Impact of Environmental Parameters on Marathon Running Performance

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to describe the distribution of all runners' performances in the largest marathons worldwide and to determine which environmental parameters have the maximal impact. METHODS: We analysed the results of six European (Paris, London, Berlin) and American (Boston, Chicago, New York) marathon races from 2001 to 2010 through 1,791,972 participants' performances (all finishers per year and race). Four environmental factors were gathered for each of the 60 races: temperature (°C), humidity (%), dew point (°C), and the atmospheric pressure at sea level (hPA); as well as the concentrations of four atmospheric pollutants: NO(2)-SO(2)-O(3) and PM(10) (μg x m(-3)). RESULTS: All performances per year and race are normally distributed with distribution parameters (mean and standard deviation) that differ according to environmental factors. Air temperature and performance are significantly correlated through a quadratic model. The optimal temperatures for maximal mean speed of all runners vary depending on the performance level. When temperature increases above these optima, running speed decreases and withdrawal rates increase. Ozone also impacts performance but its effect might be linked to temperature. The other environmental parameters do not have any significant impact. CONCLUSIONS: The large amount of data analyzed and the model developed in this study highlight the major influence of air temperature above all other climatic parameter on human running capacity and adaptation to race conditions

Microwave current drive for STEP and MAST Upgrade

The UK’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) reactor design program has recently taken the decision to use exclusively microwave-based heating and current drive (HCD) actuators for its reactor concepts. This is based on a detailed assessment considering all viable HCD concepts, covering the grid to plasma efficiency, physics applications, technology maturity, integration, maintenance, and costs. Of the two microwave techniques: Electron Cyclotron (EC) and Electron Bernstein Wave (EBW), EC was deemed the lowest risk and EBW is retained as a potential path to a more efficient, higher performing device. To assess the ECCD efficiency, the GRAY beam tracing code was employed to perform detailed scans of the launcher position, toroidal and poloidal launch angle, and frequency over the first 3 cyclotron harmonics. For EBW, GENRAY/CQL3D were used to estimate the CD efficiency, demonstrating promising results. To reduce the physics uncertainties in present models for EBW coupling and current drive, MAST Upgrade will install two dual frequency (28, 34.8 GHz), 900kW, 5s gyrotrons from Kyoto Fusioneering, as part of the MAST Upgrade enhancements package. This will be accompanied by a flexible 2D steering launcher system to allow midplane coand counter-CD and above midplane launch for co-direction off-axis CD. Coupling efficiency is quantified by measuring the heating induced by reflected (i.e. non-coupled) power to a plate inserted in the reflected beam path. The experiments will also include EBW driven solenoid-free start-up, increasing power and pulse length by a factor of 10 compared to previous MAST experiments. This presentation will discuss the STEP microwave studies and the MAST Upgrade physics design and capabilities