Sports Scientific Characteristics of Marathon

Kijin Kim

doi:10.5763/kjsm.2016.34.1.19

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Kim: Sports Scientific Characteristics of Marathon

Review Article

Korean J Sports Med 2016;34(1):19-27.

Published online: 19 January 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5763/kjsm.2016.34.1.19

Sports Scientific Characteristics of Marathon

Kijin Kim

Department of Physical Education, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea

Correspondence: Kijin Kim Department of Physical Education, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeol-daero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea Tel: +82-53-580-5256, Fax: +82-53-580-5314 E-mail: kjk744@kmu.ac.kr

Received 9 May 2016 Revised 26 May 2016 Accepted 26 May 2016

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Although marathon has been considered as a simple or natural event, the multiple factors affect its performance such as physique and physical fitness including physical, technical, and mental factors. Academic disciplinary topics for talent identification in marathon performance are supported by physical characteristics, exercise physiology, biochemistry, nutrition, psychology, biomechanics, development and growth, evaluation and measurement. The scientific factors of marathon consist of physical and physiological characteristics of runners, overcoming trial of environmental effects, nutritional and psychological approach, ergogenic aid, effective training program, shoes and clothes. Especially, cardiopulmonary-related physical fitness is evaluated by maximal oxygen uptake, anaerobic threshold, oxygen transport rate, and lactate tolerance. These scientific approaches for the improvement of running performance have been applied to the pick-up of excellent runner, exercise training, and actual running race for the overcome of limiting factors as environmental condition, exercise-induced fatigue, and injury, etc. In conclusion, we must consider the scientific factors for actual running race with physiological or psychological paradigm, technical application, nutritional approach, genetic analysis and information and communication and technology (ICT) convergence science for the scientific consideration of improvement in marathon running performance.

Keywords: Marathon, Physical characteristics, Physiology, Cardiopulmonary function, Genetics, Limiting factor

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