The Relationship Between Training Volume and BMI in the Expression of Running Performance in Runners: A Mediation Model

Differences in training characteristics of recreational endurance runners by race distance – results from the NURMI Study (Step 2)

“…For ultra-marathoners, BMI explained about 10 to 12% of the variance in running speed ( Hoffman, 2008 ). In addition, BMI was related to training behaviors for performance prediction in different race distances (e.g., 5 km, 10 km, half-marathon, marathon) ( Christou et al, 2021 ; Thuany et al, 2022b ). BMI was also related to running-related injuries ( Buist and Bredeweg, 2011 ), and needs to be carefully considered in association with training behaviors and motivation.…”

Beyond the border of the athlete-centered approach: a model to understand runners' performance

“…Among these variables, anthropometric and body composition are the most investigated, possibly due to the low cost and practicality associated with their measurement. In general, the results show that there is a negative relationship between BMI and fat percentage with running performance (Sedeaud et al, 2014 ; Vincent et al, 2020 ; Thuany et al, 2022 ). Moreover, these results may be explained by factors related to the following characteristics: (a) running is considered a “weight-sensitive” sports practice (Sedeaud et al, 2014 ; Vincent et al, 2020 ), where the generation of force to sustain the body weight during displacement is the primary determinant of the metabolic cost of running, and a “simple” increase of 10% in body mass may represent an increase of ~14% in running energy expenditure (Silva, 2019 ); and (b) the fact that ~20% of the energy spent during displacement is for the acceleration of the lower limbs, so an increase in body mass may lead to loss of efficiency, as well as greater heat accumulation at a given submaximal running speed, which may compromise the exercise if high internal temperatures are reached (Fuziki, 2012 ).…”

“…In addition, we should not ignore the intersection between anthropometric variables, body composition, and training characteristics (Thuany et al, 2022 ). The running speed during training sections and the body fat percentage explains ~44% of the performance of recreational marathon runners (Gómez-Molina et al, 2017 ).…”

“…In contrast, the association of practice time, training volume, BMI, and skinfold sum explains ~90.3% of the variance in the half-marathon performance among non-professional male runners (Barandun et al, 2012 ). Therefore, biological, morphological, and training variables constantly interact to the expression of running performance (Thuany et al, 2022 ).…”