Psychological Impact of an 120-km Ultra-Endurance Race (PSYTRAIL-120)

May 21, 2026 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Régional d'Orléans

A Study of the Psychological Impact of an 120-km Ultra-Endurance Event

Ultra-endurance races (ultra-marathons) take place under extreme environmental conditions, over long distances, involving prolonged physical activity and multiple psychological and physiological challenges.

These extreme conditions expose runners to a wide range of emotions-both pleasant and unpleasant-that can influence their performance, fatigue, and perception of exertion.

Emotional intelligence and emotional regulation appear to be key determinants of emotional trajectories and performance in these contexts. Previous research shows that high levels of emotional intelligence and adaptive emotional regulation strategies are associated with functional emotional trajectories and better performance, whereas maladaptive strategies are linked to dysfunctional emotional trajectories and reduced performance.

Furthermore, defense mechanisms constitute a complementary approach to emotional self-regulation. They can be adaptive or maladaptive and influence how runners cope with emotions and psychological stressors during competition.

Longitudinal studies conducted to date have primarily explored post-race emotional trajectories in relation to emotional intelligence, without examining the impact of defense mechanisms on emotional dynamics during the race. Furthermore, few studies have examined the mediating role of emotional intensity between emotional regulation and perceived performance, and even fewer have adopted an approach that integrates physiological indicators such as heart rate or heart rate variability.

Thus, this study lies at the intersection of sports psychology, emotion, and physiology, and aims to fill these gaps by exploring:

  1. the influence of defense mechanisms on emotional dynamics and physical and mental fatigue during an ultra-endurance race, and
  2. the mediating role of emotional intensity on the relationship between emotional regulation and perceived performance.

The objective of this study is to examine how certain psychological mechanisms used to cope with difficult situations influence the evolution of emotions experienced by participants during and after a 120-kilometer ultra-endurance race.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

A descriptive, non-interventional, longitudinal exploratory study of healthy, able-bodied participants of both sexes, based on the completion of self-administered questionnaires on a tablet before, during (kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112) and at the finish line (120th kilometer) of the "Ecotrail de Paris Ile de France 120 kilometers" ultra-trail race taking place on March 21, 2026

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

8

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
    • Loiret
      • Orléans, Loiret, France, 45100
        • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Orléans

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy, able-bodied participants of both sexes, participating to the "Ecotrail de Paris Ile de France 120 kilometers" ultra-trail race taking place on March 21, 2026

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who have agreed to participate in the study
  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Smartwatch capable of measuring heart rate and transmitting this data
  • Subject with no significant medical history (chronic pulmonary disease, heart disease contraindicating Class IIIC exercise according to the Bethesda classification, pharmacologically treated hypertension, or significant chronic inflammatory disease)
  • Participation in the "Ecotrail de Paris Ile de France 120 kilometers" ultra trail taking place on March 21, 2026.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Persons under legal guardianship or conservatorship
  • Persons under judicial protection
  • Persons deprived of liberty
  • Persons not enrolled in a social security system
  • Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding at the time of enrollment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Healthy adults participants
Other: Completion on a tablet of self-administered questionnaires about their emotions/feelings
Completion on a tablet of self-administered questionnaires about their emotions/feelings before, during (kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112), and at the finish line (120th kilometer) of the "Ecotrail de Paris Ile de France 120 kilometers" ultra-trail race taking place on March 21, 2026.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Examination of the influence of defense mechanisms on the emotional dynamics observed during and following an ultra-endurance race
Time Frame: During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"
Defense mechanisms will be assessed before the race using the Defense Style Questionnaire - 26 (DSQ-26). Scale from 1 to 6, with 1 being "never" and 6 being "always".
During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluation of physical and mental fatigue before, during and after the race
Time Frame: During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"
Physical and mental fatigue will be assessed before the race, during the race using a visual analog scale (VAS). Scale from 0 to 10, 10 being the worst score.
During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"
Exploration of the relationships between emotional regulation strategies and runners' perceived performance
Time Frame: During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"
Emotional regulation will be assessed before the race using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being "never" and 5 being "always".
During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"
Exploration of emotion regulation strategies and runners' perceived exertion
Time Frame: During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"
Perceived exertion will be assessed using the perceived exertion scale (Borg CR10 - modified version). Scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst score.
During kilometers 16, 41, 56, 68, 89, and 112 (up to 5 minutes per stop), and at the finish line 120th kilometer (up to 8 minutes)"

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Régional d'Orléans

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 21, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 21, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

March 21, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 26, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 21, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CHUO-2026-02

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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