Research finds that poor air quality can add 10 minutes or more to elite marathoners' finish times
), carbon monoxide , and ozone – and combines these into an index of air quality ranging from 0 to 500. AQI scores of less than 100 are considered “blue sky days” and have no negative health implications. Scores greater than 100 have progressively negative effects on health.
What did they find? First, they reported that the average air quality index for the races they measured was around 101, with a minimum value of 28 and a maximum value of 289. Next, the researchers examined if and how changes in the AQI influenced finish times. Interestingly, they found a larger effect than might have been expected. They calculated that every doubling of the AQI increases marathon finish times by 4.08%.
“Suppose a runner takes 16,581 seconds to finish a full marathon on a day with average air quality , this runner would need 20.7 more minutes to finish the 2014 Beijing Marathon during which the AQI was 289. For the best full-marathon runner in our sample, the finish time is 8,301 seconds and the AQI on the race day in that city was 105. If he were to run the Beijing Marathon in 2014, a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that he would need 9.9 more minutes to cross the finish line.
While it is difficult to isolate the effects of specific pollutants on marathoners’ finish times, the researchers speculate that particulate matter might be most pernicious. The scientists hope that their study, and others like it, will encourage city governments to take a more aggressive approach to reduce air pollutants.
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