TABLE 1.
Sample characteristics.
| All |
Women |
Men |
||
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | p | |
| Age (year) | 36.9 (4.7) | 36.3 (5.6) | 37.6 (3.9) | 0.576 |
| Weight (kg) | 66.8 (14.9) | 55.1 (4.5) | 78.5 (11.8) | 0.001 |
| Height (m) | 1.67 (0.1) | 1.60 (0.06) | 1.73 (0.09) | 0.003 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.8 (3.0) | 21.5 (1.8) | 26.0 (2.2) | 0.001 |
| Endurance training experience (years), median (IQR) | 3 (2–4) | 4 (2.5–5) | 2.5 (2–3.5) | 0.257 |
| Personal best marathon time (h, min) | 04 h 13 min (38 min) | 04 h 17 min (44 min) | 04 h 08 min (32 min) | 0.668 |
| Relative Marathon Performance level (%) | 208.3 (11.8) | 208.4 (15.3) | 208.1 (21.5) | 0.990 |
| HR (bpm) at AeT (Zone 2) | 158 (10) | 157 (11) | 159 (9) | 0.716 |
| HR (bpm) at AnT (Zone 4) | 176 (9) | 177 (9) | 175 (9) | 0.550 |
| HRmax (bpm) | 184 (9) | 184 (7) | 185 (11) | 0.810 |
| VO2max (mL/kg/min) | 48.0 (6.4) | 45.2 (4.3) | 50.8 (7.1) | 0.077 |
| MAS (km/h) | 14.2 (1.3) | 13.6 (1.0) | 14.7 (1.4) | 0.107 |
| RE testing velocity (% mean marathon speed) | 104 (7) | 105 (9) | 104 (6) | 0.618 |
BMI = body mass index; Relative Marathon Performance level = runner’s personal best compared to the top 10 best marathon runners in the world; HR = heart rate; bpm: beats per minute; AeT = Aerobic Threshold, determined by Ventilatory Threshold 1; AnT = Anaerobic Threshold, determined by Ventilatory Threshold 2; MAS = Maximal Aerobic Speed, determined by Velocity at VO2max; RE = Running Economy. p-values were calculated using two-tailed Student’s t-test for independent samples; years of experience were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum test.