J, Melham T. Aging among elite distance runners: a 22-yr longitudinal study.  J Appl Physiol. 1996;  85 285-290
• 32 Young B W, Starkes J L. Career-span analyses of track performance: Longitudinal data present a more optimistic view of age-related performance decline.  Exp Aging Res. 2005;  31 69-90