Relationship between level of performance and training characteristics of runners competing in the Oslo Marathon

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between performance and training characteristics of recreational runners participating in the BMW Oslo Marathon 2017. Methods: A descriptive quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used to collect information regarding the participants training characteristics. A total of 2,245 participants (42.6±11.2 years) with 938 female (41.2±10.9 years) and 1,307 males (43.7±11.4 years) who completed either the 10,000m, half-marathon or marathon were included. Results: Training volume tended to increase with increasing competition distance. A moderate to low negative relationship was observed between weekly training volume and finishing time for all distances. Runners aged ≥41 years tended to run slower than runners aged ≤40 years. Normal weight participants ran faster and trained more compared to overweight participants. Conclusions: Only small differences in running times were found for any of the distances between runners aged ≤40 and ≥41 years. Runners aged ≥41 years were found to run more km per week compared to runners aged ≥41 years. The runners in the present study trained, on average, fewer km per week than what has previously been reported and recommended for recreational runners in the research literature

Keywords

• Training volume
• training frequency
• gender
• BMI