ArticleSports medicine - open2026
Air Pollution Impairs Marathon Performance: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 2.7 Million Finishers Across Six World Marathon Majors.
Article in Sports medicine - open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundAmbient air pollution impairs respiratory and cardiovascular function during exercise, yet evidence on its effects across the full spectrum of endurance performance remains limited.
objectivesTo quantify the association between race-day ambient air pollution and marathon finishing time across six World Marathon Majors, and to determine whether effects vary by sex, age group, and performance level.
methodsWe analysed 2,756,553 net finishing times from six World Marathon Majors (Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City, and Tokyo) for editions held between 2010 and 2024. Race-day nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) concentrations were obtained from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global reanalysis dataset. Linear mixed-effects models with random intercepts for each of 75 marathon-year events estimated pollution effects on finishing time, adjusting for heat index, wind speed, and temporal trends. Stratified analyses were conducted among 1,815,188 runners with available age data.
resultsOf the pollutants examined, NO₂ showed the stronger association with finishing time. Each 1 µg/m
conclusionsAmbient air pollution, particularly NO₂, is associated with impaired marathon performance in a dose-dependent manner, with the largest effects among recreational runners. These findings have implications for race management and public health policy regarding outdoor physical activity in urban environments.
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