Uphill Performance in Master Mountain Runners: How Age and Participation Affect Sex Differences

This study aimed to investigate the sex difference in uphill performance of Master runners. We tested the hypothesis that aging would reduce this difference, with the aging-induced performance decline being smaller in females than in males. We also analyzed changes in female participation over the past 20 years, with the hypothesis that increasing participation would be associated with a narrowing of sex differences during this period.

Data were extracted from the uphill races of the World Masters Mountain Running Championships between 2004 and 2024 and consisted of n = 116 top-3 performances in male and female Master runners (aged 35-69), across 5-year age categories.

The sex differences in uphill performance of Master runners were 22.2% (4.9%) and remained similar across ages. Over the 20-year period, sex differences remained constant. There was a linear relationship between the number of female participants and the sex-based performance differences (r = -.31, P < .05).

The 22% sex difference reported in Master mountain runners is comparable to that reported in elite athletes. Contrary to our hypotheses, sex differences in uphill running performance did not change across age categories and remained stable over the past 20 years. However, sex differences appeared to narrow as female participation increased, possibly due to the small female sample (approximately 20 on average), where individual performances may have had a greater proportional impact.