Level Versus Uphill Economy and Mechanical Responses in Elite Ultratrail Runners

Willis, Sarah J.; Gellaerts, Jules; Mariani, Benoît; Basset, Patrick; Borrani, Fabio; Millet, Grégoire P.

doi:10.1123/ijspp.2018-0365

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This finding was in agreement with a study of a shorter range of Comrades Marathon [8], that had shown a sex difference of 8.4 % in performance and this difference decrease from 1994 to 2017, as well as with research on distance [14] and time-limited [33] ultra-marathons. Performance in ultra-marathon has been observed to depend on maximal oxygen uptake and body composition, and the sex difference in these variables might partially explain the respective difference in performance [34,35]. With regards to the variation of sex difference in performance by age group, the findings depended on performance level.…”

Section: Male Age Group Runners Were Faster Than Female Age Group Runnersmentioning

confidence: 98%

Participation and Performance in the Oldest Ultramarathon–Comrades Marathon 1921–2019

Nikolaidis¹,

Knechtle²,

Vancini

et al. 2020

Int J Sports Med

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Participation and performance trends have been analyzed for different ultramarathons for limited time periods. This study examined trends in participation and performance in the oldest ultramarathon in the world, the ‘Comrades Marathon’ (South Africa), during a century (1921−2019). Data from www.ultra-marathon.org on 100 000 unique finishers were analysed using different general linear models. Women represented 4.2% of the total sample (n=4152), and the first women ran this race in 1978. Before the year 1965, the number of participants in the race ranged between 5 and 35 athletes, then started to grow exponentially until mid 90’s. An increase in finishers in the 70 s mainly due to an increase in male athletes in age groups 30−39, 40−49 and 50−59 years was observed (p<0.001). A stable running speed for overall women and men but an improvement in performance for the annual top five women and men were shown (p<0.001). Male runners were faster than female runners for all age groups (p<0.001). While overall performance was not improved across years, the annual top five women and men were able to improve their performance over years.

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Section: Male Age Group Runners Were Faster Than Female Age Group Runnersmentioning

confidence: 98%

Participation and Performance in the Oldest Ultramarathon–Comrades Marathon 1921–2019

Nikolaidis¹,

Knechtle²,

Vancini

et al. 2020

Int J Sports Med

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“…Level and uphill oxygen cost of running (OCR, i.e., the oxygen consumption per unit of distance covered, expressed in mLO 2 •kg −1 •km −1 ) were shown to be positively correlated in elite trail runners (Willis et al, 2019), but not in their subelite counterparts (Balducci et al, 2016(Balducci et al, , 2017, and this point remains unclear in healthy people unaccustomed to inclined running. Moreover, whether downhill ECR is related to the level and uphill ECR remains an open question due to the scarcity of results on this topic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Level, Uphill, and Downhill Running Economy Values Are Correlated Except on Steep Slopes

et al. 2021

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The aim of this study was first to determine if level, uphill, and downhill energy cost of running (ECR) values were correlated at different slopes and for different running speeds, and second, to determine the influence of lower limb strength on ECR. Twenty-nine healthy subjects completed a randomized series of 4-min running bouts on an instrumented treadmill to determine their cardiorespiratory and mechanical (i.e., ground reaction forces) responses at different constant speeds (8, 10, 12, and 14 km·h−1) and different slopes (−20, −10, −5, 0, +5, +10, +15, and +20%). The subjects also performed a knee extensor (KE) strength assessment. Oxygen and energy costs of running values were correlated between all slopes by pooling all running speeds (all r2 ≥ 0.27; p ≤ 0.021), except between the steepest uphill vs. level and the steepest downhill slope (i.e., +20% vs. 0% and −20% slopes; both p ≥ 0.214). When pooled across all running speeds, the ECR was inversely correlated with KE isometric maximal torque for the level and downhill running conditions (all r2 ≥ 0.24; p ≤ 0.049) except for the steepest downhill slope (−20%), but not for any uphill slopes. The optimal downhill grade (i.e., lowest oxygen cost) varied between running speeds and ranged from −14% and −20% (all p < 0.001). The present results suggest that compared to level and shallow slopes, on steep slopes ~±20%, running energetics are determined by different factors (i.e., reduced bouncing mechanism, greater muscle strength for negative slopes, and cardiopulmonary fitness for positive slopes). On shallow negative slopes and during level running, ECR is related to KE strength.

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“…Competitive runners are athletes that compete in a range of local, regional, national, or international championships, and can be defined by event level (e. g. international athletes or elite athletes) or by existing classification or ranking systems by their respective governing bodies [10,11]. Investigations in elite athletes often involve small sample sizes [17,47]. Race times compared to other competitors and position within a specific competition can give a further indication of the level of competitiveness of an athlete.…”

Section: Review Thiemementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this is not correct because each discipline has quite distinct characteristics in terms of distance, elevation change, terrain, environmental conditions, and "event culture" (e. g. individual race characteristics, competitiveness, and community involvement). There is also an abundance of different nomenclature and spelling used in scientific publications, such as: ultramarathon, ultra marathon, mountain ultra marathon, mountain ultramarathon, ultra-trail-marathon, ultra trail running, long distance trail running, and trail running ultramarathon [12][13][14][15][16][17]. As scientific interest in these activities grows, it becomes imperative to clarify the terms and develop a universal language for discussing these events to avoid research misinterpretation and miscommunication and apply it appropriately to the relevant running population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, a variety of qualitative terms have been used in the literature to classify and define off-road running athletes. These classifications encompass terms such as physically active, recreational, endurance-trained, amateur, well-trained, and highly trained [17][18][19][20]. However, a misclassification from these qualitative categorisations is a problem from a scientific perspective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Defining Off-road Running: A Position Statement from the Ultra Sports Science Foundation

Scheer

Basset²,

Giovanelli

et al. 2020

Int J Sports Med

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Off-road running continues to grow in popularity, with differing event categories existing, and terminologies are often used interchangeably and without precision. Trail running, mountain running, skyrunning, fell running, orienteering, obstacle course racing and cross-country running all take place predominantly in off-road terrain. Ultramarathon running refers to any running event over marathon distance conducted in any terrain and surface. Although some overlap may exist between these running events, mainly through the common denominator of off-road terrain, distinct features need to be recognised. As scientific interest in these activities grows, it becomes important to clarify these terms and develop a universal language for discussing these events. Similarly, off-road running athletes are generally not properly defined within the scientific literature, which makes intra- and inter-study comparisons difficult. The current position statement of the Ultra Sports Science Foundation highlights the different off-road running events and recommends clear reference to distance, surface, elevation change and altitude, type of event (continuous vs. staged), type of support, name and year of the event, governing body, and guidance on terminology. We further recommend to describe off-road running athletes by basic data, physiological determinants, training and competition characteristics in the scientific literature in order to facilitate and guide further research and practice.

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Level Versus Uphill Economy and Mechanical Responses in Elite Ultratrail Runners

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

Participation and Performance in the Oldest Ultramarathon–Comrades Marathon 1921–2019

Participation and Performance in the Oldest Ultramarathon–Comrades Marathon 1921–2019

Level, Uphill, and Downhill Running Economy Values Are Correlated Except on Steep Slopes

Defining Off-road Running: A Position Statement from the Ultra Sports Science Foundation

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