Table 8 Pacing
Study | Participants | Measures | Design | Evidence quality | Major findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Suter et al.[9] | 13,829 athletes (1148 females and 12,681 males) who completed the UTMB between 2008–2019 | Average running speed, pace variation | Retrospective data analysis | Low | More even pacing was associated with better finish times in males and females Females demonstrated higher pace variation than males |
Bossi et al.[65] | 501 athletes (103 females and 398 males) who competed in a 24 h ultramarathon held in Brazil | Mean running speed for each hour | Cohort study | Low | Both sexes demonstrated a reverse J-shaped pacing pattern, with no significant difference between sexes. More even pacing was associated with better performances in males and females |
Moffit & Call [68] | 1,453 athletes (462 females and 991 males) who completed a 100 mile race held in the United States between 2010–2019 | Running pace, %MRS | Retrospective data analysis | Low | Females ran at a significantly lower %MRS in the first third of the race and finished with a significantly higher %MRS than males. A more even pacing strategy was associated with better performances in males and females |
Inoue et al.[66] | 51 athletes (21 females and 30 males) who completed a 24 h track ultramarathon held in Brazil | Time per 400 m, time spent in SSR | Cohort study | Low | Both sexes demonstrated a reverse J-shaped pacing pattern. In both sexes, high-performance runners spent significantly less time in SSR than low-performance runners |
Renfree et al.[64] | 196 athletes (57 females and 139 males) who competed in the 100 km World Masters Championship | Relative speed per 10 km segment, pace CV | Cohort study | Low | Males displayed significantly higher relative speeds in the first (p = 0.03), second (p < 0.01), and third (p < 0.01) 10 km segments. Females had significantly higher relative speeds in the ninth segment (p = 0.01) CV over intermediate segments were 7.39% for females and 10.33% for males |
Deusch et al.[67] | 937 athletes (260 females aged 46.83 ± 12.33 years, and 677 males aged 49.3 ± 11.52 years) who completed one of 12 time-limited ultramarathons on flat asphalt in Europe | CV of time per lap, average running speed | Retrospective data analysis | Low | There was no main effect of sex on pacing. Both sexes demonstrated a higher CV for 24-h races compared with 6- and 12-hour races |