A Comparison of Anthropometric and Training Characteristics between Female and Male Half-Marathoners and the Relationship to Race Time

Purpose: Lower limb skin-fold thicknesses have been differentially associated with sex in elite runners. Front thigh and medial calf skin-fold appear to be related to 1,500m and 10,000m time in men but 400m time in women. The aim of the present study was to compare anthropometric and training characteristics in recreational female and male half-marathoners. Methods: The association between both anthropometry and training characteristics and race time was investigated in 83 female and 147 male recreational half marathoners using bi- and multi-variate analyses. Results: In men, body fat percentage (β=0.6), running speed during training (β=-3.7), and body mass index (β=1.9) were related to half-marathon race time after multi-variate analysis. After exclusion of body mass index, r2 decreased from 0.51 to 0.49, but body fat percentage (β=0.8) and running speed during training (β=-4.1) remained predictive. In women, body fat percentage (β=0.75) and speed during training (β=-6.5) were related to race time (r2=0.73). For women, the exclusion of body mass index had no consequence on the predictive variables for half-marathon race time. Conclusion: To summarize, in both female and male recreational half-marathoners, both body fat percentage and running speed during training sessions were related to half-marathon race times when corrected with co-variates after multi-variate regression analyses.