Studies Explore Factors Influencing Marathon Run Performance

Studies have found that several factors influence a runner's performance during a marathon. Researchers explored internal and external factors, evaluating air pollution and its impact on performance and training methods.

1. Studies Explore
Factors
Influencing
Marathon Run
Performance
Erin Scholtes

2. Studies have found that several factors influence a runner's
performance during a marathon. Researchers explored internal
and external factors, evaluating air pollution and its impact on
performance and training methods.
An air pollution study published in Sports Medicine examined air
pollution levels during nine important marathons between 2003
and 2019. Researchers relied on data from public records and
spatial-temporal modeling, measuring pollution along each mile of
the marathon route. The model combined geographical locations
with time, and the research team also evaluated particulate matter
(pollution molecules) from fires, industrial activities, and vehicle
emissions. They aimed to identify how this particulate matter
impacted average finishing times.

3. The study found that men ran 32 seconds and women ran 25 seconds slower for every one
microgram per cubic meter of pollution, a unit often used to measure the concentration of
pollution in the air. These figures became more pronounced in the faster runners in the race.
Furthermore, the runners performed the same, even when the particulate matter in the air was
far below health standards.
While researchers established that pollution adversely impacts runner performance, they did not
pinpoint how it impacts body processes. Physiological factors that might culminate in slower
running performance include constricted blood vessels, increased blood pressure, respiratory
comfort, and other unstated health impacts of air pollution. While other studies provide a
foundation by establishing the adverse cardiovascular and pulmonary effects of air pollution, this
study addresses the impacts on healthy, physically fit adults, suggesting that particulates in the
air can negatively impact even the fittest individuals.

4. In the second study, researchers from the University of Hertfordshire,
University College Dublin, Auckland University of Technology, and London
Metropolitan University looked at strategies in non-elite runners' training and
performance on race day. The researchers relied on the fitness app Strava to
gather data on 119,452 non-elite runners training and completing thousands of
26.2-mile races, focusing on the 16-week training preceding race day.
According to a December 2024 MSN article, the study assessed 151,813
competitions between 2014 and 2017.
Next, the researchers found that most runners ran the race using the
pyramidal approach, where they ran 70 percent at a conversational pace. More
importantly, the non-elite athletes spent 25 percent of their training time
running at a moderate pace. At this pace, the marathoner can only speak in
short spurts. Moreover, these athletes spent 5 percent of the time training at
high intensity, where breathing becomes labored, and they cannot converse.

5. The runners had an average age of 40, and the
average finishing spanned from two and a half
hours to up to six. Their training method differs
from the approach of most elite athletes. They
use the 80/20 training approach, spending 80
percent of the run at low intensity, 20 percent at
high intensity, and minimal moderate-paced
running. Non-elite runners also discovered that
the fastest non-elite runners ran the highest
mileage, measuring 66 miles a week.

6. Moreover, the study sought to identify the training strategies
of runners with finishing times of less than three hours. This
information enables researchers to identify strategies that
work for this marathon-running demographic, referred to as
recreational runners. By extension, the findings in the
research suggest that spending more time running at slower
speeds might also reduce the incidence of injuries.
Outside of research, one mode of thought might be attitude.
Experienced runner Theresa Mudge stated that showing up at
the race is a victory, and finishing is a triumph, regardless of
when the marathoner finishes the race.