Key result
A 100-mile ultramarathon led to an 18.98% rise in baseline heart rate immediately after the run and a significant 7.12% drop in the standard deviation of normal RR intervals one week later.
Why the study?
The study aimed to investigate the impact of a 100-mile ultramarathon on heart rate and heart rate variability.
Does a 100-mile ultramarathon alter heart rate and heart rate variability in runners?
Observational (n=28)
Does a 100-mile ultramarathon alter heart rate and heart rate variability in runners?
A 100-mile ultramarathon induces prolonged sympathetic activation, reflected by increased heart rate and decreased heart rate variability that persists beyond one week of recovery.
May signal prolonged autonomic effects post-ultramarathon; hypothesis-generating for athlete monitoring, with prospective studies needed.
AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the impact of an ultramarathon (UM) with a distance of 100 miles on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). METHODS: 28 runners (25 men and 3 women) underwent 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring 1 week before the UM, immediately after the UM and after a week of recovery. The influence of age, body mass index (BMI), HR and HRV on the run time and recovery was investigated. RESULTS: A rise in the baseline HR (18.98%) immediately after the run accompanied by a significant drop in the SD of all normal RR intervals (7.12%) 1 week after. Except for the runners' age, BMI, HR and HRV showed no influence on the competition time. Full return of HRV to the athletes' baseline did not occur within 1 week. There were no significant differences between finishers and non-finishers in the analysed parameters. CONCLUSION: The present results show that a 100-mile run leads to an increase in sympathetic activity and thus to an increase in HR and a decrease in HRV. Also, HRV might be a suitable parameter to evaluate the state of recovery after a 100-mile run but does not help to quantify the status of recovery, as the damage to the tendomuscular system primarily characterises this after completing a UM.
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Paech et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Ultramarathon runners (n=28). 100-mile ultramarathon vs. Baseline (1 week before the run) was evaluated on Heart rate and heart rate variability. A 100-mile ultramarathon led to an 18.98% rise in baseline heart rate immediately after the run and a significant 7.12% drop in the standard deviation of normal RR intervals one week later.