Changes in running economy and attainable maximal oxygen consumption in response to prolonged running: The impact of training status

Abstract During prolonged running at moderate‐to‐high intensity, running economy (RE) deteriorates and attainable maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2max ) decreases. Whether these changes appear similarly in trained and untrained runners exercising at the same relative intensity is not clear. We recruited 10 trained runners (TR) and 10 active adults (AA), and compared RE and attainable VO 2max before and after 1 h of running at 70% of VO 2max . Submaximal VO 2 increased more ( p = 0.019) in AA (0.20 ± 0.13 L min −1 ) than in TR (0.07 ± 0.05 L min −1 ). Attainable VO 2max decreased in AA (−0.21 ± 0.15 L min −1 , p = 0.002), but remained unchanged in TR (−0.05 ± 0.10 L min −1 , p = 0.18). Relative intensity (i.e., VO 2 /attainable VO 2max ), increased more ( p = 0.001) in AA (8.3 ± 4.4%) than in TR (2.6 ± 1.9%). These results demonstrate that the ability to resist changes in RE and VO 2max following prolonged running is superior in trained versus untrained runners, when exercising at the same relative intensity.