Pacing strategy in a 24-hour ultramarathon race

摘要

The purpose of this study is to examine pacing among the runners in a 24-hour ultramarathon. The performances of 48 male runners who ran more than 161 km in a 24-hour ultramarathon race were analyzed. The runners were divided into five groups according to their finish in the race (Group A: 1st-10th, Group B: 11th-20th, Group C: 21th-30th, Group D: 31th-40th, and Group E: 40th-48th). Total distance run, absolute and normalized running speed for each one-hour interval, and a coefficient of variation (CV) for hourly speeds were calculated. The average 24-hour distance within the various groups ranged from 236.38 km (SD = 11.41 km) for Group A to 164.14 km (SD = 2.49 km) for Group E. Average group CV ranged from 14.3% (SD = 4.3%) for group A to 45.0% (SD = 16.6%) for Group E. Group A runners ran at a relatively constant speed (> 8km/hour) during the second half of the race, whereas the corresponding pace was slower (< 6 km/hour) for groups C through E. CV moderately correlated with total distance run (r = -0.682, p < 0.001). In conclusion, in a 24-hour ultramarathon race, successful performance by the faster runners is achieved with less variation in speed.