Comparison of anthropometric and psychological characteristics of marathon and ultramarathon runners

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological and physiological characteristics of marathon and ultramarathon runners. Fourteen marathon and 14 ultramarathon recreational runners were assessed for, body height, body mass, BMI, body fat percentage, circumference and skinfold measurements, and completed a semi-structured interview. IBM SPSS Statistics version 24 was used to conduct a MANOVA for all physical measurements to look for main and interaction effects of run group, sex and age. Univariate testing was done for interaction effects to find a simple effect. Statistical significance was set at p 0.05. A main effect of age (p 0.05) was found for runners ≤ 45 years having greater thigh circumference than runners ≥ 46 years. A main effect of sex (p 0.05) was found on body fat percentage with female runners having a higher body fat percentage than male runners. A main effect of sex (p 0.05) on upper arm circumference was found with male runners having larger upper arm circumferences than female runners. A main effect of sex (p 0.05) on BMI was found with males having higher BMIs than females. A simple effect was found for calf circumference with female runners ≤ 45 years old having larger calf circumferences than female runners ≥ 45 years old. Interviews found marathoners to be described as lean individuals who participate for the physical health benefits and have set time goals for the future. Ultramarathoners described themselves as individuals who are focused on the total experience and are willing to push themselves to extreme limits.