The Age of Peak Marathon Performance in Cross-Country Skiing-The “Engadin Ski Marathon” The age of the best endurance performance was well examined in running in flat urban marathons. However, we know nothing about the age of marathon high performance in cross-country skiing, which would be of great practical use for athletes and coaches. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the age of the best marathon performance in cross-country skiing. Participants were 162,991 men and 34'833 women who approached “Engadin Skimarathon” between 1998 and 2016. We examined the fastest women and men and all finishers in 1-year intervals. The relationship between men to women rose over the years.The men (44.27 ± 0.03 years, 15.73 ± 0.01 km / h) were 5.98 ± 0.07 years older and 2.14 ± 0.02 km / h faster than women (3829 ± 0.06 years, 13.58 ± 0.01 km / h). Looking at the fastest participants in 1-year intervals, the fastest speed for men (30.33 km / h) was reached at the age of 29 years and for women (28.76 km / h) at the age of 24. Taking into account all participants, the highest speed for men (17.69 km / h) was observed at the age of 18, while they were for women (15.76 km / h) at the age of 17.
Under the line, cross-country skiers achieve their best marathon time in cross-country skiing in a much younger age than it is known for marathon runners on the street. The study can be found under https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29570600/