scholarly journals Sub 3-Hour Marathon Runners for Five Consecutive Decades Demonstrate a Reduced Age-Related Decline in Performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romuald Lepers ◽  
Amby Burfoot ◽  
Paul J. Stapley

Estimation of the age-related decline in athletic performance by analyzing age-group world record performances presents an inherent limitation because the records generally belong to different individuals. Longitudinal studies describing the changes in performance with advancing age for the same individuals with a consistent training regimen are more appropriate to determine age-related changes in performance. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the age-related decline in running performance of sub 3-h marathoners for five consecutive calendar decades. The best marathon performances for each decade from the 1970s to the 2010s were analyzed for 40 sub 3-h runners (39 males and 1 female). The cohort mean personal best performance was 2 h 23 min ± 9 min at an age of 28.6 ± 4.7 years. The mean difference in age between the first and the last sub 3-h marathon races was 32.9 ± 1.6 years. The time difference in marathon performance between the personal best and the worst performance during the 5th decade was 26 ± 9 min, corresponding to a mean increase of 1 min 4 s per year, i.e., a decrease in running speed of 0.67 ± 0.29% per year. These results suggest that with consistent training and racing regimens, it is possible to limit the age-related decline in marathon performance to less than 7% per decade at least until 60 years of age. Further studies are required to verify if such a low rate of age-related decline in endurance performance could be maintained after 60 years of age.

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romuald Lepers ◽  
Paul J. Stapley ◽  
Thomas Cattagni

Background: Age-related declines in sport performance are characteristic of all endurance and sprinting disciplines. However, it is not known if the mode of locomotion (ie, swimming, cycling or running) influences the age-related decline in sport performance in sprinting and endurance events. Methods: To examine the age-related decline in 3 different modes of locomotion (ie, swimming, cycling, and running) for endurance and sprint events, the world-best performances achieved for men in the age groups 18–39, 40–44, 45–49, 50–54, 55–59, 60–64, 65–69, 70–74, 75–79, and 80–84 y were compared in swimming (1500 and 50 m), cycling (1 h and 200 m), and running (10 and 100 m). Each performance was considered as an average speed (throughout the distance), and the age-related decline in performance was expressed as a percentage of the world record (regardless of age group) for that discipline. Results: The age-related decline in 1-h track cycling is less pronounced than in 1500-m swimming and 10-km running after 60 y. In contrast, the age-related decline was similar among the 3 locomotion modes for the sprinting events. Conclusion: The data show that the maintenance of high performance in cycling persists longer into old age than in running and swimming.


2008 ◽  
Vol 276 (1657) ◽  
pp. 683-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörn Rittweger ◽  
Pietro Enrico di Prampero ◽  
Nicola Maffulli ◽  
Marco V Narici

Human physical performance is notably reduced with ageing. Although the effects of ageing are often compounded by disuse, the study of master athletes provides an opportunity for investigating the effects of ageing per se . It is often held that sprinting is more affected than endurance performance. However, past analyses of master athletic world record data have yielded opposite observations. We argue here that our understanding of these data improves by considering how, biomechanically, metabolic power is related to athletic performance. In line with earlier studies, our analysis showed that running speed declines with age in a more pronounced way for endurance events than for sprinting events, confirming former studies. However, when assessing the metabolic power required to achieve the running world records, sprint and endurance events show a relatively uniform decline with age across the different events. This study has reconciled formerly conflicting scientific results and improves our understanding of the ageing process. However, it is unclear as to which are the governing mechanisms that cause the different systems in our body, responsible for sprinting and for endurance performance, to be affected by ageing in a remarkably uniform way.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 168-168
Author(s):  
Junhong Zhou ◽  
Gabriele Cattaneo ◽  
Wanting Yu ◽  
Jose Tormos ◽  
Lewis Lipsitz ◽  
...  

Abstract After the age of 65, one’s ability to walk while performing an additional cognitive task (i.e., dual-tasking) is predictive of both future falls and cognitive decline. However, while it is well-known that older adults exhibit diminished dual-task performance, the time course of age-related dual-task decline has not been established. We thus conducted an analysis of data collected within the ongoing Barcelona Brain Health Initiative, a prospective population-based study characterizing the determinants of brain health maintenance in middle-aged adults. Cognitively-unimpaired participants (n=655) aged 40-65 years without neuro-psychiatric disease completed laboratory-based trials of walking normally (single-task) and walking while performing a verbalized serial subtraction task (dual-task). A smartphone-based gait assessment application was used to capture data and derive both the mean stride time (ST) and stride time variability (STV, defined as the coefficient of variation about the mean stride time) of each trial. The dual-task costs (DTC) to each gait metric were obtained by calculating the percent change from single- to dual-task conditions. We categorized participants into five groups according to age (e.g. Group 1: 40-45 years; Group 5: 60-65 years). Age group did not have an effect on single-task gait outcomes (p>0.51). However, the oldest age group, as compared to each of the other groups, exhibited greater DTC to both ST and STV (p<0.03). These results indicate that dual-task walking performance in particular may begin to diminish in late middle age even in the absence of detectable cognitive issues, DTC may offer a sensitive metric to age-related change in cognitive function.


2017 ◽  
Vol 181 (17) ◽  
pp. 452-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiziana Liuti ◽  
Richard Reardon ◽  
Paddy M Dixon

Disorders affecting the equine maxillary cheek teeth and paranasal sinuses are relatively common, but limited objective information is available on the dimensions and relationships of these structures in horses of different ages. The aims of this study were to assess age-related changes in the positioning and anatomical relationships of the individual maxillary cheek teeth with the infraorbital canal and maxillary septum and the volumes of the individual sinus compartments. CT and gross examination were performed on 60 normal equine cadaver heads that were aged by their dentition. The intrasinus position of cheek teeth, length of reserve crowns, relationship to the infraorbital canal and measurements of rostral drift and sinus compartment volumes were assessed from CT images. The findings included that Triadan 10 alveoli lay fully or partially in the rostral maxillary sinus (RMS) in 60% of cases. The infraorbital canal lay directly on the medial aspect of the alveolar apex in younger horses. The Triadan 11’sclinical crowns and apices drifted a mean of 2.48 and 2.83 cm more rostral to the orbit, respectively, in the >15 years old vs the <6 years old age group. The mean volumes of sinus compartments ranged from 175 cm3for the caudal maxillary sinus (CMS) to 4 cm3for the ethmoidal sinus (ES). This information should be of value in the diagnosis and treatment of equine dental and sinus disorders and as reference values for further studies.


Parasitology ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Trees ◽  
G. Wahl ◽  
S. Kläger ◽  
A. Renz

SUMMARYOnchocerca ochengi is a common parasite of cattle in savanna areas of West Africa and its adult stages inhabit intradermal nodules. We have exploited the accessibility of the macrofilariae to examine quantitative and qualitative differences in both the macro- and microfilariae (mff) in relation to age in naturally infected cattle. Autochthonous cattle at a site on the Adamawa plateau, North Cameroon, situated near a perennial Simulium damnosum s.l. breeding site, were examined in three age groups (1·5–2·5, n = 34; 3–5, n = 39 and ≥ 8 years old, n = 21). Skin mff densities were assessed from ventral skin biopsies, total body counts of nodules were done by palpation and 1–4 nodules were excised from positive animals, collagenase digested and the numbers and condition of macrofilariae determined. Embryogenesis profiles (embryograms) were done on a representative number of female worms in each age group. The overall prevalence of infection in the study population was 71% for mff and 85% for nodules. Nodule prevalence increased significantly from the 1·5–2·5 to 3–5 years old groups, but no other inter-age prevalences were significantly different. While the mean number of nodules per animal increased with age, geometric means (gm) 3·7, 15·5 and 23·1, the skin mff density maximized in the middle age group and decreased significantly in the old animals (gm 15·8, 44·7 and 11·4 mff/g, difference between latter two parameters significant, P < 0·05). Moreover, there was a significant correlation (P < 0·01) between individual nodule counts and skin mff densities in the mid-aged group but not in the oldest group. Examination of nodules showed that nodule counts equated to numbers of female worms, since almost all of 133 nodules examined contained only 1 live female worm. Although the proportion of old female (and male) worms increased with the age groups – 2 (0), 30 (28) and 54 (32)% – the proportion of gravid females (52·8, 48·8 and 58·0%) and the mean number of viable embryos in these females (82·5 × 103, 76·0 × 103 and 102·1 × 103) did not change with age. Thus, due to the higher nodule counts, a calculated productivity index reflecting the potential mff production per animal was 8 times higher in the ≥ 8-year-old animals than in the youngest and 3 times higher than in the middle group, which sharply contrasts with the decline in skin mff density. Although further research is required, these findings may indicate acquired immunity directed against microfilariae. They demonstrate the potential of O. ochengi infections in cattle to investigate a number of aspects of the host–parasite relationship which may have relevance to human onchocerciasis.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Chee Ping Wong ◽  

Nutritional ergogenic aids are substances which can enhance athletic performance by influencing physiological processes. Sportspersons usually take supplements before, during and after a sports competition to make sure they have adequate nutrition, maximize their energy storage and enhance their physical sports performance. Endurance athletes such as marathon runners, triathlons and cyclist are known to use supplements to enhance their physical performance. Supplements may enhance endurance performance by increasing the available blood glucose during exercise, increasing body glycogen storage in muscle and liver, and increasing antioxidant status. The increasing availability of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the working muscles will augment physical sports performance. It is believed that honey is an ergogenic aid supplement but it is lacking in solid scientific evidences to prove its efficacy. Thus, it has received scientists’ attention to conduct scientific research to test this supposition. This article discusses the effects of honey supplementation on endurance performance in athletes.


1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian P. Snider ◽  
Terry L. Bazzarre ◽  
Scott D. Murdoch ◽  
Allan Goldfarb

This study examined the effects of the Coenzyme Athletic Performance System (CAPS) on endurance performance to exhaustion. CAPS contains 100 mg coenzyme Q10,500 mg cytochrome C, 100 mg inosine, and 200 IU vitamin E. Eleven highly trained male triathletes were given three daily doses of either CAPS or placebo (dicalcium phosphate) for two 4-week periods using a double-blind crossover design. A 4-week washout period separated the two treatment periods. An exhaustive performance test, consisting of 90 minutes of running on a treadmill (70%) followed by cycling (70%) until exhaustion, was conducted after each treatment period. The mean (±SEM) time to exhaustion for the subjects using CAPS (223 ±17 min) was not significantly different (p=0.57) from the placebo trial (215 ±9 min). Blood glucose, lactate, and free fatty acid concentrations at exhaustion did not differ between treatments (p< 0.05). CAPS had no apparent benefit on exercise to exhaustion.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkiru Osude ◽  
Ramon A Durazo-Arvizu ◽  
Talar Markossian ◽  
Kiang Liu ◽  
Erin D Michos ◽  
...  

Introduction: Blood pressure (BP) control may decline with age and degree of decline may differ by sex. Methods: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) recruited 6814 men and women, age 45 to 84 years, from six communities in the U.S. during 2000-2002 and follow-up exams occurred every two years for a total of 6 exams from 2000-2016. We assessed the association of age and sex with hypertension control using MESA data among participants receiving treatment for hypertension at any of the first five exams At each exam, resting BP was measured in triplicate at 1-minute intervals using an automated oscillometric device; we used the mean of last two measurements. Hypertension control was defined as BP < 140/90 mmHg among adults with treated hypertension. Mixed-effects models were used to examine the association of sex with BP control by age group (45-64, 65-84, 85+ yrs) while accounting for the clustering within sites and intra-individual correlation and adjusting for demographics, co-morbidities, smoking, alcohol use, and education. Results: Among the 2,017 adults receiving treatment for hypertension (63.1% controlled), the mean age at exam 1 was 64.0 (9.1) yrs, 43.3% male; race/ethnicity was 33.5% White, 9.2% Chinese, 37.2% Black and 20.1% Hispanic. There was a significant interaction of sex*age group (P < 0.001) in mixed-effects models after adjustment for all covariates. The adjusted probability of BP control was then calculated for each sex and age group. Among women, the probability of BP control declined from 74.6% (95% CI 70.8%, 78.5%) for age 45-64 yrs to 55.9% (50.0%, 61.8%) for age 85+ yrs. Among men, probability of BP control declined from 74.0% (70.0%, 78.0%) for age 45-64 yrs to 70.6% (65.7%, 75.5%) for age 85+ yrs. The figure shows the probability of hypertension control by sex and age at a given exam. Conclusion: Hypertension control differs by sex. Interventions are needed to address age-related sex disparities in hypertension control.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Burak Durmaz ◽  
Hasan Taslidere ◽  
Guldane Koturoglu ◽  
Cumhur Gunduz ◽  
Mehmet Orman ◽  
...  

The cytokinesis-block micronucleus (MN) assay on blood lymphocytes is one of the most important tests implemented in cytogenetics for the measurement of genotoxicity. For the purpose of biological dosing, it is crucial to know the spontaneous frequency of MN and its normal values in general population, especially in children, which are used for the population databases. In this study, MN levels were investigated in cytokinesis-blocked lymphocytes of 150 apparently healthy children aged 1 to 15. Our aim was to assess the variability of MN values according to age and sex. The mean MN frequency among boys was 3.69 ± 1.747‰ and 4.12 ± 1.867‰ in girls where there was no significant difference in relation to age and sex. However, when we separated age groups as 0–2 years, 3–5 years, 6–10 years, and 11–15 years, one-way ANOVA test showed significant association. Significance was obvious in the 0–2 years age group with the 3–5 years age group and 6–10 years age group. When we grouped our study population as 0–2 years and 3–15 years, the mean MN frequency among the 0–2 years age group was 2.85 ± 1.599‰ and 4.07 ± 1.867‰ in the 3–15 years age group which was also statistically significant. This difference may be attributed to age-related increase of close contact with environmental hazardous agents. In conclusion, normal values of MN obtained in this study will add valuable information in regard to update the current childhood population data and will act as a reference for further genotoxicity studies.


Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Cuk ◽  
Pantelis Nikolaidis ◽  
Srdjan Markovic ◽  
Beat Knechtle

Background and Objective: The increased popularity of marathons and half-marathons has led to a significant increase in the number of master runners worldwide. Since the age-related decrease in performance is dependent on race duration, pacing in long distance running might also vary by race distance in both men and women. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess pacing differences between marathon and half-marathon runners with regard to the runners’ age group, and independently for men and women. Materials and Methods: In total, 17,465 participants in the Vienna City marathon in 2017 were considered for this study (marathon, N = 6081; half-marathon, N = 11,384). Pacing was expressed as two variables (i.e., pace range and end spurt). Results: All runners showed positive pacing strategies (i.e., a fast start with gradual decrease of speed). However, marathon runners showed greater variability in pacing than half-marathon runners. Furthermore, women showed no differences in pace variability in regard to the age group, whereas men younger than 30 years of age, as well as older men (over the age of 60), showed a greater variability in pace than other age groups. Finally, younger half-marathon men and women showed the fastest end spurt compared to older age groups and marathon runners. Conclusions: The presented findings could help sports and medicine practitioners to create age specific training plans and pacing strategies. This approach could help long distance runners to improve their physical fitness, achieve better race times, reduce the potential risk of musculoskeletal injuries and increase the overall pleasure of long distance running.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document