Even Pacing Is Associated with Faster Finishing Times in Ultramarathon Distance Trail Running—The “Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc” 2008–2019 In recent years, more and more investigations have been carried out to analyze the effects of gender, performance level and age on pacing in different course disciplines.However, little is known about the impact of these factors on pacing in the trail running in the ultramarathon area. This study examined the impact of age, gender and performance level on the pacing at UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc) and aimed to review earlier results obtained in research on other running disciplines and other ultramarathon races. The data of the UTMB from 2008 to 2019 for 13,829 racing results (12,681 men and 1,148 women) were analyzed. The study showed that a regular running speed (even pacing) correlated positively with the running speed.A uniform pacing throughout the UTMB correlated with faster end times. The average running speed depended significantly from the gender and the age group.In the analysis of the five best athletes in every age group, gender and age group had significant impact on pacing. The fastest women were older than the fastest men, and the fastest men were faster than the fastest women.Women had a higher variation of running speed than men.In male participants, a younger age can be beneficial for a successful completion of the UTMB.
Faster male runners seemed to be younger in ultramarathon trail running with large differences in height compared to other routes and terrain. The whole study can be found under https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7074