Men vs. women world marathon records' pacing strategies from 1998 to 2018

The aim of this study was to analyse the pacing strategies adopted by elite male and female marathon runners when setting every world record since 1998. For data analysis, the total distance of the marathon was divided into eight sections of 5 km and a final section of 2.195 km, and the relative average speed of each section was calculated individually. Female athletes maintained similar speeds in the first and second half of the marathon (ES = 0.22, small effect, p = 0.705), whereas male athletes increased their speed as the marathon progressed (ES = 1.18, moderate effect, p = 0.011). However, no differences were observed between men and women in either the first (ES = 0.56, small effect, p = 0.290), or in the second half of the marathon (ES = 0.60, moderate effect, p = 0.266). When comparing the women's world records (1998-2003) vs. men's records (1998-2018) by sections, we observed differences at the beginning of the race (second section, ES = 0.89, moderate effect) and at the end (last section, ES = 0.87, moderate effect). The pace variations during the race were similar between male athletes and that of women with male pacemakers (1.53% ± 0.60 vs. 1.68% ± 0.84, respectively). However, a trend towards higher pace variations during the race in the female records with female pacemakers was observed (2.28% ± 0.95). This study shows how male and female marathon records in the last 20 years have been set using different pacing strategies. While men used a negative strategy (faster finishing), women used a less uniform pacing strategy.