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Review
. 2024 May 10:15:1388565.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1388565. eCollection 2024.

Themes and trends in marathon performance research: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis from 2009 to 2023

Liping Yan #  1 , Ziyan Chen #  2 , Xue Zhang  2 , Qi Han  3   4 , Jingyi Zhu  3   4 , Qirong Wang  3   4 , Zhiguang Zhao  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Themes and trends in marathon performance research: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis from 2009 to 2023

Liping Yan et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Background: When marathon runners break the 2-h barrier at the finishing line, it attracts global attention. This study is aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of publications in the field of marathon running, analyze relevant research contributors, and visualize the historical trends of marathon performance research over the past 15 years. Methods: On 8 December 2023, we extracted high-quality publication data from the Web of Science Core Collection spanning from 1 January 2009 to 30 November 2023. We conducted bibliometric analysis and research history visualization using the R language packages biblioshiny, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace. Results: A total of 1,057 studies were published by 3,947 authors from 1,566 institutions across 63 countries/regions. USA has the highest publication and citation volume, while, the University of Zurich being the most prolific research institution. Keywords analysis revealed several hotspots in marathon research over the past 3 years: (1) physiology of the elite marathon runners, (2) elite marathon training intensity and pacing strategies, (3) nutritional strategies for elite marathon runners, (4) age and sex differences in marathon performance, (5) recovery of inflammatory response and muscle damage. Conclusion: This study presents the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of marathon performance research over the past 15 years. It unveils the key contributors to marathon performance research, visually represents the historical developments in the field, and highlights the recent topical frontiers. The findings of this study will guide future research by identifying potential hotspots and frontiers.

Keywords: Bibliometrics; athletes; marathon; performance; review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
(A) The data collection and search strategy. (B) Annual publications in marathon performance research during 2009-2023.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(A) The top 30 occurrences keywords word clouds. (B) The top 30 most occurrences keywords distribution over 2009-2023.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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