This study aimed to observe the potential influences of the motivations in 17 trail-runners, on their running velocity (RV), perceived exertion (RPE), and Affective Valence (AV) during a 44-km competition. Before, they performed a maximal graded test to assess Maximal Aerobic Velocity (MAV) and maximal HR. They also completed a sociological questionnaire to determine their motivations, which allowed the identification of three categories: 1) hedonists (HEDO), who enjoy landscapes, 2) resilients (RESI), who experience pleasure when they overcome an adverse life event, and 3) competitors (COMPET), who like measuring themselves against others. During the competition, we observe no significant differences regarding RV, %MAV, and %HR max among the groups. However, RPE and AV were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in RESI compared to HEDO and COMPET. Therefore, the motivations could influence RPE and AV and provide perspectives to understand the motivational means of trail runners.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between neural efficiency and the ability of an athlete to produce accurate efforts in different perceived intensity zones during a racing scenario. The α/β ratio was used to quantify the neural efficiency during cycling, as it traduced the degree of participants information processing activity with lower cortical activity possible. Twelve trained competitive male cyclists delimited their perceived intensity zones 2 to 6 on a scale to assess the rating of exercise intensity. Then, they performed a 30 min racing scenario during which they had to produce different perceived intensities. The ability of athletes to produce perceived effort with accuracy and their neural efficiency was quantified during the racing scenario. The increase in the neural efficiency with the increase in the effort intensity could partly explain the improvement in athletes' ability to produce accurately perceived efforts from intensity zones 3 to 6. Moreover, the neural efficiency during the racing scenario was significantly correlated to the ability to produce perceived effort with accuracy at submaximal intensities.
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