Author(s): BETTEGA, S., PELLEGRINI, B., BORTOLAN, L., VISCIONI, G., SCHENA, F., ZOPPIROLLI, C., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF VERONA, Country: ITALY, Abstract-ID: 2249

INTRODUCTION:
Classical determinants of endurance performance cant fully explain trail running since inter-individual differences in running economy and neuro-muscular capacities are greater than road or treadmill running due to challenging and varied terrain and slopes. While the physiology of athletes has widely been investigated, fewer data are available about running kinematics in ecological conditions. Thus, the aim here was to analyze gross kinematics among athletes of different performance levels along two uphill and downhill sections of similar incline during an actual race, hypothesizing that top-level athletes may exhibit less fatigue in both final sectors, with better maintenance of elevated speed, cycle length and reduced duty cycle.
METHODS:
We filmed the athletes participating in the Dolomyhts trail running race (10km uphill (1750m D+) followed by 12km of continuous downhill terrain (1750m D-)) with high-frequency cameras, along four 15m track sections, at the start and end of both uphill and downhill segments, approximately. From the video analysis, we measured average sectional speed, cycle length and frequency, contact time, and duty cycle. Two groups for men and two for women were analyzed, including athletes who finished the race with a maximum +10% more time respect to the gender-relative winner, or between +10% and +15%, respectively. Male groups were created by matching all the females for performance index and age. Two-way ANOVA or ANCOVA statistical tests were used to analyze the differences between performance groups and sections, for both male and female athletes.
RESULTS:
Among the male groups, a significant difference was observed in uphill running speed, with top men always running faster, through higher cycle length and lower duty cycle (p<0.05). Only a trend toward higher speed was shown in the downhill sections among men. Conversely, faster women revealed higher uphill and downhill speed (p<0.05) Moreover, the top-performing female group exhibited a higher cycle frequency and lower duty cycle during uphill running (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION:
Kinematic data analysis suggests that the top-performing males demonstrated superior speed compared to competitors, particularly in the uphill section. In contrast, women’s top trail runners were significantly faster throughout the entirety of the course. Top-male demonstrated augmented speed thanks to a reduced duty cycle and higher cycle length, on the other hand, top women’s achieved greater speed through augmented cycle frequency. These differences may be due to different muscular strength capacities between genders.