Group training programs and self-reported injury risk in female marathoners.

Objective: To investigate the association of group training program (GTP) participation and other known risk factors with training and intrarace injury rates in female marathoners.

Design: Multivariate analysis of a self-reported questionnaire.

Setting: Nike Women's Marathon, San Francisco, CA.

Participants: Three hundred seventy-eight female marathoners.

Main Outcome Measures: Training and intrarace injury rates, severity of these injuries, and satisfaction rates.

Results: Participants of GTPs were 2.36 times more likely to experience intrarace injury than non-GTP participants (P = 0.02). Runners with mild and severe injuries in the past 12 months preceding training were 3.54 and 5.08 times more likely to be injured during training (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001), respectively, and those with previous severe injury were 6.43 times more likely to experience severe training injury (P < 0.0001). Similarly, the risk for intrarace marathon injury was 3.79 and 7.09 times greater among those with mild and severe injuries during training (P = 0.003 and P < 0.0001), and the risk of severe intrarace injury was 5.63 times greater for those reporting a severe training injury (P < 0.001). Runners with previous marathon experience had a 0.53 risk of severe training injury compared with inexperienced runners (P = 0.04).

Conclusions: Participants of GTPs were more likely to be injured during the marathon in multivariate analysis but were also more satisfied with training in bivariate analysis. Female runners with previous injury had a greater risk of future training and race injury, and severe previous injury was associated with severe training and intrarace injury. Previous marathon experience was protective of severe training injury.