Effects of marathon training on maximal aerobic capacity and running economy in experienced marathon runners

摘要

Maximal aerobic capacity (VO 2max ) and running economy (RE) are markers of running performance.A valid evaluation of RE may occur through allometric scaling of body mass (alloVO 2 ; ml kg -0.66 min -1 ), energy cost (EC; kcal kg -1 km -1 ), or percent of VO 2max (%VO 2max ).Little is known about physiological changes that occur in competitive runners over a marathon training cycle.The VDOT score, incorporating VO 2max and RE, enables comparison of race performances under different temperature conditions.This study’s purpose was to determine whether VO 2max and measures of RE change with marathon training, and to evaluate the relationship between these variables and VDOT.Eight runners (age 34±2 years; marathon 3:00 males, 3:30 females; five females) completed treadmill marathon-intensity-effort (MIE) and VO 2max tests at 10 and 1-2 weeks pre-marathon.Body composition (%BF) was determined using hydrostatic weighing.Paired t-tests were used to compare pre- and post-training values.The alpha level for significance was set at 0.05.Body fat decreased from 18.7±1.5% to 16.7±1.6%, VO 2max increased from 51.6±2.4 to 63.9±1.1 ml kg -1 min -1 , and %VO 2max during the MIE decreased from 82.1±2.0 to 72.3±3.2% (p 0.05 for all).VDOT was significantly associated with alloVO 2 (r = -0.779, p = 0.039) but not with VO 2max (r = 0.071, p = 0.867).Experienced competitive runners may increase VO 2max and decrease %BF after a marathon-specific training cycle.The decrease in %VO 2max in a MIE is likely due to a higher VO 2max , as other measures of RE did not change significantly.In this cohort, alloVO 2 was negatively correlated with race performance.