Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Validity Of Boston Marathon Qualifying Times, Paul M. Vanderburgh

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Purpose: To assess the validity of Boston Marathon qualifying (BMQ) standards for men and women. Methods: Percent differences between BMQ and current world records (WR) by sex and age group were computed. WR was chosen as the criterion comparison because it is not confounded by intensity, body composition, lifestyle, or environmental factors. A consistent difference across age groups would indicate an appropriate slope of the age-vs-BMQ curve. Inconsistent differences were corrected by adjusting BMQ standards to achieve a uniform percentage difference from WR. Results: BMQ standards for men were consistently ~50% slower than WR (mean 51.5% ± …

Fatigability And Recovery Of Arm Muscles With Advanced Age For Dynamic And Isometric Contractions, Tejin Yoon, Bonnie Schlinder-Delap, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

This study determined whether age-related mechanisms can increase fatigue of arm muscles during maximal velocity dynamic contractions, as it occurs in the lower limb. We compared elbow flexor fatigue of young (n = 10, 20.8 ± 2.7 years) and old men (n = 16, 73.8 ± 6.1 years) during and in recovery from a dynamic and an isometric postural fatiguing task. Each task was maintained until failure while supporting a load equivalent to 20% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) torque. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess supraspinal fatigue (superimposed twitch, SIT) and muscle relaxation. Time …

Perceptions Of Five-Year Competitive Categories: Model Of How Relative Age Influences Competitiveness In Masters Sport, Nikola Medic, Bradley Young, J. Robert Grove

Research outputs 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the contrasting perceptions of masters swimmers related to the first and fifth constituent years of a 5-year age category. Swimmers aged between 35 and 93 years (154 male, 184 female) were surveyed at the 2008 FINA World Masters Championships. Exploratory factor analysis indicated the existence of the following five factors considered important for preparation, attendance, and success at masters competitions: awareness of advantages, expectancy, motivation, training, and physiological capacity. One sample ttests showed that masters swimmers are conscious of advantages that 5-year age categories afford to relatively-younger cohorts (i.e., those who are …

Sex Differences In Marathon Running With Advanced Age: Physiology Or Participation?, Sandra K. Hunter, Alyssa A. Stevens

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

The sex difference in marathon performance increases with age and place of the finisher, even at the elite level. Sociological factors may explain the increased sex gap, but there is limited empirical evidence for specific factors.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to determine the sex difference in velocity for the marathon across the place of finisher (1st–10th place) with advanced age and (2) to determine the association between the sex difference in participation (ratio of men-to-women finishers) and the sex difference in running velocity.

Methods: Running times of the first 10 placed men and women in the 5-yr …