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Peer Reviewed
From Progression to Regression: How Running Performance Changes for Males and Females Across the Lifespan
This is a peer-reviewed entry published in Encyclopedia Journal, full entry can be found at 10.3390/encyclopedia5030088

Running enjoys worldwide popularity across age groups and sexes. Because of this, it serves as an excellent benchmark to compare male and female performance across the lifespan with respect to developmental progression, peak athletic performance, and age-related regression. The purpose of this review is to examine and discuss how sex and aging affect running performance in sprints, middle-distance running, and long-distance running. Based on the scientific literature and running world records from age 5–99, male running performance exceeds that of females across the lifespan, with the greatest divide beginning at puberty, which remains through old age. However, there appear to be few differences in the rate of progression in youth and the age of peak performance, but it is unclear whether the rate of decline, beginning in middle age, differs by sex and sport for record performances. Future analyses should examine changes in all running performances across the lifespan.

sex difference pediatric exercise human performance aging marathon fundamental movement skills adolescence puberty track and field
Evolutionarily speaking, humans are seemingly born to run, with anatomical, physiological, and cognitive adaptations that favor endurance exercise [1]. Those latter adaptations predominantly benefit performance in distance running events (5 km or longer) but also influence performance in shorter running and even sprint events. While humans are regarded as comparatively slow compared to most other species [2], the pursuit of sporting excellence still drives the desire to achieve excellence in all sports. Therefore, it is no surprise that world records are tracked in nearly every possible endeavor in both men and women across the lifespan. Modern society has allowed amateur athletes as young as 5 years old (yo) and older than 100 yo to compete and achieve records in numerous sports.
As suggested, few sports are as fundamental to humans as running, and, as such, records are maintained for events ranging from 50 m to longer than 100 miles, with continuous improvements since the 1970s [3][4]. With these improvements, world records have proliferated in all events for both males and females as young as 5–6 yo. While progression in elite record performances has slowed in many running events, Masters (age 35 years and older) world records continue to improve more steeply, indicating that age-related declines in physical performance are perhaps less significant than believed [5]. Meanwhile, the emergence and rate of progression for junior athletes (13–18 yo) seem to be accelerating, though success at the senior elite level remains elusive for many athletes [6][7][8][9][10][11].
The proliferation of advanced training methods [12] and their application, as well as new technology [13], appears, in part, to be driving performance progression across age groups. Nonetheless, the gap between adult men and women has stayed relatively stable. Regardless of the underlying reasons for improved running performances, running records provide a rawer representation of human performance than records in other sports, like cycling, which is more influenced by external technological factors. As such, running records are truer to the evolved purpose of the body.
Many studies have examined various aspects of running performance across distances between elite men and women [14][15][16][17][18][19] and across ages for boys and girls [20][21][22][23] and men and women [5][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Numerous studies have modeled various aspects of the running distance spectrum [16][17][22][23][25][26][27][28][30]. However, we know of no review that has attempted to assimilate and summarize the major studies for review and discussion of our current understanding of the influence of sex and aging on running across the lifespan. Therefore, the purposes of this review are to
  • Review the determinants of running events for sprints, middle-distance running, and long-distance running;
  • Summarize the major developmental changes that occur in youth to adulthood and then senescence;
  • Note the known sex differences in running performance across developmental stages;
  • Discuss the progression and eventual regression of running performance across the lifespan;
  • Propose future research questions to advance our understanding of these topics.

References

  1. Mattson, M.P. Evolutionary Aspects of Human Exercise—Born to Run Purposefully. Ageing Res. Rev. 2012, 11, 347–352.
  2. Bramble, D.M.; Lieberman, D.E. Endurance Running and the Evolution of Homo. Nature 2004, 432, 345–352.
  3. Rizzo, N. 120+ Running Statistics 2021/2022 2023. Available online: https://runrepeat.com/running-statistics (accessed on 21 March 2025).
  4. Lathan, S.R. A History of Jogging and Running—The Boom of the 1970s. Bayl. Univ. Med. Cent. Proc. 2023, 36, 775–777.
  5. Akkari, A.; Machin, D.; Tanaka, H. Greater Progression of Athletic Performance in Older Masters Athletes. Age Ageing 2015, 44, 683–686.
  6. Brustio, P.R.; Stival, M.; Cardinale, M.; Mulasso, A.; Rainoldi, A.; Boccia, G. Performance Pathways in Elite Middle-and Long-Distance Track and Field Athletes: The Influence of a Successful Youth. J. Sci. Med. Sport. 2024, 27, 654–659.
  7. Agudo-Ortega, A.; Gonzalez-Rave, J.M.; Salinero, J.J. Early Success Is Not a Prerequisite for Success at the Adult Age in Spanish Sprinters. J. Hum. Kinet. 2023, 89, 139.
  8. Bezuglov, E.; Emanov, A.; Waśkiewicz, Z.; Semeniuk, N.; Butovsky, M.; Shoshorina, M.; Baranova, D.; Volodina, K.; Morgans, R. Successful Young Athletes Have Low Probability of Being Ranked among the Best Senior Athletes, but This Is Higher When Compared to Their Less Successful Peers. Front. Psychol. 2022, 13, 869637.
  9. Boccia, G.; Cardinale, M.; Brustio, P.R. World-Class Sprinters’ Careers: Early Success Does Not Guarantee Success at Adult Age. Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform. 2020, 16, 367–374.
  10. Boccia, G.; Moisè, P.; Franceseschi, A.; Trova, F.; Panero, D.; La Torre, A.; Rainoldi, A.; Schena, F.; Cardinale, M. Correction: Career Performance Trajectories in Track and Field Jumping Events from Youth to Senior Success: The Importance of Learning and Development. PLoS ONE 2017, 12, e0178662.
  11. Güllich, A.; Barth, M.; Macnamara, B.N.; Hambrick, D.Z. Quantifying the Extent to Which Successful Juniors and Successful Seniors Are Two Disparate Populations: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of Findings. Sports Med. 2023, 53, 1201–1217.
  12. Casado, A.; Hanley, B.; Santos-Concejero, J.; Ruiz-Pérez, L.M. World-Class Long-Distance Running Performances Are Best Predicted by Volume of Easy Runs and Deliberate Practice of Short-Interval and Tempo Runs. J. Strength. Cond. Res. 2021, 35, 2525–2531.
  13. Senefeld, J.W.; Haischer, M.H.; Jones, A.M.; Wiggins, C.C.; Beilfuss, R.; Joyner, M.J.; Hunter, S.K. Technological Advances in Elite Marathon Performance. J. Appl. Physiol. 2021, 130, 2002–2008.
  14. Tanaka, H.; Seals, D.R. Scientific Writing in Physiology: Confused/Misused Terms and Phrases. J. Appl. Physiol. 2024, 136, 401–407.
  15. Tanaka, H.; Tarumi, T.; Rittweger, J. Aging and Physiological Lessons from Master Athletes. In Comprehensive Physiology; Terjung, R., Ed.; Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2019; pp. 261–296. ISBN 978-0-470-65071-4.
  16. Sawyer, S.M.; Azzopardi, P.S.; Wickremarathne, D.; Patton, G.C. The Age of Adolescence. Lancet Child. Adolesc. Health 2018, 2, 223–228.
  17. Blum, R.W.; Astone, N.M.; Decker, M.R.; Mouli, V.C. A Conceptual Framework for Early Adolescence: A Platform for Research. Int. J. Adolesc. Med. Health 2014, 26, 321–331.
  18. Balasundaram, P.; Avulakunta, I.D. Human Growth and Development. In StatPearls; StatPearls Publishing: Treasure Island, FL, USA, 2025.
  19. Newell, K.M. What Are Fundamental Motor Skills and What Is Fundamental About Them? J. Mot. Learn. Dev. 2020, 8, 280–314.
  20. Sandford, G.N.; Stellingwerff, T. “Question Your Categories”: The Misunderstood Complexity of Middle-Distance Running Profiles with Implications for Research Methods and Application. Front. Sports Act. Living 2019, 1, 28.
  21. Our Sport 2025. World Athletics. Available online: https://worldathletics.org/our-sport (accessed on 23 January 2025).
  22. Haugen, T.; Sandbakk, Ø.; Enoksen, E.; Seiler, S.; Tønnessen, E. Crossing the Golden Training Divide: The Science and Practice of Training World-Class 800- and 1500-m Runners. Sports Med. 2021, 51, 1835–1854.
  23. Majumdar, A.S.; Robergs, R.A. The Science of Speed: Determinants of Performance in the 100 m Sprint. Int. J. Sports Sci. Coach. 2011, 6, 479–493.
  24. Duffield, R.; Dawson, B.; Goodman, C. Energy System Contribution to 100-m and 200-m Track Running Events. J. Sci. Med. Sport. 2004, 7, 302–313.
  25. Duffield, R.; Dawson, B.; Goodman, C. Energy System Contribution to 400-Metre and 800-Metre Track Running. J. Sports Sci. 2005, 23, 299–307.
  26. Thompson, M.A. Physiological and Biomechanical Mechanisms of Distance Specific Human Running Performance. Integr. Comp. Biol. 2017, 57, 293–300.
  27. Stellingwerff, T.; Bovim, I.M.; Whitfield, J. Contemporary Nutrition Interventions to Optimize Performance in Middle-Distance Runners. Int. J. Sport. Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 2019, 29, 106–116.
  28. Weyand, P.G.; Sandell, R.F.; Prime, D.N.L.; Bundle, M.W. The Biological Limits to Running Speed Are Imposed from the Ground Up. J. Appl. Physiol. 2010, 108, 950–961.
  29. Lipps, D.B.; Galecki, A.T.; Ashton-Miller, J.A. On the Implications of a Sex Difference in the Reaction Times of Sprinters at the Beijing Olympics. PLoS ONE 2011, 6, e26141.
  30. Duffield, R.; Dawson, B.; Goodman, C. Energy System Contribution to 1500- and 3000-Metre Track Running. J. Sports Sci. 2005, 23, 993–1002.
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Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Christopher R. Harnish
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Thomas C. Swensen
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Online Date: 30 Jun 2025
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