Previous research has indicated that sex, age and performance level of finishers influence pacing strategies in the marathon. However, the variation of pacing by country of origin and/or nationality of finishers has not been studied. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine whether runners with different nationality differ in their pacing strategies. Data (women, n = 117,595; men, n = 180,487) from the `New York City Marathon` between 2006 and 2016 were analysed. A small main effect of nationality on age was shown (P < 0.001, Eta2 = 0.032) with Ethiopians being the youngest (30.2 ± 8.4 years) and Japanese the oldest (45.1 ± 10.9 years). A trivial main effect of nationality on race time was shown (P < 0.001, Eta2 = 0.008) with Ethiopians (2:49:24 ± 0:49:17 h:min:s) and Kenyans (3:08:34 ± 1:05:46 h:min:s) being the fastest and Japanese the slowest (4:30:43 ± 0:54:37 h:min:s). A trivial split × nationality interaction on race speed was observed in women (P < 0.001, Eta2 = 0.004) and men (P < 0.001, Eta2 = 0.005) with Ethiopians and Kenyans showing more even pacing strategies than the other nationalities (P < 0.001, Eta2 = 0.003; P < 0.001, Eta2 = 0.004, respectively). Accordingly, the largest prevalence of end spurt (women, Chi2 = 646.2, P < 0.001, Phi = 0.074; men, Chi2 = 1163.2, P < 0.001, Phi = 0.080) was found in U.S.-Americans in women (87.2%) and men (78.2%), whereas the smallest was in Ethiopians (54.3%) and Kenyans (45.8%), respectively. Based on these findings, it was concluded that nationality plays a role on marathon runners` pacing, which might be attributed to differences in performance level among nationalities and running tactics.
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