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The temperature penalty in marathon running

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Marathon performance is more sensitive to air temperature than to any other measured environmental variable. A study of 1,791,972 finishers across six large marathons — Paris, London, Berlin, Boston, Chicago and New York — for the years 2001 to 2010 found an optimum air temperature that varied by ability, from about 3.8 C for the fastest runners to about 9.9 C for the slowest, with finishing times lengthening and withdrawal rates rising as temperature climbed above that optimum. Humidity mattered, but only for the faster men and women. This is why the marathon calendar clusters in early spring and autumn, why the six largest city races are held between February and November rather than in midsummer, and why weather is a confounder in any argument about which course is fastest.

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  1. Story
  2. Marathon performance is more sensitive to air temperature than to any other measured environmental variable. A study of 1,791,972 finishers across six large marathons — Paris, London, Berlin, Boston, Chicago and New York — for the years 2001 to 2010 found an optimum air temperature that varied by ability, from about 3.8 C for the fastest runners to about 9.9 C for the slowest, with finishing times lengthening and withdrawal rates rising as temperature climbed above that optimum. Humidity mattered, but only for the faster men and women. This is why the marathon calendar clusters in early spring and autumn, why the six largest city races are held between February and November rather than in midsummer, and why weather is a confounder in any argument about which course is fastest.
  3. Knowledge
  4. The temperature penalty in marathon running
  5. Boston Marathon
  6. Chicago Marathon
  7. Connections
  8. Boston Marathon
  9. Chicago Marathon
  10. Impact of Environmental Parameters on Marathon Running Performance
  11. The temperature penalty in marathon running
  12. New York City Marathon
  13. Record-eligible road course criteria
  14. The first modern Olympic marathon, Marathon to Athens
  15. Boston
  16. Abbott World Marathon Majors
  17. Boston Athletic Association
  18. The first Boston Marathon
  19. Boston lengthens its course and moves the start to Hopkinton
  20. Women run Boston, unofficially and then officially
  21. The World Marathon Majors series is announced
  22. Bombings at the Boston Marathon finish line
  23. The temperature penalty in marathon running
  24. Berlin Marathon
  25. Chicago
  26. Abbott World Marathon Majors
  27. The first Chicago Marathon, as the Mayor Daley Marathon
  28. The World Marathon Majors series is announced
  29. Kelvin Kiptum runs 2:00:35 in Chicago
  30. Ruth Chepngetich runs 2:09:56 in Chicago
  31. Evidence
  32. Across 1,791,972 finishers in six large marathons from 2001 to 2010, air temperature had the largest environmental effect on finishing time and withdrawal rate, with a modelled optimum from about 3.8 C to about 9.9 C depending on performance level. V55 verification basis: the article record and DOI were located through search and the findings read in summary; the full text was not retrieved.
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/atlas?object=PHENOMENON_MARATHON_HEAT_PENALTY&experience=PHENOMENON_MARATHON_HEAT_PENALTY