title: Differences in age of peak marathon performance between mountain and city marathon running - The ‘Jungfrau Marathon’ in Switzerland.
abstract: The age of the best marathon performance has been well investigated for flat city marathon
  running, but not for mountain marathon running. The aim of this study was to determine the age of the
  best mountain marathon performance and to compare to results of a flat city marathon. Race times
  and ages of finishers of a mountain marathon with 1,830 m of altitude change (Jungfrau Marathon,
  Switzerland) and two flat city marathons (Lausanne Marathon and Zurich Marathon, Switzerland)
  were analysed using linear, non-linear and mixed-effects regression analyses. Race times were slower
  in the mountain compared to the city marathon. In both the mountain marathon and the city marathons,
  women and men improved performance and men were faster than women when the fastest per year
  and all per year were considered. When the fastest runners in 1-year age intervals were considered
  in the mountain marathon, the fastest man (3:01 h:min) was ~35.6 years and the fastest women
  (3:28 h:min) ~34.5 years old. When all finishers were considered in 1-year age intervals, the fastest
  men (4:59 h:min) were ~29.1 years old and the fastest women (5:16 h:min) were ~25.6 years old. In
  the city marathons in 1-year age intervals, the fastest man (2:10 h:min) was ~23.7 years old and
  the fastest woman (2:36 h:min) ~32.2 years old. When all finishers were considered in 1-year age
  intervals, the fastest men (3:41 h:min) were ~35.0 years old and the fastest women (4:00 h:min) ~33.8 years
  old. In summary, the age of the fastest women and men was higher in the mountain marathon
  compared to the city marathons when the fastest runners were considered. However, when all finishers
  were considered the age of the fastest women and men was lower in the mountain marathon compared
  to the city marathons.
authors.affiliation: Gesundheitszentrum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.|Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Beat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Knechtle
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Cultural Education, Hellenic Army Academy, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Pantelis Theodoros
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Nikolaidis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Matthias Alexander
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zingg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rosemann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph Alexander
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Rüst
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000531:Altitude; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002947:Cities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013557:Switzerland; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: age; athlete; man; running; woman