Physiological Constraints Associated With Trail Running (UT4M2018)

The practice of mountain running or "trail" is in full development in France and elsewhere in the world. This sporting practice associates specific physiological constraints related in particular to the duration of the efforts made (several hours) and to the ground (important elevation, technical ground, average altitude). Some studies have allowed the last 10 years to initiate the exploration of the physiological consequences of this type of practice, especially from a muscular point of view. However, some important questions remain to be clarified such as the impact of these sports events on fatigue and muscle recovery, cardiovascular, energy and water balance disturbances caused, induced sleep changes and the kinetics of recovery of the various parameters. . These elements remain in particular to be studied in very different racing contexts as currently developed by the organizers, namely race in one stage from long to very long distances (40 to 160 km) and race in stages (4 days, 4 x 40 km) as encountered in the Grenoble UT4M race (Ultra Tour des 4 Massifs).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Muscle Fatigue
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Pre and post running evaluations

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 83
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Grenoble, France, 38043
    • CHU Grenoble-Alpes

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 55 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Man or woman
• 18-55 years
• Absence of chronic cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic or neuromuscular disease
• > 3 years of trail running (at least 1 race> 40 km / year completed and a race> 100 km completed (trail group 160 km)
• Medical certificate of no contraindication to the practice of the trail
• Subjects available in Grenoble before and within 15 days after the race
• Subjects affiliated to a social security scheme
• Subjects able to sign informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cardiorespiratory, metabolic and neurological diseases
• Non-Echogenic Subjects
• Subjects with chronic sleep disorders
• Psychiatric pathologies or ATCD of behavioral disorders
• Persons refusing to sign the information sheet and the participation agreement,
• persons under guardianship or not subject to a social security scheme,
• Pregnant woman, parturient, breastfeeding mother
• Person deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision,
• Person subject to a legal protection measure, who can not be included in clinical trials.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 160km	Other: Pre and post running evaluations; Each visit will include a series of neuromuscular, cardiovascular, blood glucose and body composition evaluations will be performed. The subjects will provide some information about their muscular pain and their food and water intake. Finally, for the study of sleep that only concerns participants in the 4x40 km race, a home sleep registration banner will be given to each participant of the event step by step at the arrival of each stage in order to study sleep the next night as well as 2 nights after the arrival of the last stage.
Experimental: 40km	Other: Pre and post running evaluations; Each visit will include a series of neuromuscular, cardiovascular, blood glucose and body composition evaluations will be performed. The subjects will provide some information about their muscular pain and their food and water intake. Finally, for the study of sleep that only concerns participants in the 4x40 km race, a home sleep registration banner will be given to each participant of the event step by step at the arrival of each stage in order to study sleep the next night as well as 2 nights after the arrival of the last stage.
Experimental: 100km	Other: Pre and post running evaluations; Each visit will include a series of neuromuscular, cardiovascular, blood glucose and body composition evaluations will be performed. The subjects will provide some information about their muscular pain and their food and water intake. Finally, for the study of sleep that only concerns participants in the 4x40 km race, a home sleep registration banner will be given to each participant of the event step by step at the arrival of each stage in order to study sleep the next night as well as 2 nights after the arrival of the last stage.
Experimental: 4x40km	Other: Pre and post running evaluations; Each visit will include a series of neuromuscular, cardiovascular, blood glucose and body composition evaluations will be performed. The subjects will provide some information about their muscular pain and their food and water intake. Finally, for the study of sleep that only concerns participants in the 4x40 km race, a home sleep registration banner will be given to each participant of the event step by step at the arrival of each stage in order to study sleep the next night as well as 2 nights after the arrival of the last stage.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quantification of the level of ankle extensors fatigue induced by trail	Pre-post-force decrease in muscle contractility of ankle extensors assessed by neurostimulation	one month and 12 days
Quantification of the level of knee extensors fatigue induced by trail	Pre-post-force decrease in muscle contractility of knee extensors assessed by neurostimulation	one month and 12 days
Quantification of the level of ankle extensors fatigue induced by trail	Pre-post-force decrease in muscle contractility of infarction assessed by echocardiography	one month and 12 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Grenoble
• Collaborators: University Grenoble Alps

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Besson T, Rossi J, LE Roux Mallouf T, Marechal M, Doutreleau S, Verges S, Millet GY. Fatigue and Recovery after Single-Stage versus Multistage Ultramarathon Running. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2020 Aug;52(8):1691-1698. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002303.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 23, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 23, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): September 5, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 10, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 18, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): October 19, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 29, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Fatigue; Inorganic Chemicals; Elements; Metals; Metals, Heavy; Lead
• Other Study ID Numbers: 38RC18.096

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No