ArticleExtreme physiology & medicine2013
Participation and performance trends in ultra-endurance running races under extreme conditions - 'Spartathlon' versus 'Badwater'.
Article in Extreme physiology & medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- 24-Hour Ultra-Marathon Running: A Narrative Review of Performance Factors and Physiological Impacts.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- No hyponatremia despite continuous plasma sodium decline in female runners during a seven stage ultramarathon.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia: Serum Sodium, Symptomatology, Severity, and Sport Specificity.Open access journal of sports medicine · 2025Review
- Ultra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Review.Sports medicine - open · 2024Review
- Analysis of over 1 million race records shows runners from East African countries as the fastest in 50-km ultra-marathons.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Running Endurance in Women Compared to Men: Retrospective Analysis of Matched Real-World Big Data.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Article
- Sex Differences in Endurance Running.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Review
- Relationship between Exercise Intensity and IL-6 Increase during an 80 km Long-Distance Running Race.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Sex Difference in 6-h Ultra-Marathon Running-The Worldwide Trends from 1982 to 2020.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- Variability and the form-function framework in evolutionary biomechanics and human locomotion.Evolutionary human sciences · 2022Review
- Relationship between echocardiographic characteristics and cardiac biomarkers during long-distance trail running.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Article
- Muscle thickness and inflammation during a 50km ultramarathon in recreational runners.PloS one · 2022Article
- Recommendations on Youth Participation in Ultra-Endurance Running Events: A Consensus Statement.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Article
- From Athens to Sparta-37 Years of Spartathlon.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Musculoskeletal Injuries in Ultra-Endurance Running: A Scoping Review.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Participation and Performance Analysis in Children and Adolescents Competing in Time-Limited Ultra-Endurance Running Events.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The effect of an ultra-endurance running race on heart rate variability.European journal of applied physiology · 2019Article
- Women Reduce the Performance Difference to Men with Increasing Age in Ultra-Marathon Running.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Different Predictor Variables for Women and Men in Ultra-Marathon Running-The Wellington Urban Ultramarathon 2018.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of the present study was to compare the trends in participation, performance and age of finishers in 'Badwater' and 'Spartathlon' as two of the toughest ultramarathons in the world of more than 200 km of distance.
methodsRunning speed and age of male and female finishers in Badwater and Spartathlon were analyzed from 2000 to 2012. Age of peak performance and sex difference in running speed were investigated during the studied period.
resultsThe number of female and male finishes increased in Badwater and Spartathlon. Women accounted on average for 21.5% ± 6.9% in Badwater and 10.8% ± 2.3% in Spartathlon. There was a significant increase in female participation in Badwater from 18.4% to 19.1% (p < 0.01) and in Spartathlon from 11.9% to 12.5% (p = 0.02). In men, the age of finishers was higher in Badwater (46.5 ± 9.3 years) compared to Spartathlon (44.8 ± 8.2 years) (p < 0.01). The age of female finishers of both races was similar with 43.0 ± 7.5 years in Badwater and 44.5 ± 7.8 years in Spartathlon (p > 0.05). Over the years, the age of the annual five fastest men decreased in Badwater from 42.4 ± 4.2 to 39.8 ± 5.7 years (p < 0.05). For women, the age remained unchanged at 42.3 ± 3.8 years in Badwater (p > 0.05). In Spartathlon, the age was unchanged at 39.7 ± 2.4 years for men and 44.6 ± 3.2 years for women (p > 0.05). In Badwater, women and men became faster over the years. The running speed increased from 7.9 ± 0.7 to 8.7 ± 0.6 km/h (p < 0.01) in men and from 5.4 ± 1.1 to 6.6 ± 0.5 km/h (p < 0.01) in women. The sex difference in running speed remained unchanged at 19.8% ± 4.8% (p > 0.05). In Spartathlon, the running speed was stable over time at 10.8 ± 0.7 km/h for men and 8.7 ± 0.5 km/h for women (p > 0.05). The sex difference remained unchanged at 19.6% ± 2.5% (p > 0.05).
conclusionsThese results suggest that for both Badwater and Spartathlon, (a) female participation increased, (b) the fastest finishers were approximately 40 to 45 years, and (c) the sex difference was at approximately 20%. Women will not outrun men in both Badwater and Spartathlon races. Master ultramarathoners can achieve a high level of performance in ultramarathons greater than 200 km under extreme conditions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.