Gender and Age Differences in Performance of Over 70,000 Chinese Finishers in the Half- and Full-Marathon Events

Abstract

(1) Background: The aim of the present study was to examine the characteristics of over 70,000 long-distance finishers over the last four years in Chinese half- and full-marathon events; (2) Methods: The available data of all finishers (n = 73,485; women, n = 17,134; men, n = 56,351) who performed half- and full-marathon events in Hangzhou from 2016 to 2019 were further analyzed for the characteristics of gender, age and average running speed; (3) Results: The total men-to-women ratio was the lowest in the half-marathon event (1.86) and the highest in the full-marathon event (17.42). Faster running performance in males than in females and faster average running speed in short-distance runners were shown. Gender and race distance were observed to have the most significant effects on average running speed (p < 0.01). For both male and female finishers, the slowest running speed was shown in older age groups (p < 0.01) during the full marathon. Our results indicated that the gender difference in performance was attenuated in the longer race distances and older age groups; (4) Conclusions: Understanding the participation and performances across different running distances would provide insights into physiological and biomechanical characteristics for training protocols and sports gear development in different groups.