Physiological and training characteristics of recreational marathon runners

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the physical and training characteristics of recreational marathon runners within finish time bandings (2.5–3 h, 3–3.5 h, 3.5–4 h, 4–4.5 h and >4.5 h). Materials and methods: A total of 97 recreational marathon runners (age 42.4 ± 9.9 years; mass 69.2 ± 11.3 kg; stature 172.8 ± 9.1 cm), with a marathon finish time of 229.1 ± 48.7 min, of whom n = 34 were female and n = 63 were male, completed an incremental treadmill test for the determination of lactate threshold (LT1), lactate turn point (LT2) and running economy (RE). Following a 7-min recovery, they completed a test to volitional exhaustion starting at LT2 for the assessment of VO2max. In addition, all participants completed a questionnaire gathering information on their current training regimes exploring weekly distances, training frequencies, types of sessions, longest run in a week, with estimations of training speed, and load and volume derived from these data. Results: Training frequency was shown to be significantly greater for the 2.5–3 h group compared to the 3.5–4 h runners (P 4.5 h group (P = 0.004), while distance per session (km⋅session–1) was significantly greater for the 2.5–3 h group (16.1 ± 4.2) compared to the 3.5–4 h group (15.5 ± 5.2; P = 0.01) and >4.5 h group (10.3 ± 2.6; P = 0.001). Race speed correlated with LT1 (r = 0.791), LT2 (r = 0.721) and distance per session (r = 0.563). Conclusion: The data highlight profound differences for key components of marathon running (VO2max, LT1, LT2, RE and % VO2max) within a group of recreational runners with the discriminating training variables being training frequency and the absolute training speed

The Impact of Decaffeinated Green Tea Extract on Fat Oxidation, Body Composition and Cardio-Metabolic Health in Overweight, Recreationally Active Individuals

This study investigated the effect of decaffeinated green tea extract (dGTE), with or without antioxidant nutrients, on fat oxidation, body composition and cardio-metabolic health measures in overweight individuals engaged in regular exercise. Twenty-seven participants (20 females, 7 males; body mass: 77.5 ± 10.5 kg; body mass index: 27.4 ± 3.0 kg·m2; peak oxygen uptake (O2peak): 30.2 ± 5.8 mL·kg−1·min−1) were randomly assigned, in a double-blinded manner, either: dGTE (400 mg·d−1 (−)-epigallocatechin−3-gallate (EGCG), n = 9); a novel dGTE+ (400 mg·d−1 EGCG, quercetin (50 mg·d−1) and α-lipoic acid (LA, 150 mg·d−1), n = 9); or placebo (PL, n = 9) for 8 weeks, whilst maintaining standardised, aerobic exercise. Fat oxidation (‘FATMAX’ and steady state exercise protocols), body composition, cardio-metabolic and blood measures (serum glucose, insulin, leptin, adiponectin, glycerol, free fatty acids, total cholesterol, high [HDL-c] and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-c], triglycerides, liver enzymes and bilirubin) were assessed at baseline, week 4 and 8. Following 8 weeks of dGTE+, maximal fat oxidation (MFO) significantly improved from 154.4 ± 20.6 to 224.6 ± 23.2 mg·min−1 (p = 0.009), along with a 22.5% increase in the exercise intensity at which fat oxidation was deemed negligible (FATMIN; 67.6 ± 3.6%O2peak, p = 0.003). Steady state exercise substrate utilisation also improved for dGTE+ only, with respiratory exchange ratio reducing from 0.94 ± 0.01 at week 4, to 0.89 ± 0.01 at week 8 (p = 0.004). This corresponded with a significant increase in the contribution of fat to energy expenditure for dGTE+ from 21.0 ± 4.1% at week 4, to 34.6 ± 4.7% at week 8 (p = 0.006). LDL-c was also lower (normalised fold change of −0.09 ± 0.06) for dGTE+ by week 8 (p = 0.038). No other significant effects were found in any group. Eight weeks of dGTE+ improved MFO and substrate utilisation during exercise, and lowered LDL-c. However, body composition and cardio-metabolic markers in healthy, overweight individuals who maintained regular physical activity were largely unaffected by dGTE