Exploring the physiological determinants of marathon performance
Authors: Christou G , Pagourelias E , Deligiannis A , Kouidi E 
Published: May 2021

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): ESPA 2014-2020

Background/Introduction: Long-time endurance exercise training leads to cardiovascular, respiratory, haematological and neuromuscular adaptations. The relative contribution of these adaptations to running performance in long-distance races remains to be elucidated in an integrative manner.

Purpose

The study of the relationship of marathon performance with anthropometric, cardiorespiratory and haematological adaptations.

Methods

Thirty-one marathon runners (26 males, age: 42 ± 9 years) were examined within 3 weeks before Athens marathon race (42.195 km). Assessment of training characteristics, anthropometric measurements, including height, body weight and body fat percentage, echocardiographic study, cardiopulmonary exercise testing using treadmill ergometer and blood test were performed.

Results

Training age was 11(1-39) years. Body fat percentage(BFP) was 17.3 ± 7.1% and body weight-indexed maximum oxygen uptake(VO2max) was 52.6 ± 8.9 mL/kg/min. Marathon race time(MRT) was 3:59:01(2:47:17-5:31:32). Among anthropometric measurements, MRT was positively associated with BFP(r= 0.561, p = 0.002) and body fat mass(r = 0.514, p = 0.005), even after adjustment for VO2max or oxygen uptake at first(VO2-VT1) or second(VO2-VT2) ventilatory threshold, implying an effect of BFP on running economy. Among echocardiographic parameters, MRT correlated negatively with right ventricular end-diastolic area(RVEDA) (r = -0.707, p &lt; 0.001) and ratio of early to late diastolic transtricuspid flow velocity(TVE/A) (r= -0.430, p = 0.025). MRT correlated negatively with body weight-indexed VO2max (r= -0.692, p &lt; 0.001), VO2-VT1 (r= -0.426, p = 0.019) and VO2-VT2 (r= -0.688, p &lt; 0.001). MRT correlated negatively with maximum minute ventilation(VEmax) (r= -0.418, p = 0.022), VEmax indexed for body surface area(BSA) (r= -0.456, p= 0.011), maximum tidal volume(Vtmax) indexed for BSA(r= -0.436, p = 0.018) and oxygen uptake efficiency slope(OUES) (r= -0.529, p = 0.003). MRT was not associated with haemoglobin concentration. RVEDA correlated positively with maximum oxygen pulse (r = 0.653, p = 0.001), which is an estimate of stroke volume during exercise, and OUES(r = 0.534, p = 0.009). After performing multivariate linear regression analysis with MRT as dependent variable and BFP(standardized β=0.495, p = 0.001), RVEDA(standardized β= -0.550, p = 0.001) and Vtmax indexed for BSA(standardized β= -0.110, p = 0.418) as independent variables, only BFP and RVEDA were significant independent predictors of MRT(adjusted R2 = 0.667, p &lt; 0.001 for the model).

Conclusions

The results of the present study demonstrated that the main cardiorespiratory adaptation that could predict a better marathon performance was right ventricular dilatation, through the increase in stroke volume during exercise, whereas upregulation of tidal volume during exercise was found to be a weaker predictor. The principal anthropometric determinant of marathon performance appears to be body fat percentage, via the influence on running economy.

Abstract Figure 1