Pacing and packing behaviour in elite and world record performances at Berlin marathon

The aim of this study was to compare pacing and packing behaviours between sex and performance level at elite Berlin marathon races. Official electronic split and finishing times from 279 (149 male and 130 female) marathon performances, including 5 male world records, were obtained from 11 Berlin marathon races held from 2008 to 2018, and from two previous world records and the second world all-time fastest performance also achieved at that same Berlin course. Male performances displaying an even pacing behaviour were significantly faster than those adopting a positive behaviour (p