Asian Journal of Sports Medicine
The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between skeletal muscle mass, body fat and training characteristics with running times in master athletes (age > 35 years) in half-marathon, marathon and ultra-marathon.
We compared skeletal muscle mass, body fat and training characteristics in master half-marathoners (
After multi-variate analysis, body fat was related to half-marathon (
To summarize, body fat and training characteristics, not skeletal muscle mass, were associated with running times in master half-marathoners, master marathoners, and master ultra-marathoners. Master half-marathoners and master marathoners rather rely on a high running speed during training whereas master ultra-marathoners rely on a high running volume during training. The common opinion that skeletal muscle mass affects running performance in master runners needs to be questioned.
© 2012, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
Schmid W, Knechtle B, Knechtle P, Barandun U, Rst CA, et al. Predictor Variables for Marathon Race Time in Recreational Female Runners. Asian J Sports Med. 2012;3(2):34704. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.34704
Friedrich M, Rst CA, Rosemann T, Knechtle P, Barandun U, et al. A Comparison of Anthropometric and Training Characteristics between Female and Male Half-Marathoners and the Relationship to Race Time. Asian J Sports Med. 2013;5(1):34175. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.34175
Mesfen A, Melkamu Z. Effects of Interval and Power Training on the Physical, Physiological, and Training Characteristics of Trained Distance Runners. Asian J Sports Med. 2024;15(4):e149375. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm-149375
Knechtle B. Relationship of Anthropometric and Training Characteristics with Race Performance in Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Athletes. Asian J Sports Med. 2014;5(2):23032. doi:
Knechtle B, Wirth A, Alexander Rst C, Rosemann T. The Relationship between Anthropometry and Split Performance in Recreational Male Ironman Triathletes. Asian J Sports Med. 2011;2(1):34823. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.34823
Ordering Reprints
Articles are published under the Creative Commons license stated on each article. No permission or royalty fee is required for uses permitted by that license. CCC handles optional bulk and customized reprint orders. Any quotation covers production and delivery services only, not copyright permission. > Request Reprints from CCC
Author(s):
