Award Date

December 2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences

First Committee Member

Julia Freedman Silvernail

Second Committee Member

John Mercer

Third Committee Member

Richard Tandy

Fourth Committee Member

Xan Goodman

Number of Pages

35

Abstract

This research study investigates how specific running variables and demographic characteristics impact performance, or speed, for ultramarathon runners. These variables and characteristics include biological sex, cadence, age range, total distance of the race, duration of the race, years of running experience, total number of ultramarathon races ever completed, and number of races completed in the last twelve months. An ultramarathon is any running distance over a standard marathon or 42.2 kilometers. Participation in ultramarathons has increased by 345% since 2010, with females making up 23% of participants. No in-person data collection was necessary for this study. Participants were asked to export data from their most recent race and complete a survey with questions that included their final race time, pace per mile, and cadence, which were all collected via a personal fitness device. Participants answered questions about their training, how many races they’ve competed in, the number of races in the last year, and race placement. They were also asked about injuries, training, and running strategy. A stepwise regression split by biological sex was completed and found that cadence was a significant predictor of average speed for males, F(1, 17) = 13.065, p =.002, adj R2 = .401, and for females, F(1, 12) = 8.640, p = 0.12, adj R2 = .370. Distance, age range, race time, races ever completed, experience in years, and races in the previous 12 months were not significant predictors of average speed in male and female ultramarathon runners.

Keywords

Biomechanics; Distance; Female; Male; Running; Ultramarathon

Disciplines

Biomechanics | Kinesiology

File Format

pdf

File Size

820 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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