ArticlePloS one2017
Declines in marathon performance: Sex differences in elite and recreational athletes.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- The association between nationality, gender, age and running performance in endurance runners: an empirical analysis of worldwide multi-distance race data from 1999 to 2024.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The New York City Marathon: A systematic review of performance, participation, pacing, and health-related outcomes.EXCLI journal · 2026Review
- Analysis of the 50-mile ultramarathon distance using a predictive XGBoost model.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Performance prediction equation for the Valencia Marathon based on time and pacing in the half marathon.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Performance of Marathon Runners.Translational sports medicine · 2025Article
- Themes and trends in marathon performance research: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis from 2009 to 2023.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Review
- Change in grip strength, hang time, and knot tying speed after 24 hours of endurance rock climbing.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- Article
- No Trends in the Age of Peak Performance among the Best Half-Marathoners and Marathoners in the World between 1997-2020.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Article
- Development and Validation of Prediction Equation of "Athens Authentic Marathon" Men's Race Speed.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Are Individual and Environmental Characteristics Associated With Running Performance in Female Runners of Different Age Categories?Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Increased Participation and Decreased Performance in Recreational Master Athletes in "Berlin Marathon" 1974-2019.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Using Accelerometry for Evaluating Energy Consumption and Running Intensity Distribution Throughout a Marathon According to Sex.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Modelling the maximal active consumption rate and its plasticity in humans-perspectives from hot dog eating competitions.Biology letters · 2020Article
- Human Lower Limb Joint Biomechanics in Daily Life Activities: A Literature Based Requirement Analysis for Anthropomorphic Robot Design.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2020Article
- Women Reduce the Performance Difference to Men with Increasing Age in Ultra-Marathon Running.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- The Age-Related Performance Decline in Marathon Running: The Paradigm of the Berlin Marathon.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Performance and Pacing of Age Groups in Half-Marathon and Marathon.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Age of peak performance in 50-km ultramarathoners - is it older than in marathoners?Open access journal of sports medicine · 2018Article
- World Single Age Records in Running From 5 km to Marathon.Frontiers in psychology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The first aim of this study was to determine the age group at which marathon performance declines in top male and female runners and to compare that to the runners of average ability. Another aim of this of this study was to examine the age-related yearly decline in marathon performance between age group winners and the average marathon finisher. Data from the New York (NYC), Boston, and Chicago marathons from 2001-2016 were analyzed. Age, sex, and location were used in multiple linear regression models to determine the rate of decline in marathon times. Winners of each age group were assessed in 5-year increments from 16 through 74 years old (n = 47 per age group). The fastest times were between 25-34 years old, with overall champion males at 28.3 years old, and overall champion females at 30.8 years old (p = 0.004). At 35 years of age up to 74 years of age, female age group winners had a faster yearly decline in marathon finishing times compared to male age group winners, irrespective of marathon location [women = (min:sec) 2:33 per year, n = 336; men = 2:06 per year, n = 373, p < 0.01]. The median times between each age group only slowed beginning at 50 years old, thereafter the decline was similar between both men and women (women = 2:36, n = 140; men = 2:57, n = 150, p = 0.11). The median times were fastest at Boston and similar between Chicago and NYC. In conclusion, the rate of decline at 35 years old up to 74 years old is roughly linear (adjusted r2 = 0.88, p < 0.001) with female age group winners demonstrating 27 s per year greater decline per year compared to male age group winners.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.