Abstract
It is not clear whether or not recreational runners can recover aerobic fitness and performance within one week after marathon running. This study aimed to investigate the effects of running a marathon race on aerobic fitness and performance one week later. Eleven recreational runners (six men, five women) completed the race in 3 h 36 min 20 s ± 41 min 34 s (mean ± standard deviation). Before and 7 days after the race, they performed a treadmill running test. Perceived muscle soreness was assessed before the race and for the following 7 days. The magnitude of changes in the treadmill running test was considered possibly trivial for maximal oxygen uptake (O2max) (mean difference −1.2 ml/kg/min; ±90% confidence limits 2 ml/kg/min), unclear for %O2max at anaerobic threshold (AT) (−0.5; ±4.1%) and RE (0.2; ±3.5 ml/kg/km), and likely trivial for both velocity at AT and peak (−0.2; ±0.49 km/h and −0.3; ±0.28 km/h). Perceived muscle soreness increased until 3 days after the race, but there were no clear differences between the values before the race and 4–7 days after it. These results show that physiological capacity associated with marathon running performance is recovered within 7 days after a marathon run.
Highlights
Marathon running is a popular form of vigorous physical activity [1]
Simultaneous multiple regression analysis was used to determine whether the classic model could predict average velocity during the marathon
A significant prediction equation was found (F = 15.363, p = 0.002) that accounted for 87% of the variance in average velocity during the marathon (R2 = 0.87) at performed 1-2 weeks before (PRE) measurement
Summary
Marathon running (running for 42 km) is a popular form of vigorous physical activity [1]. Whatever the runner’s level of ability, marathon running places an increased workload on their physiological function over the course of several hours. A previous study showed that during a marathon race the fractional use of maximal heart rate ranged from about 80% to 90% [2], suggesting that cardiorespiratory strain is high. The number of recreational marathon runners has increased over the last decade [3]. Some runners participate in consecutive weekend races [4]. The high frequency of races that do not allow for sufficient recovery time may lead to causing overtraining syndrome. Overtraining has been defined as excessive stress without adequate rest or recovery period, which results in performance decrements with or without related change physiological sign [5]
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