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Performance
Our actions and our advice

Sports
performance
can be a ranking,
a distance,
a time
or a result.

We fund medical studies in sport
to better prevent & act.

Our medical research

1. Equipment: Comparing different backpacks in ultra runners

• Study: A comparison of economy between two different backpack designs for runners.
• Sport universe: Ultra running
• Who: Volker Scheer, University of Paderborn Germany
• Partners: Ultra Sports Science
• Study: Completed
• Conclusion: We compared the economy of two backpack designs (back/front or back only) in recreational runners, running with different backpack loads over time. Running economy was significantly lower for the back/ front design after 20 min of running, suggesting this backpack design to be more economic in longer runs.

Article / DOI (EN)

Article (ES)

Article Esprit Trail (FR)

2. The effect of the slope

• Study: Running - effect of the slope
• Sporting universe: Running
• Who: Prof Gregoire Millet
• Partners: UNIL Switzerland University
• Donor companies: UNIL Switzerland
• Study Completed

Etude Effet de la Pente (EN)

3. Exercise testing

• Study: Predicting competition performance in short trail running races with lactate thresholds
• Sport universe: Trail-running
• Who: Volker Scheer MD, University of Paderborn Germany
• Partners: Ultra Sports Science Endowment Fund
• Donating Companies: Ultra Sports Science
• Study Completed
• Conclusion: Lactate thresholds can be of value in predicting trail race performance and aid therefore in designing valuable training plans. Race performance times correlated in 84% with an XS trail run. A subgroup analysis showed higher correlations with race performance for slower than faster runners.

ARTICLE Lactates performance (EN)

ARTICLE Lactates performance (ES)

4. Running economy

• Study: Changes in running economy during a 65 km ultramarathon
• Sporting universe: Running
• Who: Volker Scheer MD
• Partners: Ultra Sports Science
• Donor companies: University of Paderborn Germany
• Study completed
• Conclusion: O2 cost and Cr increased significantly pre to post UM in all testing conditions as well as during the uphill testing throughout the UM. This is the first study to demonstrate a consistent increase in O2 cost and Cr among a range of different slopes, at individual running speeds and race-specific slopes giving further evidence that these measures of RE increase in UM running

ARTICLE Running economy (EN)

5. Exercise testing in trail runners

• Study: VO2max test in trail runners: is there a specific exercise test protocol?
• Sporting universe: Trail-Running
• Who: Volker Scheer MD
• Partners: Ultra Sports Science
• Donor companies: University of Paderborn Germany
• Study Completed
• Conclusion: The main findings of the current study were that the trail test elicited a higher VO2max compared to standard horizontal exercise tests in highly trained trail runners, mirroring the higher specificity of the trail protocol. Additionally, the trail test was the preferred choice of trail runners, and we recommend further evaluation in practice.

ARTICLE / DOI (EN)

ARTICLE Test VO2max traileurs (ES)

6. Use of CBD in ultra athletes

• Sporting universe: All sports
• Who: Mary Showstark, Luke Counterman, Jeena Fuller
• Partners: Medical board UTMB and Dotation funds Ultra Sports
• Donor companies: Yale University
• Study Completed

Education / Our advice

Athletes & Coaches

We recommend using backpack models with rear / front loading. Among the exercise evaluation tests the lactate measurement is a good test for trail runners and helps to prepare for competitions and can help predict running performance.

Our Tips & Recommendations (EN)

Ultra-Health Guidline (EN)

Event Organizers & Health Professionals

More informations:

Our Tips & Recommendations (EN)

Contact us / customized help

• 

  

  François D'Haene Ultra-trail
• 

  

  Mike Cotty Cycling
• 

  

  Karine Baillet Multisports Raid

Stay informed

Leave us your contact details or contact us:
contact@ultrasportsscience.org