Abstract
Purpose: Running economy (RE), expressed as oxygen cost (O2 cost) and energy cost of running (Cr) is important in ultramarathon (UM) running as it can help predict race performance. Controversy remains if RE increases, decreases, or remains stable in UM running. We examined RE before, during, and after a 65-km UM.Methods: 15 male UM runners (mean age 45 ± 5.7 years) completed a standard exercise test (mean VO2max 48.8 ± 3.4 ml⋅kg-1⋅min-1) for determination of the individual testing speed (60% VO2max: mean speed 9.4 ± 0.7 km/h). This was followed by a 65-km UM (elevation ± 1093 m) consisting of three laps (each 21.7 km). Pre and post indirect calorimetry measurements at individual running speed on the treadmill at UM-specific slopes (average percentage of positive and negative elevation) at -3, +3%, and level grade were performed in randomized order on a motorized treadmill in the laboratory for calculation of RE. Additionally after each lap, testing at +3% took place.Results: The O2 cost, Cr, and RER increased significantly pre to post UM (p < 0.01). During the uphill running, a main effect of distance indicated a gradual, linear increase in O2 cost, F(2,28) = 5.81, p < 0.01, = 0.29, and Cr, F(2,28) = 5.96, p = 0.01, = 0.30.Conclusion: O2 cost and Cr increased significantly pre to post UM in all testing conditions as well as during the uphill testing throughout the UM. This is the first study to demonstrate a consistent increase in O2 cost and Cr among a range of different slopes, at individual running speeds and race-specific slopes giving further evidence that these measures of RE increase in UM running.
Highlights
Popularity in ultramarathon (UM) running has increased over the years and includes race distances in excess of the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 km (Scheer, 2018)
running economy (RE) is a multifactorial concept that combines the function of the metabolic, cardiopulmonary, biomechanical, and neuromuscular system (Barnes and Kilding, 2015) and can either be expressed as oxygen consumption, oxygen consumption to cover a given distance [oxygen cost (O2 cost), e.g., in ml O2·kg−1·km−1] or as the energy cost of running (Cr) expressed in units of energy (J·kg−1·m−1) (Fletcher et al, 2009; Barnes and Kilding, 2015; Vernillo et al, 2015, 2017a)
Absolute mean values (±SD) were the following for respiratory exchange ratio (RER), O2 cost, and Cr pre vs. post for level (0.95 ± 0.02 vs. 0.88 ± 0.04, 180.60 ± 24.75 vs. 199.47 ± 28.43 O2·kg−1·km−1, and 3.88 ± 0.52 vs. 4.22 ± 0.59 J·kg−1·m−1) and downhill running (0.94 ± 0.03 vs. 0.86 ± 0.04, 166.60 ± 24.25 vs. 182.40 ± 26.58 O2·kg−1·km−1, and 3.57 ± 0.52 vs. 3.85 ± 0.55 J·kg−1·m−1)
Summary
Popularity in ultramarathon (UM) running has increased over the years and includes race distances in excess of the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 km (Scheer, 2018). They are often held in challenging environmental conditions, testing the limits of human endurance (Scheer et al, 2015). It has recently been suggested that future studies should take into consideration the specific UM race characteristics and profile and use individual testing speeds and race-specific gradients for RE testing on the treadmill after sufficient familiarization with testing conditions (Vernillo et al, 2017b)
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