Introduction: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha gene plays an important role in the expression of genes involved fatty acid, glucose, and energy metabolism. PPARα intron 7 G/C polymorphism (rs4253778) is one associated with athletic performance. This study aimed to investigate genotype distribution allele frequencies endurance-oriented athletes (long-distance runners) power/endur...

BACKGROUND Participation of amateur runners in endurance races continues to increase. Previous studies of marathon runners have raised concerns about exercise-induced myocardial and renal dysfunction and damage. In our pooled analysis, we aimed to characterize changes of cardiac and renal function after marathon running in a large cohort of mostly elderly amateur marathon runners. METHODS A t...

To assess left ventricular structure and function at rest and during exercise in endurance athletes, 10 elite marathon runners, aged 28 to 37 years, and 10 matched nonathletes were studied by echocardiography and supine bicycle ergometry. Each athlete's best marathon time was less than 2 h 16 min. Echocardiography was performed at rest, at a 60 W work load and at an individually adjusted work l...

BACKGROUND Explanations for the phenomenal success of East African distance runners include unique dietary practices. The aim of the present study was to assess the food and macronutrient intake of elite Ethiopian distance runners during a period of high intensity exercise training at altitude and prior to major competition. METHODS The dietary intake of 10 highly-trained Ethiopian long dista...

BACKGROUND Physical performance often declines in middle age, but it is unclear to what extent this is due to biological aging. It can be difficult to determine whether such physical changes are truly age-related, as they might alternatively be explained as the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. METHODS We assessed the endurance of a physically active subgroup of the population b...

Trabecular bone of the human calcaneus is subjected to extreme repetitive forces during endurance running and should adapt in response to this strain. To assess possible bone functional adaptation in the posterior region of the calcaneus, we recruited forefoot-striking runners (n = 6), rearfoot-striking runners (n = 6), and non-runners (n = 6), all males aged 20-41 for this institutionally appr...

Objectives: While endurance exercise such as training for marathons is cardioprotective, cardiac arrests and sudden death occur in previously healthy runners during races predominantly in middle-aged males due to atherosclerotic heart disease. Recent evidence related to this problem is reviewed herein including epidemiologic studies and findings related to acute cardiac risk in asymptomatic mid...

Introduction. We describe a novel scale and its field use for evaluation of exercise-associated gastroparesis in the endurance athlete. Methods. A scale was created based on gastroparesis tools previously described in the medical literature. Surveys of the tool were administered to runners participating in a 210 km multiday foot race in Sri Lanka. Results. Use of this novel scale was demonstrat...

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to describe kinematic changes that occur during an actual marathon. We hypothesized that (1) certain running kinematic measures would change between kilometres 8 and 40 (miles 5 and 25) of a marathon and (2) fast runners would demonstrate smaller changes than slow runners. Subjects (n = 179) were selected according to finish time (Range = 2:20:47 to 5:30...

ABSTRACT Introduction: A high index of exercise tolerance is fundamental for marathon runners, indicating a good capacity to perform the exercises considering their maximum duration and workload. Objective: Evaluate effects resistance training with different loads on runners. Methods: 120 professional long-distance runners were selected as volunteers experiment. Divided into experimental groups...