Running Economy in the Vertical Kilometer

Abstract

New and promising variables are being developed to analyze performance and fatigue in trail running, such as mechanical power, metabolic power, metabolic cost of transport and mechanical efficiency. The aim of this study was to analyze the behavior of these variables during a real vertical kilometer field test. Fifteen trained trail runners, eleven men (from 22 to 38 years old) and four women (from 19 to 35 years old) performed a vertical kilometer with a length of 4.64 km and 835 m positive slope. During the entire race, the runners were equipped with portable gas analyzers (Cosmed K5) to assess their cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses breath by breath. Significant differences were found between top-level runners versus low-level runners in the mean values of the variables of mechanical power, metabolic power and velocity. A repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant differences between the sections, the incline and the interactions between all the analyzed variables, in addition to differences depending on the level of the runner. The variable of mechanical power can be statistically significantly predicted from metabolic power and vertical net metabolic COT. An algebraic expression was obtained to calculate the value of metabolic power. Integrating the variables of mechanical power, vertical velocity and metabolic power into phone apps and smartwatches is a new opportunity to improve performance monitoring in trail running.