Analysis of the world record time for combined father and son marathon

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the physiological profiles and the pacing strategies of the father (59 yr old) and son (34 yr old) who broke the World Record time (4:59:22; father: 2:27:52, son: 2:31:30) for combined father and son marathon in 2019. Oxygen uptake (V̇o2), heart rate (HR), ventilation (V̇e), blood lactate concentration (La), and running economy (RE) were measured during treadmill-running tests. The total distance of the marathon was divided into eight sections of 5 km and one last section of 2.195 km, and the relative average running velocity on each section was calculated individually. V̇o2max, HRmax, V̇emax, and Lamax were 65.4 mL·kg−1·min−1, 165 beats/min, 115 L/min, 5.7 mmol/L for the father and 66.9 mL·kg−1·min−1, 181 beats/min, 153 L/min, 11.5 mmol/L for the son, respectively. At 17 km/h, RE was 210 mL·kg−1·km−1 for the father and 200 mL·kg−1·km−1 for the son, and % V̇o2max sustained was 90.9% for the father and 84.5% for the son, respectively. The father maintained an even running velocity during the marathon (running velocity CV <1%), while the son ran the second half-marathon 7% slower than the first one, and his running velocity markedly dropped from the 35th kilometer. Father and son who broke the World record time for combined father and son marathon had a similar level of performance, but their physiological profiles and pacing strategies during the marathon were different. A more even speed for the son could help them to improve their own record in the near future. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We provide novel data demonstrating that different physiological profiles can lead to the same level of performance in a marathon, even at different ages. The novelty of our study is that we report on the physiological characteristics, training routine, and in-race pacing strategy that allowed a father (59 yr old) and son (34 yr old) to break the World Record time for combined father and son marathon. The father also established a new World record marathon time for the age of 59.