Extreme sport event triathlon: The daily walk to one's limit

By Michael Wanger on rheintales.ch:

For many, a triathlon is an impossibility. For some, it is the challenge of a lifetime. Currently, 32 athletes from all over the world are competing in the Swissultra. A month-long sporting event where anything less than 1000 kilometers seems laughable.

It’s 8:00 a.m.

Beat Knechtle and Rait Ratasepp are still in the pool. Soon, they will reach length 38. Then a helper will signal them: 100 meters to go.

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Breaking the 400 marathon mark

As part of the Brazil Ultra Tri, Beat Knechtle has broken the barrier of 400 marathons. This was reason enough for Christian Marti, the statistician of the 100 Marathon Club Switzerland, to personally deliver gifts. In addition to the official certificate and the pennant for the achievement, there were 100 cm beavers for the last 100 marathons.

As the best Swiss, Christian Marti (71) has already run more than 540 marathons. Beat Knechtle is second behind him. The Indian Pandian Sivabalan is ahead of the two Swiss with over 660 marathons.

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Interview in "NZZ am Sonntag"

Christmas edition NZZ am Sonntag:

Physician Beat Knechtle is pushing boundaries in ultratriathlon. He is the first athlete in the world to complete more than 300 Ironman distances. In an interview, he explains how he manages to do this – and admits: “The doctor in me would say that what you are doing is not so smart.”

His tip: Avoid mental trainers, heart rate monitors and dietary supplements.

The interview can be found at the following link:

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The optimal weather for a marathon world record

The optimal ambient conditions for world record and world class performances at the Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon is the fastest marathon racetrack in the world and has recorded 11 world records (eight in men and three in women). The weather conditions can have an important influence on the term.Therefore, we have examined the influence of the environmental conditions (temperature, sunshine, precipitation, air pressure and cloud cover) on world records and elitates (winners, top-three and top ten).Marathon services of men and women at the Berlin Marathon between 1974 and 2019 were analyzed. The average world record marathon period in men was 2: 03: 52 ± 0: 01: 19 H: min: S and 2: 25: 05 ± 0: 08: 25 H: Min: S among women.Competitions with male starters were 44 times (middle winning time 2: 09: 48 ± 0: 09: 15 h: min: s) and competitions with female starters 41 times (middle winner period 02: 30: 35 ± 0: 19: 09 H:Min: s discharged. The world record performances were achieved at medium temperatures of 18.61 ± 2.59 ° C for men and 13.07 ± 4.01 ° C for women. The ideal environmental conditions for world record performance in men were temperatures of 18.61 ° C, sunny, mostly dry days with higher air pressure and small cloud cover.For women, the ideal conditions for world record performance temperatures of 13.07 ° C were low at low air pressure, but significantly more rain and without sunshine and with cloud cover. For elite services, the ideal temperatures in men at 17.36 ± 4.33 ° C and women at 17.93 ± 4.07 ° C, with little to no rain and moderate cloud cover and sunshine.In summary, the environmental conditions are different in world record performance between men and women, with women in bad weather (rain, cloud cover and without sunshine) world records achieve and men in good weather (sunny, mostly dry days with small cloud cover).

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Training and physique in runners of different performance classes

Discriminant Analysis of Anthropometric and Training Variables among Runners of Different Competitive Levels The purpose of this study was to investigate the multivariate profile of various types of Brazilian runners and identify the pattern of different types of runners than the ability of a runner to classify themselves. The sample included 1,235 Brazilian runners of both sexes (492 women; 743 men) with an average age of 37.94 ± 9.46 years. Individual characteristics were determined via an online questionnaire: gender, age, body size (M) and body mass (kg), socioeconomic status and training information (self-classification, time, motivation, running pace, frequency and training volume / week).A multivariate variance analysis was carried out by gender and the discriminant analysis was used to identify between running speed, training time, body mass index and training volume groups such as professional athletes, amateur athletes and recreational awards. For both sexes, the runpo was the variable that the groups discriminated better, followed by BMI and volume / week.The time is not a good indicator to distinguish the rotor types. For both sexes, semiprofessional runners were those who classify themselves themselves, with amateur runners having the highest classification error.

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The influence of the weather on the mileage at age group runners on the Berlin

Trends in Weather Conditions and Performance by Age Groups Over the History of the Berlin Marathon The impact of various environmental conditions such as temperature, wind, air pressure and precipitation was well examined at elite marathon runners, but not according to age categories (age group marathon runners). The aim of the study was to investigate the possible influence of environmental conditions such as temperature, precipitation and air pressure on the marathon performance of marathon runners of all ages, which participated from 1974 to 2019 at the “Berlin Marathon”.A total of 869,474 finishers were analyzed (711'136 men and 158'338 women). The influence of temperature, air pressure and precipitation on the marathon times was examined in runners of the age group, which were grouped in 5-year intervals.Within the 46 years of the investigated Berlin marathons, there were no rain in 18 events rain and in 28 outlets.In 25 of the dismissals, sunshine was prevalent, while in the other 21 outputs the cloud cover prevailed. The marathon times correlated significantly and positive with age (older runners were slower than younger runners), with the correlation in men than in women.The marathon times correlated significantly and positively both with the sunshine as well as with the daily maximum temperature.The fastest marathon runners reached the fastest times on days with higher maximum temperatures (15-30 ° C). The maximum temperatures showed an impact on marathon runners of the age group of 35 to 40 years and older.Higher rainfall impaired performance in most age groups.In summary, higher daily maximum temperatures (> 15 ° C) and higher precipitation affect the performance of master marathon runners (35-40 years and older), which have participated in the “Berlin Marathon” in the last 45 years.

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Which discipline is crucial for which triathlon route?

What Is the Best Discipline to Predict Overall Triathlon Performance? An Analysis of Sprint, Olympic, Ironman® 70.3, and Ironman® 140.6 The aim of this work was to analyze the proportion of every triathlon discipline (swimming, cycling and running) and the importance of each individual discipline for predicting the overall performance of elite triathlets over various triathlon distances. Data from 2015 to 2020 (n = 16,667) of official races and athletes in sprint, Olympic distance, in 70.3- (Half-Ironman Distance) and 140.6- (Ironman Distance) competitions were included. The share of each discipline was calculated individually and compared with linear models according to route length, gender and power level. For each distance, automatic linear regression models were used, where the total power was considered as dependent variable.The best predictor for the sprint dance is cycling, for the Olympic distance the swimming, for which in 70.3 the cycling and for the in 140.6 running.Swimming is a better predictor for the Olympic distance than in the other triathlon distances.Cycling is a bad predictor for overall performance in in 140.6, and the importance of running for predicting the overall performance is highest in 140.6 and decreases with decreasing racetrack. Each discipline represents another relative content and other meaning to predict the overall performance depending on the triathlon distance. Swimming is the most important discipline in the sprint triathlon and over the Olympic distance, cycling in in 70.3 and run in 140.6. The whole work can be found under https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhys.2021.654552/full

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