Ultramarathon runners and support crew: The influence of pre-race sleep and training profiles on performance in a 217-km mountain race.

The present study evaluates the effects of pre-race sleep and training characteristics among ultra-athletes and support crew, and the influence of these factors on the athlete's performance in a 217-km ultramarathon. A total of 38 ultramarathon runners and 59 support crew members were assessed. The participants answered questionnaires about chronotype, sleep quality, sleepiness, basic demographics, and pre-race training. The clinical trial registration number is RBR-7j6d23v. The results showed that athletes and support crew had a morning-type chronotype and good sleep efficiency; most had poor-quality sleep. The athletes who finished the race had a higher sleep latency than non-finishers (p < 0.001). The quality of sleep may have impacted performance because the athletes with good sleep quality trained one day more per week than those without (p < 0.001), and training frequency was highly correlated with the race time (r = -0.59). These findings are novel, expand the data about sleep, training, and performance in an ultramarathon, and innovate by addressing the support crew.

Sleep and nutritional profile of endurance and ultra-endurance running athletes.

Sleeping and eating before and during an ultramarathon can directly affect an athlete's performance, who may also have their physiological adaptations and recovery process hindered by sleeping problems. Endurance and ultra-endurance athletes may have different sleep and nutrition profiles. Thus, this study aimed to describe the sleep profile (during preparation) and nutritional profile (during competition) of endurance (10-20km) and ultra-endurance (50-100km) running athletes. For this, 16 healthy volunteers answered questionnaires related to sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index), chronotype (morningness-eveningness questionnaire), and sleepiness (excessive daytime sleepiness questionnaire). Immediately after a competition, a form prepared by the research team about nutritional variables and volunteers' food records during the competition was applied. According to test scoring criteria (Pittsburgh sleep quality index >5; sleepiness >10), endurance running athletes showed low sleep quality. In addition, all athletes showed consumption of carbohydrates and lipids below the recommended, but excessive consumption of proteins. A positive association between sleepiness and sodium intake in endurance runners was observed (r=0.862; p=0.027). Sleep efficiency and race time showed a negative correlation only for ultra-endurance athletes (r=-0.834; p=0.039). The data obtained show that endurance athletes presented more sleep pattern alterations, however, endurance and ultra-endurance athletes showed inadequate nutritional consumption during the competition.