On the occasion of the Paris marathon, we know a little better the typical profile of French regular followers of running and they are more and more numerous.
And for 42, 195 km more… The 46th edition of the Paris marathon is being held this Sunday, April 2, 2023. And thousands of participants are expected in the streets of the capital. But who are they? On this occasion, the Union Sport et Cycle took an interest in the typical profile of French regular running enthusiasts and there are more and more of them: between 13 and 14 million. In total, it is therefore almost 45% of French people over 20 who run several times a week.
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And among them, 40% are women, and 60% men, according to a study of 4,600 users of the Running Heroes application. They run solo between two and three times a week, half manage to run during the day between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., and a third in the evening. On the sporting side, the average runner covers 9.4 km, at each outing, it is a distance that has increased slightly for two years.
What for ?
Regular athletes want to maintain their shape and physique, and then (almost equally) to release stress and relax. These runners are quite addicted to their practice, because on average, they run almost all year round, nine months out of 12. And the duration of the race increases with age: a third of those over 55 run at least three hours per week.
In fact, running is far from being reserved for young people: the average age among regular runners is 39, which is also the average age of Paris marathon runners.
In absolute terms, with training and medical advice, you can run at any age. The oldest marathon runner in the world is an Indian over 100 years old, the dean of the ultra trail is 85 years old.
On the other hand, on the chronological side, explained to us Romuald Lepers, professor of physiology and researcher at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) in Dijon, as there is a physiological aging of the body, muscular and cardiac aging, the studies show that after 40 years, performance declines by an average of 7% per decade. But the benefits of the race for the body and the head, them, remain very present.
Various studies have shown that at age 70, regular runners feel on average 12 years younger than their age and that their brain is more efficient than that of a sedentary person. It contains more gray matter.