Table 1 Age, anthropometric characteristics, running performance, running experience and training status of the marathoners. Data is mean ± SD for each group

N

141

16

-

Age (y)

41.9 ± 9.7

42.0 ± 6.1

0.98

Body mass (kg)

75.0 ± 9.2

56.6 ± 7.1

<0.01

Body surface area (m²)

1.9 ± 0.1

1.6 ± 0.1

<0.01

Height (m)

176 ± 7

161 ± 5

<0.01

Body mass index (kg · m⁻²)

24.1 ± 2.2

20.9 ± 1.2

<0.01

Best race time (min)

217 ± 34

240 ± 32

0.03

Running experience (yr)

10.7 ± 9.8

9.5 ± 5.9

0.67

Completed marathons (number)

7 ± 3

5 ± 2

0.42

Average training distance · week⁻¹ (km)

62.7 ± 27.8

59.5 ± 26.6

0.69

Training sessions of running · week⁻¹ (number)

4.3 ± 1.0

4.4 ± 1.0

0.68