40+ Age Group Takes Lead In "Largest Marathon Study Of Recreational Runners Ever Conducted"

Adults over 40 took the lead in what researchers are calling the “the largest marathon study of recreational runners ever conducted.” Compiling a total of 3.5 million marathon data records, researchers analyzed marathon data information on nearly 3 million runners from 39 countries, seven continents and some 238 nationalities in 784 marathons between 2014 and 2017.

The old and young sportsmen running on the roadGetty

A long-distance race with an official distance of 26.219 miles or 42.195 kilometers, a marathon is completed by running, walking or a combination of both. Today marathons also include wheelchair divisions. Instituted to commemorate the fabled run of the Greek soldier and messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, Pheidippides, who reported victory, the marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896. Today more than 800 marathons are held throughout the world annually, with the majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

Among other things, the research revealed that the United States has the highest proportion of female runners; that the 40-49 year-old age group is fastest and most popular; that Slovenia, Iceland and Ukraine are fastest countries; and that the Boston Marathon boasts the fastest average run time of “popular races.”

But perhaps the most encouraging finding for older adults is that those in the 90 to 99 year-old age group are the fastest growing population of runners today, increasing 39% from 2014 to 2017. Researchers called that particular finding “staggering.”

Miranda Hanson, who assisted in the writing and organization of study data as well as the research and documentation that was used in the studysaid it was the most surprising statistic she found. Hanson is a researcher and professional blogger with RunnerClick, an online resource for reviews and help-content for running and other activities, who commissioned the study. “I think anyone would find it shocking and inspiring that 90-to-99-year-olds are running marathons.”

Adults between the ages of 40 and 49 currently rank as the most popular age group in 28 countries, and it is also the age group that produces the fastest run times. Iceland, Slovenia, and Ukraine were the top three fastest nations for men. And Ukraine and Slovenia held strong times for women.

The largest two age groups of runners 40-49 (30.85%) and 30-39 (29.20%) make up about 60% of all participants in marathons, and this percentage is maintained for both men and women, the report noted.

And while 60% of runners indicated they were in the 30-to-59-year-old age group, 6 marathon runners reported being part of the rare 100+ age group.

Researchers found the most popular age group for marathon runners overall is 40 to 49. That group is a leader in 28 countries and the most popular on all continents (30.85%), except North America, where a group of 30-39 is the largest (31.08%). The 30 to 39 age group is the most popular in 20 countries. The youngest group 0-19 is the most popular in only 4 countries—Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland and Thailand. The only country where the most popular age group is 50 to 59 at 35.93%, is South Korea.

Researchers said they did not find any country where the age group 20 to 29 is the most popular.

Researchers reported the the 40 to 49 age group are also the fastest runners, with an average finish time of 4:22:03. Group 0 to 19 takes the second place with a lag of only 21 seconds. In third place is the group of 30 the 39, which finished with a time of 4:24:00. Group 80 to 89 had an average time of 6:09:48.

According to the report, the data reveal other surprising findings including the gender inequality of male and female runners in many countries. About one third of marathon runners around the globe are women. The world average proportion is 34.82%. The U.S. is the most gender equal country with the highest proportion of female runners (45% female), followed by Canada (40% female). Greece, however, comes in last in terms of female participation with 90% male and 10% female.

The fastest age group for men overall is 40-49 years of age, while the fastest age group for women is 20-29 years of age.

Ukraine had the largest increase in participation between 2014 and 2017 for both men, +394%, and women, +383% participation. And Turkey had the biggest decline for men at -60%; and for women at -79%.

Researchers reported that North America makes up about 50% of the world’s marathon runners with Boston, Chicago and New York holding the distinction of being the most popular marathons in the United States. Berlin and London hold the title in Europe and the Boston Marathon averages the fastest run times out of so-called “most popular” races, with an average run time of 3:56:17.

Eindhoven, a city in the province of North Brabant in the south Netherlands, did host the fastest marathon with an average finish time of 3:46:53. Researchers reported this marathon maintained its leadership position throughout 2014-2017, despite the fact that the average finish time was worsening 3:41:59 in 2014, 3:44:22 in 2015, and 3:48:44 in 2016. Then in 2017, the Singapore marathon became the fastest with an average finish time of 3:03:51, and Eindhoven moved into third place with a finish time of 3:50:20.

The slowest marathon from 2014 to 2016 was hosted in Honolulu with an average finish time of 6:12:59, researchers reported. (2017 was excluded due to incomplete information about the runners). Moreover, its average time of finishing constantly worsened, 5:58:50 in 2014, 6:15:25 in 2015 and 6:24:04 in 2016.

Along with Hanson, other researchers included Nataliia Iatsenko, Ph. D., former associate professor at Kharkiv National University (now V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University) in Kharkivs’ka oblast, Ukraine; and Patrick Luck, an American software developer.

Researchers gave credit in their report to the RunRepeat’s 2009 to 2014 study released in December 2018. That study compared the marathon performance across nations with a database of 2,195,588 marathon results.

Researchers noted the following omissions in their study:

  • To avoid of the influence of professional sports on the results of analysis of recreational marathons, we omitted runners with a finish time less than 2:30:00 for men and 2:45:00 for women.
  • We omitted the nations with less than 100. Their influence is negligible.
  • We omitted results from nations having less than 15 men and 15 women for each year from 2014 to 2017.
  • We omitted any data that did not list age, gender and nation.
  • We omitted Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Lithuania datasets due to some doubts about their reliability.
source: forbes.com