ORIGINAL PAPER
Road and trail running from 5 km to an ultra-marathon – trends in Switzerland from 1999 to 2019
 
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1
Department of Physical Education, State University of Para, Pará, Brazil
 
2
Kinderspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
 
3
Ultra Sports Science Foundation, Pierre-Benite, France
 
4
CI-ISCE, Higher Institute of Educational Sciences of the Douro, Penafiel, Portugal
 
5
Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
 
6
School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
 
7
Physiology Department, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
 
8
Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
 
9
Gesundheitszentrum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
 
 
Submission date: 2024-04-20
 
 
Acceptance date: 2024-09-26
 
 
Publication date: 2024-09-30
 
 
Corresponding author
Beat Knechtle   

Gesundheitszentrum St. Gallen, Medbase St. Gallen am Vadianplatz, Vadian- strasse 26, 9001 St. Gallen, Switzerland
 
 
Hum Mov. 2024;25(3):96-108
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
This study aimed to verify participation and performance in all road and trail-based races in Switzerland over two decades (1999–2019).

Methods:
This is a secondary data-based study. We used 1,149,182 race records (788,818 from men and 360,364 from women) from 407,944 unique finishers of the 5 km, 10 km, half-marathon, marathon, and ultra-marathon races in Switzerland, between 1999 and 2019. Data included the athletes’ genders, ages, race distances, and types of races (road or trail). The mento- women ratio was calculated and box plots were used to present differences according to gender, age groups, and race distances in both terrains. Differences between the groups were calculated.

Results:
The men-to-women ratio has generally decreased in all race distances over the years. Runners competing in roadbased races were faster than those in a trail run in all distances. Men had faster finish times than women independent of age, except those competing in 10 km trail races. In road-based races, the men-to-women ratio was higher among older marathoners, while for trail runs, a higher men-to-women ratio was shown for older half-marathoners and participants in 10 km races. For 5 km, 10 km, half-marathon, and ultra-marathon races, a decrease in running speed differences was shown until the age of 50 years.

Conclusions:
In Switzerland, most of the runners competed in road-based races, but the interest in trail running has increased. The men-to-women ratio declined over time, which could show an increase in the interest of women to participate in endurance activities.

 
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