Finisher and performance trends in female and male mountain ultramarathoners by age group.

BACKGROUND: This study examined changes according to age group in the number of finishers and running times for athletes in female and male mountain ultramarathoners competing in the 78 km Swiss Alpine Marathon, the largest mountain ultramarathon in Europe and held in high alpine terrain. METHODS: The association between age and performance was investigated using analysis of variance and both single and multilevel regression analyses. RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2011, a total of 1,781 women and 12,198 men finished the Swiss Alpine Marathon. The number of female finishers increased (r(2) = 0.64, P = 0.001), whereas the number of male finishers (r(2) = 0.18, P = 0.15) showed no change. The annual top ten men became older and slower, whereas the annual top ten women became older but not slower. Regarding the number of finishers in the age groups, the number of female finishers decreased in the age group 18-24 years, whereas the number of finishers increased in the age groups 30-34, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 70-74 years. In the age groups 25-29 and 35-39 years, the number of finishers showed no changes across the years. In the age group 70-74 years, the increase in number of finishers was linear. For all other age groups, the increase was exponential. For men, the number of finishers decreased in the age groups 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, and 35-39 years. In the age groups 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 70-74, and 75-79 years, the number of finishers increased. In the age group 40-44 years, the increase was linear. For all other age groups, the increase was exponential. Female finishers in the age group 40-44 years became faster over time. For men, finishers in the age groups 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 40-44, and 45-49 years became slower. CONCLUSION: The number of women older than 30 years and men older than 40 years increased in the Swiss Alpine Marathon. Performance improved in women aged 40-44 years but decreased in male runners aged 18-49 years.

Sex difference in open-water ultra-swim performance in the longest freshwater lake swim in Europe.

This study examined participation and performance trends in the 26.4-km open-water ultra-swim "Marathon Swim in Lake Zurich," Switzerland. A total of 461 athletes (157 women and 304 men) finished the race between 1987 and 2011. The mean age of the finishers during the studied period was 32.0 ± 6.5 years for men and 30.9 ± 7.2 years for women. The mean age of finishers and the age of winners increased significantly across years for both sexes (p < 0.01). The winner times were significantly lower for men (403 ± 43 minutes) compared with women (452 ± 63 minutes) (p < 0.01). In contrast, the mean swimming time of the finishers did not differ between men (530 ± 39 minutes) and women (567 ± 71 minutes) (p > 0.05). The swimming time performance remained stable (p > 0.05) for both sexes across years. A higher age was associated with an increased risk for not finishing the race (odds ratio = 0.93, p = 0.045). Swim time was negatively associated with water temperature in the top 3 swimmers (ß = -9.87, p = 0.025). These results show that open-water ultra-swimming performance of elite swimmers over 26.4 km in a freshwater lake is affected by age, sex, and water temperature. The sex difference in open-water ultra-swimming performance (approximately 11.5%) remained unchanged these last 25 years. It seems unlikely that elite female swimmers will achieve the same performance of elite male swimmers competing in open-water ultra-swimming in water of approximately 20 °C. Anthropometric and physiological characteristics such as skeletal muscle mass and thermoregulation need additional investigations in female and male open-water ultra-swimmers.

Best performances by men and women open-water swimmers during the 'English Channel Swim' from 1900 to 2010.

Little research has examined ultra-endurance swimming performances. The 'English Channel Swim', where swimmers have to cover a distance of 32 km between England and France represents a unique long-distance, open-water, sea-swimming challenge, and each year swimmers from all over the world try to succeed in this challenge. The best times in minutes and the nationality of successful men and women swimmers were analysed from 1900 to 2010. A total of 1,533 swimmers (455 women and 1,078 men) from more than 40 countries have successfully completed the 'English Channel Swim'. Great Britain was the country most represented, with 38% of the total, followed by the United States with 20%. Swim speed has increased progressively for both sexes (P < 0.001) but was lower for women than for men (0.68 ± 0.15 m · s⁻¹ vs 0.71 ± 0.16 m · s⁻¹ respectively, P < 0.01). However, the best annual performances did not differ between the sexes (men: 0.89 ± 0.20 m · s⁻¹; women: 0.84 ± 0.18 m · s⁻¹, P > 0.05). The results suggest that the performance of women open-water ultra-distance swimmers may be similar to that of men. Further studies investigating anthropometrical and physiological characteristics of open-water ultra-swimmers are needed to compare men's and women's open-water ultra-swim performances.

No gender difference in peak performance in ultra-endurance swimming performance - analysis of the 'Zurich 12-h Swim' from 1996 to 2010.

The aims of the study were to [1] investigate the performance trends at the 'Zurich 12-h Swim' in Switzerland from 1996 to 2010; and [2] determine the gender difference in peak performance in ultraendurance swimming. In total, 113 male and 53 female swimmers competed in this indoor ultraendurance event while swimming in a heated pool. The number of male participants significantly increased (r² = 0.36, P = 0.04) over time while the participation of females remained unchanged (r² = 0.12, P = 0.26). In the age group < 19 years, the male swimmers achieved a significantly greater distance than the females (32.7 km vs. 21.9 km, respectively) (P < 0.05). In the older age groups (20-29 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years, and 50-59 years, respectively) was no gender difference in swimming performances (P < 0.05). The best performance was achieved in the age groups 30-39 years and 40-49 years for both genders, respectively. The athletes in the age groups < 19 years, 20-29 years and 50-59 years in females were significantly slower than the athletes in the age group 30-39 years and 40-49 years (P < 0.05). For the males, the athletes in the age group 30-39 years were significantly faster than the athletes in the age group < 19 years. The annual best performance was not significantly different between males and females (38.3 ± 2.9 km vs. 34.4 ± 8.2 km, respectively) (P < 0.05). The best male and female swim performances remained unchanged across the years. Females are able to achieve a similar swim performance in an indoor ultra-endurance swim event of ~40 km. Further studies are needed to investigate whether females are able to achieve similar or even better performances than males in openwater ultra-swimming events such as 'Channel Swimming'.

Age and sex interactions in mountain ultramarathon running - the Swiss Alpine Marathon.

BACKGROUND: The aims of the study were to examine the (a) participation, (b) difference in running times between the sexes, and (c) age-related decline in the running times of ultramarathoner women and men competing in the Swiss Alpine Marathon from 1998 to 2011. METHODS: The ultramarathoners competing in the Swiss Alpine Marathon were analyzed in terms of participation, difference in running times between the sexes, age of the fastest runners, and age-related decline in the fastest running times. The race covers a distance of 78 km, with a total altitude change of approximately 2260 m. A total of 12,194 men and 1781 women finished the race between 1998 and 2011. RESULTS: Women's participation increased from approximately 10% in 1998 to approximately 16% in 2011 (r(2) = 0.57; P = 0.001), but participation remained unchanged in men (r(2) = 0.17; P > 0.05). Over the years, the top ten women showed no change in running times (r(2) = 0.02; P > 0.05), whereas the top ten men's running times increased (r(2) = 0.46; P < 0.01). The age for peak running times increased over time both for the top ten women (r(2) = 0.58; P < 0.01) and for the top ten men (r(2) = 0.40; P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Among the top women, participation increased, the age for peak running times increased, and the running times remained unchanged. Among the men, however, the participation remained steady, and both the peak running-time age and the running times increased.