SSA Blog: Keep on running

The London Marathon was staged for the 42nd time on Sunday 2nd October. Thousands of club and recreational runners shared the streets of the capital with a host of elite runners to complete, for many, their ultimate physical challenge.  

Runner during the 2022 TCS London Marathon

A week before the London Marathon, Eluid Kipchoge, who is regarded by many as the greatest marathon runner of all time, lowered his own world record in Berlin setting a new best of 2:01:09, knocking over 30 seconds off his previous best. In London, the men’s winner, Amos Kipruto of Kenya crossed the line in 2:04:30. In the women’s race, Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw triumphed in 2:17:26. Yalemzerf's time makes her the 3rd fasted female to complete the course. The fastest at 2:15:25 remains that of Paula Radcliffe when she stormed to victory in 2003. It is this performance that many believe helped to ignite some of the demographic changes we are now seeing across running. Nowhere is that evidence clearer than within the London Marathon. 

The number of female runners aged 50 and older that finished the event has increased by 65% since 2018. According to the event director, Hugh Brasher, female runners aged between 50-70 years are the fastest growing group entering the event. One of the factors attributed to this demographic shift in participants is believed to be Paula Radcliffe’s 2003 historic achievement.“Many women who are running now in their 50s were inspired to start in their 30s when Radcliffe showed them that running was possible,” said Brasher in a story in the Guardian.

The importance of physical activity to promote healthy ageing is well documented. Maintaining cardiovascular fitness is associated with increased longevity, and often a superior quality of life. This is due to enhanced mobility and the ability to sustain independence for a greater proportion of that extended life. 

Unfortunately, natural declines with age are inevitable. Cardiovascular fitness (CVF), like other fitness elements, declines as we get older. However, these declines can be inhibited and in some cases, depending on your starting fitness levels, even be reversed via exercise. In a recent study, Johannes Burtscher and colleagues from the Universities of Lausanne, Innsbruck and the Sigmund Freud Private University were able to show that a high percentage of the decline in CVF was due to a drop in training volume rather than just ageing. 

Looking at data from ageing athletes, rather stark findings showed that a rapid decline in CVF occurred within just 12 weeks of when training stopped. This can lead to a drop in fitness levels of 18%. A natural age-related decline in those that are able to maintain their training has been observed at between 5%-6.5% per decade from the age of around 35, a clear and significant difference. The authors go on in their paper to attribute 54% and 39% of losses in CVF to a drop in training for men and women respectively. 

It’s not all bad news if you are planning on taking a break to get over the aches and pains of months of training. Just like the rapid drop in fitness, a speedy increase in CVF levels are also possible. A loss in CVF corresponding to ageing-related decline of at least one ageing decade (5%-6.5%) can be restored by appropriate training (re)uptake within a couple of weeks.

This gives partners of the London Marathon a reason to maintain engagement with runners. While many participants will be one-time only marathon runners, the habits and benefits that go with training can last, improve and extend, a lifetime. Partners of major events often seek to expand their associations by searching for relevance beyond the event day. Title sponsors TCS and shoe and kit sponsor New Balance, have prominent roles across London Marathon’s training plan pages. This gives them visibility during the build-up to the event. But very little messaging is delivered in terms of post-event support from any partners. 

This new research gives sponsors a credible platform upon which to base a post-race training, support and encouragement strategy. It allows them to be part of the continued benefits that exercise brings. It also shows a level of loyalty that is often lost as brands roll onto the next event, focusing on a new audience and new activations.            

For brands linked to mass participation events, don't turn your back on previous cohorts. Help them maintain their training and reap the rewards from long-term customer value. For anyone who completed the London Marathon or other running challenge recently, now is not the time to sit back and rest content with the achievement. The science is clear, to maintain those hard-won health and fitness gains you must simply…keep on running. 

Sport Science Agency uses its insight and expertise to tell performance stories and unlocks their value for brands, broadcasters and rights holders. To see some of our work click here If you want to know more about what we can do for you, drop us a note via info@sportscienceagency.com and we can arrange to go for a healthy vitamin packed drink.