A profile of Japanese ultramarathon runners

Abstract

This study identified characteristic profiles of 108 Japanese ultramarathon runners. Subjects were recruited via e-mail, and the questionnaires were distributed and collected from subjects by regular mail. The mean age of the subjects was 45.9 years. Of 108 subjects, 97 subjects (89.8%) were males, and 11(10.2%) were females. The mean BMI was 21.6 for males and 20.5 for females. In terms of sports history, 70% had previous involvement in some kinds of physical exercises other than a marathon. They had been involved with a marathon for 11 years on average and initiated an ultramarathon after 5.5 years of a marathon history. It was also found that the mean distance of running training per month was 242.1 km. Further studies are ongoing to investigate the demographic and psychological profiles of Japanese ultramarathoners.