In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports , researchers investigated the age and race locations of elite ultra-marathon runners, as well as the country they were affiliated with. Their results indicate that the fastest runners are from countries in Africa, like Ethiopia and Kenya, with the fastest races occurring in Middle Eastern countries and Europe, and the peak performance age is between 20 and 24 years. Study: Analysis of over 1 million race records shows runners from East African countries as the fastest in 50-km ultra-marathons .
Image Credit: lzf / Shutterstock Ultra-marathons, defined as races exceeding the standard marathon distance (42.2 km) or lasting longer than six hours, include both distance-limited and time-limited formats. Among these, the 50 km race is a popular and accessible entry point for marathoners seeking greater challenges.
Prior research on ultra-marathons has examined performance trends, performance variations linked to age, sex differences, inflammatory responses, nutritional needs, cardiovascular impacts, and running biomechanics. Despite extensive exploration, the national origins of the fastest 50 km runners remained unstudied. Known for their dominance in traditional marathons, East African runners' performance in ultra-marathons, particularly at the 50 km distance, lacked comparable investigation.
Studies on longer races, like the 100-km and 100-mile races, identified top performers from Japan, Russia, Brazil, Sweden, and.
