REF-1101 · Fokkema et al., 2020 · Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, · Paper · PubMed
Recreational (half-)marathon runners (n=997): higher weekly volume and a longer longest run went with faster finish times; for the marathon a longest run under 25 km went with a slower finish (β 13.44, units not stated, likely minutes); no training characteristic was associated with injury
556 half-marathon and 441 marathon participants completed three questionnaires on running-related injuries, weekly training volume and the longest endurance run during preparation and after the event; finish time, decline in pace and injuries were regressed on volume and longest run.
Participants
997 recreational runners: 556 half marathon, 441 marathon.
Protocol
Questionnaires before and after the event; linear and logistic regression.
Key Results
Marathon: a longest endurance run under 25 km was associated with a slower finish time (β 13.44, units not stated in the abstract, likely minutes; 95% CI 5.34 to 21.55); weekly volume under 40 km was associated with slower (β 6.33) and over 65 km with faster finish times (β −14.09).
Half marathon: volume over 32 km/week (β −4.19) and a longest run over 21 km (β −3.87) were associated with faster finishes and less decline in pace.
No associations between training characteristics and running-related injuries.
Practical Application
Recreational marathoners whose longest run stayed under 25 km finished slower (β 13.44, likely minutes), and a longer longest run was not associated with more injuries. It was one of the two training variables examined, and both — weekly volume and the longest run — were associated with finish time; the design cannot show cause.
Limitations
Observational and self-reported; fitter runners may train longer.
Recreational runners only; the abstract does not give the share of women.
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
large observational cohort, self-reported training