Table 1.
Characteristics of male and female runners by reported usual running speed
| Usual running speed | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slowest | Slow | Intermediate | Faster | Fastest | |
| Males (min/mile) | >10 | 9 to 10 min | 8 to 9 min | 7 to 8 min | ≤7 min mile |
| Sample (N) | 1102 | 2774 | 6670 | 10233 | 4773 |
| Anti-hypertensive medications (%) | 15.8 | 11.4 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 1.4 |
| LDL-cholesterol lowering medications (%) | 14.2 | 8.4 | 5.9 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Anti-diabetic medications (%) | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Ex-smokers (%) | 49.2 | 43.8 | 39.0 | 27.9 | 16.5 |
| Age (years) | 56.5±12.8 | 51.3±11.1 | 47.7±9.9 | 43.0±9.5 | 36.1±10.3 |
| Education (years) | 16.2±2.8 | 16.7±2.6 | 16.6±2.5 | 16.5±2.5 | 16.0±2.7 |
| Height (m) | 1.8±0.1 | 1.8±0.1 | 1.8±0.1 | 1.8±0.1 | 1.8±0.1 |
| Mass (kg) | 83.2±13.0 | 81.9±11.7 | 79.6±10.1 | 76.6±9.0 | 72.7±8.6 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26.5±3.7 | 25.9±3.3 | 25.1±2.8 | 24.1±2.5 | 23.0±2.5 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 96.6±10.0 | 94.0±8.7 | 91.5±7.7 | 88.2±7.0 | 84.6±6.8 |
| Alcohol (ml/wk) | 80.3±127.1 | 81.7±119.3 | 83.9±111.1 | 78.4±105.3 | 67.0±97.7 |
| Meat (servings/wk) | 3.2±3.0 | 3.2±3.2 | 3.2±2.9 | 3.0±2.7 | 3.1±3.1 |
| Fruit (pieces/wk) | 10.6±9.4 | 10.2±9.1 | 9.8±8.4 | 10.1±8.2 | 10.3±8.4 |
| Years run | 14.3±10.9 | 12.6±9.7 | 12.2±9.1 | 12.3±8.6 | 11.9±8.6 |
| Running distance (km/wk) | 3.4±2.4 | 4.0±2.4 | 4.6±2.4 | 5.3±2.9 | 6.8±4.1 |
| Usual run speed (m/s) | 2.24±0.31 | 2.73±0.69 | 3.06±0.09 | 3.44±0.12 | 4.01±0.30 |
| 10 km performance (m/s) | 2.93±0.61 | 3.21±0.43 | 3.53±0.40 | 3.92±0.42 | 4.42±0.51 |
| Females (min/mile) | >11 | 10 to 11 min | 9 to 10 min | 8 to 9 min | ≤8 min mile |
| Sample (N) | 1948 | 1494 | 7156 | 10582 | 7968 |
| Anti-hypertensive medications (%) | 7.2 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| LDL-cholesterol lowering medications (%) | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Anti-diabetic medications (%) | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Ex-smokers (%) | 34.2 | 35.5 | 32.4 | 27.7 | 19.0 |
| Age (years) | 46.2±12.3 | 44.1±10.5 | 40.2±9.9 | 37.4±8.8 | 33.6±8.7 |
| Education (years) | 15.8±4.6 | 16.2±2.4 | 16.3±2.6 | 16.3±2.3 | 16.1±2.5 |
| Height (m) | 1.6±0.1 | 1.6±0.1 | 1.6±0.1 | 1.7±0.1 | 1.7±0.1 |
| Mass (kg) | 64.8±11.3 | 62.6±8.6 | 60.2±7.7 | 58.4±6.7 | 56.6±6.3 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.2±3.9 | 23.3±3.0 | 22.3±2.6 | 21.4±2.2 | 20.7±2.1 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 80.5±11.4 | 78.5±9.4 | 76.2±8.8 | 74.4±7.7 | 73.0±7.6 |
| Alcohol (ml/wk) | 43.1±72.2 | 47.8±72.0 | 50.1±74.4 | 52.1±68.9 | 47.5±68.9 |
| Meat (servings/wk) | 2.4±2.6 | 2.1±2.3 | 2.0±2.2 | 1.7±2.2 | 1.6±2.1 |
| Fruit (pieces/wk) | 10.6±8.6 | 10.4±8.1 | 9.8±7.0 | 10.3±7.5 | 10.6±8.0 |
| Years run | 8.7±8.1 | 8.0±7.3 | 8.1±7.0 | 8.9±6.9 | 9.8±6.9 |
| Running distance (km/wk) | 2.7±2.3 | 3.4±2.2 | 3.8±2.3 | 4.8±2.5 | 6.0±3.4 |
| Usual run speed (m/s) | 2.02±0.32 | 2.47±0.05 | 2.73±0.07 | 3.05±0.09 | 3.50±0.25 |
| 10 km performance (m/s) | 2.72±0.74 | 2.82±0.58 | 3.03±0.46 | 3.33±0.39 | 3.76±0.47 |
ANOVA for differences between running speeds all significant at P<0.0001 except height (P=0.13), meat intake (P=0.05) and fruit intake (P=0.92) in men, and education (P=0.48), alcohol intake (P=0.10) and fruit intake (P=0.009) in women. 10-km performance times were reported by 75% of men and 64.5% of women, and waist circumferences were reported by 78% of men and 72% of women. Shown are means±SD except for percentages.