Abstract
The study aimed at assessing the acute physiological effects of running a 65-km vs a 107-km mountain ultramarathon. Nineteen athletes (15 males and 4 females) from the shorter race and forty three athletes (26 males and 17 females) from the longer race were enrolled. Body weight, respiratory and lower limb strength were assessed before and after the race. Blood samples were obtained before, after and 24-h post-race. Body weight loss did not differ between races. A decrease in squat jump height (p<0.01; d = 1.4), forced vital capacity (p<0.01; d = 0.5), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (p<0.01; d = 0.6), peak inspiratory flow (p<0.01; d = 0.6) and maximal inspiratory pressure (p<0.01; d = 0.8) was observed after the longer race; while, after the shorter race only maximal inspiratory pressure declined (p<0.01; d = 0.5). Greater post-race concentrations of creatine kinase (p<0.01; d = 0.9) and C-reactive protein (p<0.01; d = 2.3) were observed following the longer race, while high-sensitivity cardiac troponin was higher after the shorter race (p<0.01; d = 0.3). Sodium decreased post-competition only after the shorter race (p = 0.02; d = 0.6), while creatinine increased only following the longer race (p<0.01; d = 1.5). In both groups, glomerular filtration rate declined at post-race (longer race: p<0.01, d = 2.1; shorter race: p = 0.01, d = 1.4) and returned to baseline values at 24 h post-race. In summary, expiratory and lower-limb fatigue, and muscle damage and inflammatory response were greater following the longer race; while a higher release of cardiac troponins was observed after the shorter race. The alteration and restoration of renal function was similar after either race.
Highlights
The popularity of mountain ultramarathons (MUM) has grown exponentially during the last few years [1, 2] and they constitute an outstanding model for the study of the acute consequences of ultra-endurance exercise on human body physiology [3]
Mean flat-equivalent running speed was significantly higher in long trail (LT) compared to ultra trail (UT) runners (9.92 ± 1.48 vs 5.75 ± 1.04 km/h; p
glomerular filtration rate (GFR) returned to baseline values at 24 h post-race in both groups; muscle damage and inflammatory response was greater among UT runners, as predicted; and lastly, confirming our fourth hypothesis, acute release of hs-TNT was higher among LT runners
Summary
The popularity of mountain ultramarathons (MUM) has grown exponentially during the last few years [1, 2] and they constitute an outstanding model for the study of the acute consequences of ultra-endurance exercise on human body physiology [3]. Several investigations have documented the effects of running a MUM on lower-limb neuromuscular fatigue [4,5,6,7], respiratory fatigue [8, 9], cardiac damage [10,11,12,13], renal function and inflammatory activity [4, 14,15,16,17,18]. It has been suggested that extremely long distance MUM (i.e., 330-km) provoke lesser neuromuscular fatigue, muscle damage and inflammation than shorter ones (i.e., 110–166 km) [5]. Significant reductions in expiratory pulmonary function have been reported following both a 110-km [9] and a 330-km MUM [8] Most of those studies have focused their analyses on a specific physiological response; so further studies that integrate biochemical data, lower-limb and respiratory fatigue variables are needed to improve the interpretation of the results. Having a broader picture of how ultramarathon distance competition affects physiology and performance could ease the understanding of athletes’ in-race performance and post-race recovery [22]
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