ORIGINAL ARTICLES  EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL MEDICINE 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2015 April;55(4):329-36

Copyright © 2015 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Stress related changes during a half marathon in master endurance athletes

Piacentini M. F. ^{1, 2}, Minganti C. ³, Ferragina A. ³, Ammendolia A. ³, Capranica L. ¹, Cibelli G. ⁴ ✉

¹ Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences,“Foro Italico” University, Rome, Italy; ² Department of Human Physiology and Sports Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Brussel, Belgium; ³ Department of Medical Sciences and Surgery, University of Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy; ⁴ Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

AIM: The aim of the present study was to investigate heart rate (HR), salivary cortisol (sC) alpha-amylase (sAA) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) in relation to competition outcome during a half marathon.
METHODS: HR was monitored and salivary samples were collected during an official half marathon in five Master endurance runners (age 47±7 years). RPE was collected using a 100-mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 30 minutes after the end of competition.
RESULTS: Performance corresponded to 94% of their personal best (PB). Athletes spent 53.7% of total race time at intensities above 95% HRmax. RPE showed values of 68±8 mm. With respect to pre-competition values (25.54±6.39 nmol/L), sC concentrations significantly increased (P=0.043) by 59% immediately after the race (40.54±3.95 nmol/L) and remained elevated until 1 h post exercise. Pre-competition sAA concentrations (90.59±42.86 U/mL) were 118% higher (P=0.043) with respect to time-matched baseline values (197.92±132 U/mL). sAA increased (192%; P=0.043) immediately after the race and was higher than time-matched resting samples. The better each athlete performed the greater cortisol increase during exercise (P<0.001). Performance was not correlated to the anticipatory sAA (the percent difference between pre-competition values and time-matched baseline ones) or to the sAA increase during exercise.
CONCLUSION: This is the first attempt to study the stress-related responses during official endurance competitions in master runners. Although the strict criteria of inclusion might have limited the statistical significance, the present findings indicate that endurance competition is a remarkable stressor for psycho-physiological aspects of master athletes.