Estratégia de ritmo na corrida de montanha: um estudo do pacing dos atletas no campeonato brasileiro de skyrunning na distância de 50km em Jaraguá do Sul - SC

Abstract

Introduction: One of the determining factors for the good performance of running athletes is their pace, however there are very few studies on “pacing” in mountain running. In this context, the present work sought to analyze the athletes' behavior in relation to the distribution of time spent in the first and second part of the race, as well as in the horizontal and vertical distance, analyzing the time spent in the ascents and descents. Methods: Sixteen male runners, with at least 4 years of experience in this sport, participated in the research. The selected test was the Sky Ultra of 48 km and 2758 m+ of elevation. Uphill, downhill, first half and second half of the race were examined to analyze the athletes' time distribution. Results: In this study, the average time taken to complete the test was 5:42:36, varying between 4:57:41 and 6:17:37. The average pace per kilometer was 07:08 ± 00:25 min:sec. There was no significant difference between the first and second half of the test, despite a tendency to progressive split. Of the 48 km, approximately 18.6 km were uphill and 22.03 km were downhill. The ascent times were significantly longer than the descent times, representing 61.9% of the total time going up and 38.1% going down. Conclusion: With this study, we can conclude that in the Brazilian skyrunning championship in the 48 km distance of 2023, the athletes had a slightly faster second part of the race than the first, possibly due to the lower elevation gain. In addition, more than 60% of the total race time athletes spend going uphill compared to downhill