Recovery methods and medical issues during the transalpinerun 2023:A prospective observational study

This study systematically investigates recovery methods and medical issues among participants of the TransAlpineRun 2023, a challenging multi-day trail running competition in the Alpine region. To evaluate the effectiveness of recovery strategies and identifycommon medical issues in this setting, this study analyzed the physical, mental and nutritional recovery methods employed by athletes. Despite the increasing popularity of such events, data on the physiological and psychological impacts remain limited. Over seven days, 464 questionnaires were analyzed to evaluate recovery strategies, including sleep patterns, nutrition and physical and mental regeneration. The findings highlight traditional recovery methods, such as stretching and foam rolling, as the most utilized. Mental recovery techniques, though less common, were associated with significant positive effects on overall well-being (r = 0.15-0.17). Common medical issues included overuse symptoms like joint pain and muscular imbalances (prevalence on Day 1: 85%; Day 7: 64.3%). Optimized nutrition and sleep (average 5.37–6.93 hours) emerged as critical factors for preventing overuse complaints and supporting recovery. This study underscores the need for personalized recovery strategies and further research to enhance safety and performance in multi-day trail running events.