The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Running

• Main Authors: Volker Scheer, David Valero, Elias Villiger, Thomas Rosemann, Beat Knechtle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
• Series: Medicina
• Subjects: COVID-19; endurance running; marathon; ultra-endurance; running; sport industry
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1010-660X/57/1/52

<i>Background and objectives</i>: The COVID-19 outbreak has become a major health and economic crisis. The World Health Organization declared it a pandemic in March 2020, and many sporting events were canceled. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: We examined the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on endurance and ultra-endurance running (UER) and analyzed finishes and events during the COVID-19 pandemic (observation period March 2020–October 2020) to the same time period pre-COVID-19 outbreak (March 2019–October 2019). <i>Results:</i> Endurance finishes decreased during the pandemic (459,029 to 42,656 (male: 277,493 to 25,582; female 181,536 to 17,074; all <i>p</i> < 0.001). Similarly, the numbers of endurance events decreased (213 vs. 61 events; <i>p</i> < 0.001). Average marathon finishing times decreased during the pandemic in men (5:18:03 ± 0:16:34 vs. 4:43:08 ± 0:25:08 h:min:s (<i>p</i> = 0.006)) and women (5:39:32 ± 0:19:29 vs. 5:14:29 ± 0:26:36 h:min:s (<i>p</i> = 0.02)). In UER, finishes decreased significantly (580,289 to 110,055; <i>p</i> < 0.001) as did events (5839 to 1791; <i>p</i> < 0.001). Popular event locations in United States, France, UK, and Germany decreased significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05). All distance and time-limited UER events saw significant decreases (<i>p</i> < 0.05). <i>Conclusions</i>: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on endurance and UER, and it is unlikely that running activities return to pre-pandemic levels any time soon. Mitigation strategies and safety protocols should be established.