Elite Marathoners Run Faster With Increasing Temperatures in Berlin Marathon

The influence of environmental conditions has been investigated for different marathon races, but not for the Berlin Marathon, the fastest marathon race course in the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential influence of environmental conditions such as temperature, precipitation, sunshine, and atmospheric pressure on marathon race times in the Berlin Marathon since its first event in 1974–2019. A total of n = 882,540 valid finisher records were available for analysis, of which 724,135 correspond to male and 158,405 to female runners. We performed analyses regarding performance levels considering all finishers, the top 3, the top 10, and the top 100 women and men. Within the 46 years of Berlin marathons under study, there was some level of precipitation for 18 years, and 28 years without any rain. Sunshine was predominant in 25 of the events, whilst in the other 21, cloud cover was predominant. There was no significant trend with time in any of the weather variables (e.g., no increase in temperature across the years). Overall runners became slower with increasing temperature and sunshine duration, however, elite runners (i.e., top 3 and top 10) seemed to run faster and improved their race times when the temperature increased (with women improving more than men). Top 10 women seemed to benefit more from increasing temperatures than top 10 males, and male top 100 runners seemed to benefit more from increasing temperatures than female top 100 runners. In the top three sub-group, no differences were observed between male and female correlations. In summary, in marathoners competing in the Berlin Marathon between 1974 and 2019, increasing temperatures and sunshine duration showed a different effect on different performance levels where overall runners (i.e., the general mass of runners) became slower with increasing temperature and sunshine duration, but elite runners (i.e., top 3, top 10) became faster with increasing temperatures where sex differences exist.

Bouncing behavior of sub-four minute milers

Elite middle distance runners present as a unique population in which to explore biomechanical phenomena in relation to running speed, as their training and racing spans a broad spectrum of paces. However, there have been no comprehensive investigations of running mechanics across speeds within this population. Here, we used the spring-mass model of running to explore global mechanical behavior across speeds in these runners. Ten elite-level 1500 m and mile runners (mean 1500 m best: 3:37.3 ± 3.6 s; mile: 3:54.6 ± 3.9 s) and ten highly trained 1500 m and mile runners (mean 1500 m best: 4:07.6 ± 3.7 s; mile: 4:27.4 ± 4.1 s) ran on a treadmill at 10 speeds where temporal measures were recorded. Spatiotemporal and spring-mass characteristics and their corresponding variation were calculated within and across speeds. All spatiotemporal measures changed with speed in both groups, but the changes were less substantial in the elites. The elite runners ran with greater approximated vertical forces (+ 0.16 BW) and steeper impact angles (+ 3.1°) across speeds. Moreover, the elites ran with greater leg and vertical stiffnesses (+ 2.1 kN/m and + 3.6 kN/m) across speeds. Neither group changed leg stiffness with increasing speeds, but both groups increased vertical stiffness (1.6 kN/m per km/h), and the elite runners more so (further + 0.4 kN/m per km/h). The elite runners also demonstrated lower variability in their spatiotemporal behavior across speeds. Together, these findings suggested that elite middle distance runners may have distinct global mechanical patterns across running speeds, where they behave as stiffer, less variable spring-mass systems compared to highly trained, but sub-elite counterparts.

"Should I keep running if nobody sees me as a runner?" : How runners with diverse body sizes perceive Runner's World's lack of inclusive representation

Runner's World is the ultimate guide to running. The magazine offers training tips, dietician-recommended recipes, gear guides, profiles on recreational and elite runners, and more. By design, Runner's World is meant to serve all runners, but by execution, the magazine fails to represent a broad range of body sizes. In fact, because of the magazine's prominence within the running community, it can even shape what runners looks like, and it has reinforced the idea that they are thin, muscular, and lanky. This study asks how Runner's World's editorial decisions affect these runners' connections to the magazine and identities as members of the running community. With a sample of 15 runners with diverse body sizes, this study uses semi-structured interviews to give these runners the platform that Runner's World does not. Data from these interviews suggest that Runner's World stories about weight loss or runners with diverse body sizes have a fatphobic tone to them. The lack of holistic representation reinforces the idea that smaller runners are faster, healthier, and more serious athletes. Runners with diverse body sizes then have to create their own networks to share the training tips, recipes, gear recommendations, and personal stories that Runner's World promises to publish. Because these runners don't see multifaceted representation of themselves in the magazine, they are hesitant to read it or sometimes even participate in the sport at all. This study encourages Runner's World to make running more inclusive by showing that all bodies are runner's bodies.

Effect of Advanced Shoe Technology on the Evolution of Road Race Times in Male and Female Elite Runners

The influence of advanced footwear technology (thickness of light midsole foam and rigid plate) on distance running performances was analyzed during an 8-year period. Analysis of variance was used to measure effects of time, gender, shoe technology, and East African origin on male and female top 20 or top 100 seasonal best times in 10-kilometer races, half-marathons, and marathons. In both genders and three distance-running events, seasonal best times significantly decreased from 2017, which coincided with the introduction of the advanced footwear technology in distance running. This performance improvement was of similar magnitude in both East African and non-East African elite runners. In female elite athletes, the magnitudes (from 1.7 to 2.3%) of the decrease in seasonal best times between 2016 and 2019 were significantly higher than in their male counterparts (from 0.6 to 1.5%). Analyses of variance confirmed that the adoption of the advanced footwear technology significantly improved the top 20 seasonal best times in female half marathons and marathons and male marathons, with the improvements being more pronounced in females and in long-distance running events. The adoption of this new shoe technology improved female marathon time by ~2 min and 10 s, which represents a significant increase in performance (1.7%).

Association Between Implementation of the Athlete Biological Passport and Female Elite Runners’ Performance

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performances of female middle- and long-distance runners before and after the implementation of a new antidoping strategy (the Athlete Biological Passport [ABP]) in a country accused of systematic doping. A retrospective analysis of the results of Russian National Championships from 2008 to 2017 was performed. The 8 best female performances for the 800-m, 1500-m, 3000-m steeplechase, 5000-m, and 10,000-m events from the semifinals and finals were analyzed. The yearly number of athletes fulfilling standard qualifications for international competitions was also evaluated. Overall, numbers of athletes banned for doping in 2008–2017 were calculated. As a result, 4 events (800, 1500, 5000 [all P < .001], and 10,000 m [P < .01]) out of 5 showed statistically significant deterioration in the performances when comparing before and after the introduction of the ABP. The 3000-m steeplechase was the only event that did not show statistically significant change. The highest relative decrease in the number of runners who met standard qualification for international competition was for the 5000-m event (46%), followed by 1500-m (42%), 800-m (38%), 10,000-m (17%), and 3000-m steeplechase (1%). In conclusion, implementation of the ABP was followed by a significant reduction in the performance of female runners in a country accused of systematic doping. It can be reasonably speculated that more stringent antidoping testing, more specifically the introduction of the ABP, is a key reason for this reduction.