Responses of Biochemical Routine Measures to 216 km Ultra-Marathon Running

Abstract

Ultra-endurance running puts enormous strain on the human body. Previous research has indicated that in ultra-endurance exercise some exercise-induced effects accumulate gradually over time whilst others show different responses to given stages of the exercise. PURPOSE:To assess changes in biochemical routine markers related to muscle breakdown, hepatic and kidney damage as well as lipid profile after given sub-sections of a one-stage ultra-marathon race. METHODS: Venous blood samples were obtained from five highly-trained male ultra-endurance athletes (mean±SD: age 53.8±10.4 yrs, height 175.8±11.1 cm, body mass 75.9±8.4 kg) before the start of the race (km0), after completion of one (km42), two (km84) and three (km126) marathon distances and after termination of the race (km216) for the analysis of serum enzymes creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glytamyl transferase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in addition to creatine (CREA) and cystatine C (CYSC) as well as concentrations of total cholesterol (CHOL), HDL-CHOL (HDL), LDL-CHOL (LDL) and triglycerides (TG). RESULTS:All measures except GGT and CYSC revealed a significant time effect (p<0.01). In response to exercise ALT, AST, LDH, CK and CREA were increased (p<0.05) at all measuring points compared to km0. Furthermore, serum enzymes at km216 were higher (p<0.05) compared to km42 (AST, ALT, LDH, CK), km84 (AST, ALT, CK) and km126 (AST, ALT, LDH). Compared to km0 the lipid profile was not significantly changed up to km84 but then CHOL, TG and LDL decreased and HDL increased significantly so that at km216 values were different compared to previous distances (all p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In a selection of biochemical routine measures significant changes occur in response to ultra-marathon running whilst only CYSC and GGT remain unaffected by the physical stress. The clear increase in serum enzymes CK, LDH, AST and ALT from the first marathon distance throughout the remaining race with unchanged GGT and CYSC indicates skeletal muscle tissue damage rather than hepatic or kidney damage. The changes in the lipid profile with a decrease in TG, CHOL and LDL and an increase in HDL seem to underline the beneficial effect of endurance exercise. Supported by Limbach Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany