Abstract
The study aimed to assess the relationship between peak oxygen uptake, ventilatory
thresholds and maximal fat oxidation with ultra trail male and female performance.
47 athletes (29 men and 18 women) completed a cardiopulmonary exercise test between
2 to 4 weeks before a 107-km ultra trail. Body composition was also analyzed using
a bioelectrical impedance weight scale. Exploratory correlation analyses showed that
peak oxygen uptake (men: r=–0.63, p=0.004; women: r=–0.85, p < 0.001), peak speed
(men: r=–0.74, p < 0.001; women: r=–0.69, p=0.009), speed at first (men: r=–0.49,
p=0.035; women: r=–0.76, p=0.003) and second (men: r=–0.73, p < 0.001; women: r=–0.76,
p=0.003) ventilatory threshold, and maximal fat oxidation (men: r=–0.53, p=0.019;
women: r=–0.59, p=0.033) were linked to race time in male and female athletes. Percentage
of fat mass (men: r=0.58, p=0.010; women: r=0.62, p= 0.024) and lean body mass (men:
r=–0.61, p=0.006; women: r=–0.61, p=0.026) were also associated with performance in
both sexes. Subsequent multiple regression analyses revealed that peak speed and maximal
fat oxidation together were able to predict 66% of male performance; while peak oxygen
uptake was the only statistically significant variable explaining 69% of the variation
in women’s race time. These results, although exploratory in nature, suggest that
ultra trail performance is differently predicted by endurance variables in men and
women.
Key words
sex - ultraendurance - maximal oxygen uptake - ventilatory thresholds - maximal fat
oxidation
