Analysis of the world record time for combined father and son marathon
Résumé
The aim of this study was to examine the physiological profiles and the pacing strategies of the father (59 yr old) and son (34 yr old) who broke the World Record time (4:59:22; father: 2:27:52, son: 2:31:30) for combined father and son marathon in 2019. Oxygen uptake ((V) over dot O-2), heart rate (HR), ventilation ((V)over dot(E)), blood lactate concentration (La), and running economy (RE) were measured during treadmill-running tests. The total distance of the marathon was divided into eight sections of 5 km and one last section of 2.195 km, and the relative average running velocity on each section was calculated individually. (V)over dotO(2max), HRmax, (V)over dotE(max), and La-max were 65.4 mL.kg(-1).min(-1), 165 beats/min, 115 L/min, 5.7 mmol/L for the father and 66.9 mL.kg(-1).min(-1), 181 beats/min, 153 L/min, 11.5 mmol/L for the son, respectively. At 17 km/h, RE was 210 mL.kg(-1).km(-1) for the father and 200 mL.kg(-1).km(-1) for the son, and % (V)over dotO(2max) sustained was 90.9% for the father and 84.5% for the son, respectively. The father maintained an even running velocity during the marathon (running velocity CV <1%), while the son ran the second half-marathon 7% slower than the first one, and his running velocity markedly dropped from the 35th kilometer. Father and son who broke the World record time for combined father and son marathon had a similar level of performance, but their physiological profiles and pacing strategies during the marathon were different. A more even speed for the son could help them to improve their own record in the near future.