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Purpose: To examine pacing strategies of ultracyclists competing in the Race Across AMerica (RAAM), the world's longest ultracycling race, covering ~4860 km from the West to the East coast of America. Methods: Age, cycling speed at and across time stations, race distance, relative difference in altitude between time stations, wind velocity, wind gradient, and temperature at each time station were recorded for women and men competing from 2010 to 2014. Changes in cycling speed and power output of elite and age-group finishers were analyzed using mixed-effects regression analyses. Results: Cycling speed decreased across time stations for women and men where men were faster than women. Power output decreased across time stations in women and men and was lower for women for all finishers, the annual 3 fastest, and age group 60-69 y but not for age groups 18-49 and 50-59 y. The change in temperature and altitude had an influence on cycling speed and power output in all finishers, the annual top 3, nonfinishers, and in all different age groups for both women and men but in the age group 50-59 y altitude had no influence on cycling speed. Conclusions: Positive pacing (ie, decrease in speed throughout the race) seemed to be the adequate strategy in the RAAM. The top 3 finishers started faster and had a higher power output at the start than less successful competitors, achieved the highest peak cycling speeds and power output, and maintained peak cycling speed and power output longer before slowing down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The sex difference in ultraendurance performance has been investigated in swimmers, runners, and triathletes but not in cyclists. The purpose of this study was to examine the sex difference in the longest ultra-cycling race in the world, the Race Across America (RAAM). Methods: Cycling speed of female and male finishers in the RAAM between 1982 and 2012 was compared. Results: A total of 452 athletes including 404 men (89.4%) and 48 women (10.6%) finished. Mean cycling speed was 19.4 ± 2.0 km/h for men and 17.5 ± 2.0 km/h for women. Men were riding 1.9 ± 2.0 km/h (10.9%) faster than women. The fastest cycling speed ever was 24.77 km/h for men and 21.27 km/h for women, with a sex difference of 14.2%. Between 1982 and 2012, cycling speed was 22.7 ± 1.1 km/h for the annual fastest men and 18.4 ± 1.6 km/h for the annual fastest women, with an unchanged sex difference of 19.4% ± 7.3% (P > .05). For the annual top 3 men, cycling speed was 21.8 ± 0.9 km/h with no change across years (P > .05). The annual top 3 women achieved a cycling speed of 16.6 ± 1.0 km/h with no change over time (P > .05). The sex difference of 24.6% ± 3.0% showed no change across years (P > .05). Conclusions: In the last 30 y, men crossed America faster than women, and it seems unlikely that women will overtop men in the near future in the RAAM. However, the sex difference was only 14-15% among top competitors. Future studies need to analyze anthropometric, psychological, and physiological characteristics of successful female and male ultracyclists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the relationship between race times and age, in 1-year intervals, by using the world single age records, from 5 km to marathon running (i. e., 5 km, 4 miles, 8, 10, 12, 15 km, 10 miles, 20 km, half-marathon, 25 km, 30 km, and marathon). For each race, a regression model was fitted. Effects of sex, alone and in interaction with age, and the effect of country of origin on performance were examined in a multi-variable model. The relationship between age and race time was modeled through a 4th order-polynomial function. Women achieved their best half-marathon and marathon race time, respectively, 1 year and 3 years earlier in life than men. On the contrary, in the other races, the best women performances were achieved later in life than men (i.e., 4 miles and 30 km: 2 years later, 8 km: 3 years later, 15–20–25 km: 1 year later, 10 miles: 4 years) or at the same age (i.e., 5, 10, 12 km). Moreover, age of peak performance did not change monotonically with the distance of race. For all races, except 12 km, sex differences had an absolute maximum at old ages and a relative maximum near the age of peak performance. From 8 km onward, estimated sex differences were increasing with increasing race distance. Regarding country, runners from Canada were slower than runners from the United States of America in 5 km by 00:10:05 h:min:s (p < 0.001) and in half-marathon by 00:18:43 h:min:s (p < 0.01). On the contrary, in marathon, they were 00:18:43 h:min faster (p < 0.05). Moreover, in 10 miles, runners from Great Britain were 00:02:53 h:min:s faster (p < 0.05) than runners from the United States of America. In summary, differences seem to exist in the age of peak performance between women and men and for nearly all distances sex differences showed an absolute maximum at old ages and relative maximum near the age of peak performance. Thus, these findings highlight the need for sex-specific training programs, especially near the age of peak performance and for elder runners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The age for the fastest marathoners is well investigated, but not the age and nationality of the fastest. We investigated the age of peak marathon performance for the annual top 100 women and men competing in four races of the "World Marathon Majors" (Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York) and the "Stockholm Marathon" between 2000 and 2014 using mixed-effects regression analyses and one-way ANOVA. Race times of Ethiopian men decreased to 2:14 h:min, but remained unchanged for Kenyan (2:14 h:min), Moroccan (2:15 h:min) and South African (2:18 h:min) men. Race times in Ethiopian (2:34 h: min), Kenyan (2:29 h:min) and South African (2:49 h:min) women showed no changes. Age increased in Ethiopian and South African men to 29.0 ± 5.0 and 32.0 ± 1.0 years, respectively. Age for Kenyan (29.9 ± 2.0 years) and Moroccan (34.9 ± 3.9 years) men remained unchanged. Age remained unchanged for Ethiopian (26.5 ± 2.0 years), Kenyan (30.0 ± 0.8 years) and South African (36.3 ± 7.0 years) women. In summary, Ethiopian men improved marathon race times, but not Ethiopian women. Age increased in Ethiopian men, but not in Ethiopian women. For practical applications, female and male marathoners from Ethiopia were the youngest and the fastest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To monitor the training intensity distribution (TID) and the development of physiological and performance parameters. Methods: During their preparation period for the RAAM, 4 athletes (plus 1 additional backup racer) performed 3 testing sessions; one before, one after 3, and one after 6 months of training. VO2max, maximal rate of lactate accumulation (dLa/dtmax), critical power, power output at lactate minimum (MLSSP), peak and mean power output during a sprint test, heart rate recovery, isometric strength, jumping height, and body composition were determined. All training sessions were recorded with a power meter. The endurance TID was analyzed based on the time in zone approach, according to a classical 3-zone model, including all power data of training sessions, and a power specific 3-zone model, where time with power output below 50% of MLSSP was not considered. Results: The TID using the classical 3-zone model reflected a pyramidal TID (zone 1: 63 ± 16, zone 2: 28 ± 13 and zone 3: 9 ± 4%). The power specific 3-zone model resulted in a threshold-based TID (zone 1: 48 ± 13, zone 2: 39 ± 10, zone 3: 13 ± 4%). VO2max increased by 7.1 ± 5.3% (P = 0.06). dLa/dtmax decreased by 16.3 ± 8.1% (P = 0.03). Power output at lactate minimum and critical power increased by 10.3 ± 4.1 and 16.8 ± 6.2% (P = 0.01), respectively. No changes were found for strength parameters and jumps. Conclusion: The present study underlines that a threshold oriented TID results in only moderate increases in physiological parameters. The amount of training below 50% of MLSSp (~28% of total training time) is remarkably high. Researchers, trainers, and athletes should pay attention to the different ways of interpreting training power data, to gain realistic insights into the TID and the corresponding improvements in performance and physiological parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Participation and performance trends have been investigated in ultramarathons and ultratriathlons but not in ultracycling. The aim of the present study was to investigate (1) participation and performance trends in ultraendurance cyclists, (2) changes in cycling speed over the years, and (3) the age of the fastest male and female ultraendurance cyclists. Methods: Participation and performance trends in the 5000 km Race Across America (RAAM) and in two RAAM-qualifier races - the 818 km Furnace Creek 508 in the United States and the 715 km Swiss Cycling Marathon in Europe - were investigated using linear regression analyses and analyses of variance. Results: On average, ~41% of participants did not finish either the RAAM or the Furnace Creek 508, whereas ~26% did not finish the Swiss Cycling Marathon. Female finishers accounted for ~11% in both the RAAM and the Furnace Creek 508 but only ~3% in the Swiss Cycling Marathon. The mean cycling speed of all finishers remained unchanged during the studied periods. The winner's average speed was faster for men than for women in the RAAM (22.6 ± 1.1 km . h-1 versus 18.4 ± 1.7 km . h-1, respectively; average speed difference between male and female winners, 25.0% ± 11.9%), the Swiss Cycling Marathon (30.8 ± 0.8 km . h-1 versus 24.4 ± 1.9 km . h-1, respectively; average speed difference between male and female winners, 27.8% ± 9.4%), and the Furnace Creek 508 (27.4 ± 1.6 km . h-1 versus 23.4 ± 3.0 km . h-1, respectively; average speed difference between male and female winners, 18.4% ± 13.9%). In both the Furnace Creek 508 and the Swiss Cycling Marathon, ~46% of the finishers were aged between 35 and 49 years. The mean age of winners, both male and female, across the years in the Furnace Creek 508 and in the Swiss Cycling Marathon was 37 ± 10 years. Conclusion: These findings in ultracycling races showed that (1) ~26%-40% of starters were unable to finish, (2) the percentage of female finishers was ~3%-11%, (3) the gender difference in performance was ~18%-28%, and (4) ~46% of the successful finishers were master athletes. Future studies need to investigate the reasons for the low female participation and focus on the age-related performance decline in other ultraendurance events in order to confirm that master athletes are predisposed to ultraendurance performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well known that athletes originating from a specific region or country can master specific sports disciplines (e.g., East-African runners in long-distance running). In addition, physical and athletic performance are the result of an interaction between genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors. However, little is known about on what determines sports success and performance for long-distance master swimmers such as origin. The aim of the study was to investigate the participation and performance trends of elite master open-water swimmers competing in the World Championships (WC) in 3000 m open-water swimming between 1986 and 2019., Methods: A total of 9247 valid participants were analyzed using generalized linear models (GLMs) with a gamma probability distribution and log link function. Resultsː Most of the starters were from Italy (1646 participations), followed by the United States of America (USA) (1128 participations) and Germany (959 participations). Swimmers from Italy were significantly faster than swimmers from Canada, Germany, USA, Great Britain and also from all other countries grouped ( p < 0.005). The age group from 35-39 years old was significantly faster than athletes from age groups of 25-29 years old, 30-34 years old, 40-44 years old, 45-49 years old and 50-54 years old ( p < 0.005). The percentage of local athletes in WC was 36% and varied from 36% (Italy, 2004) to 43 % (Germany), 53% (Italy, 2012) and up to 68 % (USA, 1992)., Conclusions: Swimmers from Italy were the faster and the most numerous starters during this period of 27 years and 15 editions all over the world in 3000 m master open-water swimming.

Recent studies investigating elite and master athletes in pool- and long-distance open-water swimming showed for elite swimmers that the fastest women were able to outperform the fastest men, and for master athletes that elderly women were able to achieve a similar performance to elderly men. The present study investigating age group records in runners from 5 km to 6 days aimed to test this hypothesis for master runners. Data from the American Master Road Running Records were analyzed, for 5 km, 8 km, 10 km, 10 miles, 20 km, half-marathon, 25 km, 30 km, marathon, 50 km, 50 miles, 100 km, 100 miles, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 144 h, for athletes in age groups ranging from 40 to 99 years old. The performance gap between men and women showed higher effects in events lengthening from 5 km to 10 miles (d = 0.617) and lower effects in events lengthening from 12 to 144 h (d = 0.304) running. Both other groups showed similar effects, being 20 km to the marathon (d = 0.607) and 50 km to 100 miles (d = 0.563). The performance gap between men and women showed higher effects in the age groups 85 years and above (d = 0.953) followed by 55 to 69 years (d = 0.633), and lower effects for the age groups 40 to 54 years (d = 0.558) and 70 to 84 years (d = 0.508). In summary, men are faster than women in American road running events, however, the sex gap decreases with increasing age but not with increasing event length.

The aims of the present study were to (1) investigate the participation trends for the origin of athletes competing in 100-km ultra-marathons and (2) determine the nationalities of athletes achieving the fastest 100-km race times worldwide. Race times and nationality from 112,283 athletes (15,204 women and 97,079 men) from 102 countries who completed a 100-km ultra-marathon worldwide between 1998 and 2011 were investigated using single- and multi-level regression analyses. The number of finishers increased exponentially, both for women and men. Most of the finishers (73.5%) were from Europe, in particular, France (30.4%). The number of finishers from Japan, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United States of America increased exponentially during the studied period. For women, runners from Canada became slower while those from Italy became faster over time. For men, runners from Belgium, Canada and Japan became slower. Between 1998 and 2011, the ten best race times were achieved by Japanese runners for both women with 457.1 (s = 28.8) min and men with 393.4 (s = 9.6) min. To summarise, most of the finishers in 100-km ultra-marathons originated from Europe, but the best performances belong to Japanese runners. Although East African runners dominate running up to a marathon, Japanese were the best in 100 km.