Bad diets leave Boston Marathon runners slower, more injury-prone
When we think of Low Energy Availability (insufficient calorie intake), we tend to worry about high school and college runners. They’ve been the focus of most studies to date, and are also at a particularly vulnerable age when bone growth and development are super important.
But it seems that LEA is widespread among some adult runners. At the 2022 Boston Marathon, researchers conducted the first-ever study of Low Energy Availability (LEA) “where the outcomes could be directly linked to real-world performance and medical consequences in a specific competition.”
The results were rather surprising, or at least I thought so. I would have imagined that Boston’s typically-well-educated and middle-aged runners had few problems with fueling issues. Of course, Boston Marathon participants are elite by dint of the necessary qualifying-standards. They are performance-oriented, in other words, and those are the types of runners often affected by LEA.
In this abstract, supported by the Marathon’s medical team, subjects included 1030 Boston runners, about half female. Most were in their 40s or early 50s. All completed a pre-marathon questionnaire “related to training, nutrition, and performance history.” The questionnaire revealed that 42.5% of the female runners and 17.6% of the males appeared to have LEA characteristics.
The LEA runners performed significantly worse than their peers, although the study abstract didn’t report times.
Rather it used “division place rankings compared to healthy controls.” For the females, that was 1377th place vs 949 for non-LEA runners; for males, it was 1262th place vs 795.
The LEA runners were also much more likely to require support from the marathon’s medical team. They had a ”1.95-fold greater relative risk” of requiring some kind of med support, and a “3.55-fold greater risk of a significant medical event” such as a DNF or transport to a local hospital after finishing.
Conclusion: “Our novel findings confirm the performance and health implications of problematic LEA in both female and male athletes.” More at American College of Sports Medicine abstracts.
8 ways to improve your running economy
Top author and running expert Scott Douglas has written a feature at Runner’s World that explains running economy, and ways to improve it. Several decades ago, physiologist Andy Jones showed the simple method used by Paula Radcliffe. She kept running long and hard across more than a decade, and her running economy improved by a substantial 15%.
Simple, yes. And motivating. But no one would call Radcliffe’s longterm commitment “easy.” There is little related to distance-running success that can be termed easy.
There are, however, a few things that contribute to the whole. Among Douglas’s “8,” the most prominent in recent years have probably been strength training/plyometrics and short hill repeats. I like the hill repeats because they don’t require any equipment or awkward drills. Also, while long hill repeats are draining, short ones are much more tolerable. Douglas says that “a comprehensive study conducted on hill training found that short hill repetitions of 10-12 seconds led to the greatest improvement in running economy.” More at Runner’s World.
Secrets of successful foam rolling
Foam rolling may be one of those activities where the evidence base, among runners, has raced ahead of the evidence from scientific studies. Many runners use and love their foam rollers, pressure balls, sticks, and similar self-massage tools even though research hasn’t turned up much solid reasons to support them.
No worries. For the most part, you can’t go too wrong by doing something that feels good. Here’s an article that tells you a lot more.
Foam rolling works by releasing tightness and adhesions in the fascia--the connective tissue covering your muscles. This helps the muscle operate efficiently through their full range of motion.
Experts advise that foam rolling should feel good, not painful. If you experience sharp pain, decrease your weight on the roller, or move away to another body part. Also, move slowly on your foam roller--about one inch per second. Relax, take it easy, enjoy the healing pressure. Lastly, most research supports foam-rolling before your run, not after. More at Outside Online.
Best new running shoes under $120
After several years when running shoe companies were primarily touting their newest super-shoes (which are of course super-expensive as well), they are edging back to more-modestly-priced shoes. Best of all, some of these shoes include the new super-foams, but without embedded plates, rods, fingers, and the like.
That’s a good option since many biomechanists believe it’s the foam, not the plate, that makes super shoes so “super.” Here are 7 new models that cost less than $120. More at Triathlete.
New supplement yields big performance gains in trained cyclists
A new supplement has produced impressive results in a peak power and endurance test among trained cyclists. The study followed the gold standard randomized controlled trial method.
The novel supplement included branched chain amino acids, L-citrulline, and alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (A-GPC). The latter is a naturally occurring phospholipid often derived from soybeans and reputed to have cognitive enhancing effects.
After 7 days taking the supplement, athletes produced 11% more power in a 20K time trial, and lasted 36.2% longer in a high intensity exercise test. Conclusion: The supplement “may be useful for individuals seeking to improve athletic performance, particularly in cycling and similar disciplines requiring muscular strength and endurance.”
The new supplement was provided by its manufacturer, Ajinomoto, but the company did not pay for the research. More at J of the International Society of Sports Nutrition with free full text.
Need inspiration? Read about these amazing runners
Reading about other runners, sometimes quite similar to ourselves, but often very different, helps boost motivation for all of us. The mega-watt Western States 100 is just about 3 weeks off, and I’m eager to see how several old friends perform there.
Pam Reed hopes to complete her eighth WS 100 and just keep on ultra-moving, as she then tackles the Badwater 135 and Hardrock 100, all within a 20 day period. Also, Gene Dykes aims to become the first 75 yr old to beat the 30 hour cutoff at WS.
Dykes last made headlines when he turned 70 and ran a 2:54:23 marathon age-group record in 2018 . Now, on the plus side of 75, he’s hoping to add new age-group accomplishments to his impressive career. It won’t be easy. He’s got a few medical demons to stare down. More on Reed and Dykes at I Run Far.
Martinus Evans seems to be having more fun on the run than your average 300-pounder, and his “Slow AF Run Club” and similarly named book are introducing many new runners to the sport. “I want everyone to know that they can run in the body they have right now,” he says, a powerful and inclusive message. He also recommends doing most of your runs at a “sexy pace.” I’m not sure where that falls on the max-heart-rate continuum, but … hey, why not? More at NY Times.
Someday I hope to be just like 96-yr-old Rejeanne Fairhead who recently ran 51:09 for 5K. That gave her a new world record for the age group. Be like Rejeanne. Stay well today, and think and plan for the long term. More at Canadian Running.
The case against wearing super shoes in training
At the recent meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, Alex Hutchinson talked to several biomechanists conducting the newest research on super shoes. A team working with super spikes, which aren’t allowed to be as “tall” as road shoes, found that super spikes nonetheless improved performance by roughly 1.5% That’s enough to make a 4 minute miler into a 3:57 runner--in case you’re wondering why so many athletes are breaking 4 minutes these days.
More importantly for you, a different group investigated the question of whether or not it’s a good idea to train in super shoes. For two months, college cross-country runners trained in either their normal racing flats or in super shoes. Both groups improved their running economy during this time, but the increase was much greater among those who wore their normal racing flats: 5.6% vs 1%. Apparently, the leg muscles have to work harder in non-super shoes, so they improve more.
Based on this, you might decide to save your super shoes for race day. Only the choice isn’t quite that simple. One of the researchers told Hutchinson that the runners using their normal flats “suffered more muscle soreness and foot discomfort,” which won’t help your overall training progress.
Maybe there’s a middle ground … somewhere. We know what shoes are best for racing. The question of which are best for training will continue to attract many researchers. More at Outside Online.
In another ACSM super shoe report, a biomechanics team from the University of Memphis checked out how super shoes affect “metabolic cost” of competitive female runners (since most previous work was done on males.) They found that the ladies were about 3.7% more efficient in the super shoes, agreeing with previous results. Also, that the metabolic boost was the same for forefoot- and rearfoot-runners. It doesn’t matter where/how you land. Super shoes are still super. More at ACSM abstracts.
Vegans, vegetarians hold their own in half marathon through ultramarathon
A group of European researchers interested in running and nutrition have been comparing typical diets of half marathon to ultra marathon runners, and whether or not the diets affected performance. They call their research the “Nurmi” study after Finland’s legendary Paavo Nurmi, star distance runner of the 1920s.
The study has produced a few interesting correlations, some modestly contradictory. It also raised a new hypothesis about women and ultra running success.
Some findings: Among 2455 runners (56% female; average age 37), 47% identified as omnivorous, 31% as vegan, and 21% as vegetarian. The subjects were mainly from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Other global studies have shown high numbers of vegetarians and vegans in the running population.
Among females, the omnivores were faster in half marathons, the vegans performed better in ultramarathons. The male runners exhibited few performance differences by diet or distance.
In terms of a sex difference by distance, females were 16.8% slower in the half marathon, and 15.4% slower in the marathon, but only 5.7% slower in the ultra distance races. Why? The researchers suggested a new (to me, at least) explanation for the much-discussed and debated phenomenon, ie, women performing strongly in longer races.
Among ultra runners, far more females than males were likely to be vegans. Therefore, the authors suggest a “possible association of plant-based diets with the improvement of endurance performance in females.” The plants are making the females faster? Maybe, but that’s speculation at this point.
As for stronger conclusions, the paper states: “The present results indicate that vegetarian and vegan diets are compatible with competitive running.” More at Nutrients with free full text.
SHORT STUFF you don’t want to miss
GREAT QUOTES make great training partners
“Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running.”
--Julie Isphording, 1984 Olympic marathon runner
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby