Nation related participation and performance trends in 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon' from 2006 to 2014

Ultra-Cycling- Past, Present, Future: A Narrative Review

BACKGROUND

Ultra-endurance events are gaining popularity in multiple exercise disciplines, including cycling. With increasing numbers of ultra-cycling events, aspects influencing participation and performance are of interest to the cycling community.

MAIN BODY

The aim of this narrative review was, therefore, to assess the types of races offered, the characteristics of the cyclists, the fluid and energy balance during the race, the body mass changes after the race, and the parameters that may enhance performance based on existing literature. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar using the search terms 'ultracycling', 'ultra cycling', 'ultra-cycling', 'ultra-endurance biking', 'ultra-bikers' and 'prolonged cycling'. The search yielded 948 results, of which 111 were relevant for this review. The studies were classified according to their research focus and the results were summarized. The results demonstrated changes in physiological parameters, immunological and oxidative processes, as well as in fluid and energy balance. While the individual race with the most published studies was the Race Across America, most races were conducted in Europe, and a trend for an increase in European participants in international races was observed. Performance seems to be affected by characteristics such as age and sex but not by anthropometric parameters such as skin fold thickness. The optimum age for the top performance was around 40 years. Most participants in ultra-cycling events were male, but the number of female athletes has been increasing over the past years. Female athletes are understudied due to their later entry and less prominent participation in ultra-cycling races. A post-race energy deficit after ultra-cycling events was observed.

CONCLUSION

Future studies need to investigate the causes for the observed optimum race age around 40 years of age as well as the optimum nutritional supply to close the observed energy gap under consideration of the individual race lengths and conditions. Another research gap to be filled by future studies is the development of strategies to tackle inflammatory processes during the race that may persist in the post-race period.

A Machine Learning Approach to Finding the Fastest Race Course for Professional Athletes Competing in Ironman® 70.3 Races between 2004 and 2020

Our purpose was to find the fastest race courses for elite Ironman® 70.3 athletes, using machine learning (ML) algorithms. We collected the data of all professional triathletes competing between 2004 and 2020 in Ironman 70.3 races held worldwide. A sample of 16,611 professional athletes originating from 97 different countries and competing in 163 different races was thus obtained. Four different ML regression models were built, with gender, country of origin, and event location considered as independent variables to predict the final race time. For all the models, gender was the most important variable in predicting finish times. Attending to the single decision tree model, the fastest race times in the Ironman® 70.3 World Championship of around ~4 h 03 min would be achieved by men from Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand. Considering the World Championship is the target event for most professional athletes, it is expected that training is planned so that they attain their best performance in this event.

Biochemical markers after the Norseman Extreme Triathlon

Prolonged exercise is known to cause changes in common biomarkers. Occasionally, competition athletes need medical assistance and hospitalisation during prolonged exercise events. To aid clinicians treating patients and medical teams in such events we have studied common biomarkers after at The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon (Norseman), an Ironman distance triathlon with an accumulated climb of 5200 m, and an Olympic triathlon for comparison. Blood samples were collected before, immediately after, and the day following the Norseman Xtreme Triatlon (n = 98) and Oslo Olympic Triathlon (n = 15). Increased levels of clinical significance were seen at the finish line of the Norseman in white blood cells count (WBC) (14.2 [13.5–14.9] 109/L, p < 0.001), creatinine kinase (CK) (2450 [1620–3950] U/L, p < 0.001) and NT-proBNP (576 [331–856] ng/L, p < 0.001). The following day there were clinically significant changes in CRP (39 [27–56] mg/L, p < 0.001) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) (142 [99–191] U/L, p < 0.001). In comparison, after the Olympic triathlon distance, there were statistically significant, but less clinically important, changes in WBC (7.8 [6.7–9.6] 109/L, p < 0.001), CK (303 [182–393] U/L, p < 0.001) and NT-proBNP (77 [49–88] ng/L, p < 0.01) immediately after the race, and in CRP (2 [1–3] mg/L, p < 0.001) and AST (31 [26–41] U/L, p < 0.01) the following day. Subclinical changes were also observed in Hemoglobin, Thrombocytes, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Creatinine, Alanine Aminotransferase and Thyroxine after the Norseman. In conclusion, there were significant changes in biomarkers used in a clinical setting after the Norseman. Of largest clinical importance were clinically significant increased WBC, CRP, AST, CK and NT-proBNP after the Norseman. This is important to be aware of when athletes engaging in prolonged exercise events receive medical assistance or are hospitalised.

Effects of Krill Oil and Race Distance on Serum Choline and Choline Metabolites in Triathletes: A Field Study

Choline is an essential nutrient that has been implicated in athletic performance due to its role in maintaining normal muscle function. The concentration of free choline in serum may decrease during long-distance high-intensity exercise, yet few nutritional strategies to counteract this potentially performance-depleting loss in choline have been investigated outside the laboratory. This exploratory field study was performed to investigate if pre-race supplementation with phosphatidylcholine from krill oil can counteract the expected drop in choline and some of its metabolites during triathlon competitions. Forty-seven triathletes, 12 females and 35 males ranging in age from 25 to 61 years, were recruited from participants in the Ironman-distance Norseman Xtreme triathlon and the Sprint/Olympic-distance Oslo Triathlon. Twenty-four athletes were randomly allocated to the krill oil group, receiving 4 g of SuperbaBoost™ krill oil daily for 5 weeks prior to the race, and 23 athletes were randomly allocated to the placebo group, receiving 4 g of mixed vegetable oil daily. Blood samples were obtained before the race, immediately after completion of the race, and the day after the race for analysis of choline and its metabolites. The results showed that serum choline concentrations significantly decreased from pre-race to race finish in all races, with a more pronounced decrease observed in the Ironman-distance Norseman Xtreme triathlon (34% decrease) relative to the Sprint/Olympic-distance Oslo Triathlon (15% decrease). A reduction in betaine was also observed, while dimethylglycine (DMG) concentrations remained stable across all time points. Significantly higher concentrations of choline (9.4% on average) and DMG (21.4% on average) were observed in the krill oil compared to the placebo group, and the krill oil group showed a significantly greater increase in serum choline following race completion. In conclusion, krill oil may help to prevent that circulating choline concentrations become limiting during endurance competitions.

The Role of Nationality in Ultra-Endurance Sports: The Paradigm of Cross-Country Skiing and Long-Distance Running

Although the variation of performance by nationality in endurance sports such as marathon has been well studied, little information exists so far on the role of nationality on performance in ultra-endurance sports. The aim of the present study was to review the role of nationality on cross-country skiing and ultra-endurance running. Scopus and PubMed were searched using the syntax "nationality AND (ultra-endurance OR ultra-marathon OR cross-country skiing) in 1/4/2020. This search identified 17 articles, whose references were further examined for relevant literature. It was observed that Russian athletes dominated ultra-endurance running and cross-country skiing races. It was shown that these races were in other countries, where it was assumed that only the best Russians competed. Potential explanations could be misuse of performance enhancing substances, historical, climate-geographical and psychophysiological (e.g., combination of genetic and social factors). In summary, recent studies found a dominance of Russian athletes in specific races (i.e., 'Comrades Marathon', 'Vasaloppet', and 'Engadin Ski Marathon') and disciplines (i.e., ultra-marathon running, cross-country skiing) over a period of several decades. Future studies are need to investigate other events and other sport disciplines to confirm this Russian dominance.

Lung function and oxygen saturation after participation in Norseman Xtreme Triathlon

OBJECTIVES

To examine evidence of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) defined as ≥10% reduction in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁ ) and exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia (EIAH) defined as ≥4% reduction in oxygen saturation (SpO₂ ) from before to after participation in the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon. Secondarily, to assess whether changes in FEV₁ and SpO₂ are related to respiratory symptoms, training volume, and race time.

METHODS

In this quasi-experimental non-controlled study, we included 63 triathletes (50♂/13♀) aged 40.3 (±9.0) years (mean ± SD). Fifty-seven (46♂/11♀) measured lung function and 54 (44♂/10♀) measured SpO₂ before the race, 8-10 minutes after the race (post-test 1) and the day after the race (post-test 2). Respiratory symptoms and training volume were recorded with modified AQUA questionnaire. ANOVA for repeated measures was used to detect differences in lung function and SpO₂ . Statistical significance was accepted at 0.05 level.

RESULTS

Twenty-six participants (46%) presented with EIB at post-test 1 and 16 (28%) at post-test 2. Lung function variables were significantly reduced from baseline to post-test 1 and 2. Thirty-five participants (65%) showed evidence of mild to moderate EIAH. No significant correlations were observed except a weak correlation between maximal reduction in FEV₁ and respiratory symptoms (r = 0.35, P = .016).

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrated that 46% of the participants presented with EIB and 65% showed evidence of EIAH after the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon. Changes in FEV₁ and SpO₂ were not correlated to weekly training hours or race time. We observed a weak correlation between maximal reduction in FEV₁ and respiratory symptoms.

Participation and Performance Trends in the Oldest 100-km Ultramarathon in the World

Participation and performance trends in ultramarathon running have been investigated for large datasets and long period of times with an increase in participants and an improvement in performance. However, the analysis of ultramarathons across many decades is missing. We analyzed these trends for 96,036 athletes (88,286 men and 7750 women) from 67 countries competing between 1956 and 2019 in ‘100 km Lauf Biel’ in Switzerland, the oldest 100-km ultramarathon in the world. More men than women participated in all years. The number of male participants reached a peak at around 1985 and a decline in participation occurred thereafter. Women started competing in 1962. Men were always faster than women and both women and men reduced their race times over years. After about 1985, both overall women and men and both female and male winners were not able to improve race times. For men, athletes from all age groups below the age of 49 years old reached a peak of participation in the 1980s, and showed a decrease since then. Regarding age groups, the decrease first started in age group 20–29 years, followed by 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, and 60–69 years. For athletes in age groups 70–79 and 80–89 years, no decrease occurred. For women, age group athletes in age groups 40–49, 50–59, and 60–69 years increased their participation, whereas age groups 20–29 and 30–39 peaked in the late 1980s and started to decrease or stabilize, respectively. Switzerland, Germany, and France were the countries with the highest numbers of participants throughout the history of the race. In men, race times increased after about 1990 for most nationalities; only runners from Germany seemed to stabilize their performance. In women, runners from Italy, France, and Austria improved their performance over the years. In summary, the analysis of the oldest 100-km ultramarathon in the world showed a decrease in participation and an impairment in performance in the last 60 years. These changes were due to a decrease in the number of male ultramarathoners in around the 1980s, where mainly the number of age group runners younger than 70 years decreased.

Performance and Participation in the 'Vasaloppet' Cross-Country Skiing Race during a Century

This study investigated gender differences in performance and participation and the role of nationality during one century in one of the largest cross-country (XC) skiing events in the world, the 'Vasaloppet' in Sweden. The total number of female and male athletes who finished (n = 562,413) this race between 1922 and 2017 was considered. Most of the finishers were Swedish (81.03% of women and 88.39% of men), followed by Norwegians and Finnish. The overall men-to-women ratio was 17.5. A gender × nationality association was observed for participation (χ2 = 1,823.44, p < 0.001, φ = 0.057), with the men-to-women ratio ranging from 6.7 (USA) to 19.1 (Sweden). For both genders, the participation (%) of Swedish decreased, and that of all other nationalities (except Swiss) increased across years. Regarding the mean race time, men were faster than women by 14.5% (7 h 52 min 17 s versus 9 h 00 min 55 s, respectively). A trivial gender×nationality interaction regarding the race time was observed (p < 0.001, η2 < 0.001), with gender differences ranging from 4.4% (USA) to 22.0% (Iceland). The race time increased across calendar years for both women (r = 0.45, p = 0.006, moderate magnitude) and men (r = 0.25, p = 0.015, small magnitude). On the basis of these findings, we concluded that a relatively small number of women pariticipates in XC skiing. Therefore, the development of public health policies targeting the participation of women in XC skiing should be a concern in the countries with a tradition of this sport.

Russians are the fastest and the youngest in the "Comrades Marathon"

The present retrospective study intended to determine age, performance, the role of nationality and participation trends across calendar years in runners competing in "Comrades Marathon", the ultra-marathon with the longest tradition and the highest number of finishers worldwide. We analysed 235,467 finishers (40,211 women and 195,256 men) competing between 1994 and 2017. In women and men, Russians were the fastest (12.55 ± 2.03 km/h and 12.24 ± 2.93 km/h, respectively) and Indians the slowest (7.87 ± 0.64 km/h and 7.91 ± 0.60 km/h) (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.053 and η2 = 0.010, small effect size, ES). Also, Russians were the youngest (33.9 ± 4.6 and 36.3 ± 5.9 years, respectively) and Japanese the oldest (49.3 ± 9.6 and 51.4 ± 12.3 years, respectively) (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.011, small ES). Performance improved (r = 0.90 in women and r = 0.92 in men), age of finishers (r = 0.91 in women and r = 0.97 in men), participation (r = 0.92 in women and r = 0.87 in men) and sex difference in age increased (r = 0.71), whereas men-to-women ratio (r = -0.91) and sex difference in performance (r = -0.68) decreased across calendar years (p < 0.001). In summary, runners from Russia were the fastest and the youngest in both sexes. The knowledge of the relationship of nationality with performance, age and participation trends of finishers, and changes across calendar years are of practical importance for ultra-runners and coaches working with them.

Differences in pacing of cross-country skiers by nationality - The example of Vasaloppet 2004-2017

It has been previously observed that athletes of certain origin nationality dominate particular sports; however, this phenomenon has been less studied in cross-country (XC) skiing, especially with regards to performance-related aspects, such as pacing. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of nationality on pacing strategies of XC skiers who finished the "Vasaloppet" from 2004 to 2017. We studied 183,919 finishers (19,465 women and 164,454 men), classified into 15 nationalities, i.e. nationalities with number of finishers larger than 0.25% of the total number of finishers. In women, athletes from Russia (7:47:46 h:min:s) were the fastest and athletes from Denmark (10:01:03 h:min:s) the slowest (p < 0.001, η² = 0.057). In men, athletes from Russia (6:33:03 h:min:s) were the fastest and athletes from Denmark (9:03:27 h:min:s) the slowest (p < 0.001, η² = 0.069). In women and men, a small nationality× split interaction on speed was observed (p < 0.001, η² = 0.016-0.019) with Russians presenting a more even pacing compared to their slower counterparts. It was concluded that fast nationalities present a more even pacing, which should be attributed to the general trend of fast athletes for a more even pacing.

The Russians Are the Fastest in Marathon Cross-Country Skiing: The "Engadin Ski Marathon"

It is well known that athletes from a specific region or country are dominating certain sports disciplines such as marathon running or Ironman triathlon; however, little relevant information exists on cross-country skiing. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the aspect of region and nationality in one of the largest cross-country skiing marathons in Europe, the “Engadin Ski Marathon.” All athletes (n = 197,125) who finished the “Engadin Ski Marathon” between 1998 and 2016 were considered. More than two-thirds of the finishers (72.5% in women and 69.6% in men) were Swiss skiers, followed by German, Italian, and French athletes in both sexes. Most of the Swiss finishers were from Canton of Zurich (20.5%), Grisons (19.2%), and Berne (10.3%). Regarding performance, the Russians were the fastest and the British the slowest. Considering local athletes, finishers from Canton of Uri and Glarus were the fastest and those from Canton of Geneva and Basel the slowest. Based on the findings of the present study, it was concluded that local athletes were not the fastest in the “Engadin Ski Marathon.” Future studies need to investigate other cross-country skiing races in order to find the nationalities and regions of the fastest cross-country skiers.

The age of the best ultramarathon performance - the case of the "Comrades Marathon"

The aim of the present study was to determine the age of the fastest running speed in 202,370 runners (34,090 women and 168,280 men) competing in the "Comrades Marathon" between 1994 and 2015 using non-linear regression analysis (second order polynomial function). When all runners were considered in 1-year age intervals, the fastest running speed (9.61 ± 1.65 km/h) was achieved at the age of 29.89 years in men, whereas women achieved it at the age of 35.96 years 8.60 ± 1.10 km/h. When the fastest runners were considered in 1-year intervals, the fastest running speed (16.65 km/h) was achieved in men at the age of 36.38 years. For the fastest women, the age of the fastest running speed (13.89 km/h) was 32.75 years. To summarize, for all runners, men achieved the best ultramarathon performance ~6 years earlier than women. When the fastest runners were considered, however, men achieved the best performance ~4 years later than women.