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An Assessment of the Hydration Status of Recreational Endurance Athletes During Mountain Marathon Events

Received: 4 July 2014     Accepted: 16 July 2014     Published: 30 July 2014
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Abstract

Changes in hydration status have been shown to have deleterious effects on physiological functioning, physical performance, mental decision making, and subjective sensation of effort. This exploratory study assessed the hydration status of athletes taking part in mountain marathon events and the implications on performance, cognition and well-being markers. Twenty-nine male recreational athletes from the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) and nineteen from the Longmynd Hike (LH) provided urine samples before, at mid-point (in the OMM) and after the events. Body mass; reaction time tests; and subjective ratings of well-being and effort were also collected/performed at these time points. Post-urine specific gravity (Usg) values [(OMM: 1.023 (range: 1.008 – 1.038) g/ml; LH: 1.024 (range: 1.014 – 1.035) g/ml] were significantly higher than pre-values [(OMM: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml; LH: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml] in both events (p < 0.01), but there was no significant change from mid- to post-event in the OMM (p > 0.05). There was no association between hydration status and overall performance in the LH, whilst change in Usg from pre- to mid-event was positively associated with performance in the OMM (r = .561, p = 0.004). Whilst no associations were observed between hydration status and reaction time, rate of perceived exertion and subjective ratings of nausea showed positive associations with Usg. These findings suggest that although changes in hydration status of this level may not significantly affect performance, they can impact on participant sensations of effort and well-being.

Published in American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12
Page(s) 77-86
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Fluid, Exercise, Cognition, Running, Hill-Walking

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  • APA Style

    Elizabeth Mahon, Allan Hackett, Timothy Stott, Keith George, Ian Davies. (2014). An Assessment of the Hydration Status of Recreational Endurance Athletes During Mountain Marathon Events. American Journal of Sports Science, 2(4), 77-86. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12

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    ACS Style

    Elizabeth Mahon; Allan Hackett; Timothy Stott; Keith George; Ian Davies. An Assessment of the Hydration Status of Recreational Endurance Athletes During Mountain Marathon Events. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2014, 2(4), 77-86. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12

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    AMA Style

    Elizabeth Mahon, Allan Hackett, Timothy Stott, Keith George, Ian Davies. An Assessment of the Hydration Status of Recreational Endurance Athletes During Mountain Marathon Events. Am J Sports Sci. 2014;2(4):77-86. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12,
      author = {Elizabeth Mahon and Allan Hackett and Timothy Stott and Keith George and Ian Davies},
      title = {An Assessment of the Hydration Status of Recreational Endurance Athletes During Mountain Marathon Events},
      journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {77-86},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20140204.12},
      abstract = {Changes in hydration status have been shown to have deleterious effects on physiological functioning, physical performance, mental decision making, and subjective sensation of effort. This exploratory study assessed the hydration status of athletes taking part in mountain marathon events and the implications on performance, cognition and well-being markers. Twenty-nine male recreational athletes from the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) and nineteen from the Longmynd Hike (LH) provided urine samples before, at mid-point (in the OMM) and after the events. Body mass; reaction time tests; and subjective ratings of well-being and effort were also collected/performed at these time points. Post-urine specific gravity (Usg) values [(OMM: 1.023 (range: 1.008 – 1.038) g/ml; LH: 1.024 (range: 1.014 – 1.035) g/ml] were significantly higher than pre-values [(OMM: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml; LH: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml] in both events (p  0.05). There was no association between hydration status and overall performance in the LH, whilst change in Usg from pre- to mid-event was positively associated with performance in the OMM (r = .561, p = 0.004). Whilst no associations were observed between hydration status and reaction time, rate of perceived exertion and subjective ratings of nausea showed positive associations with Usg. These findings suggest that although changes in hydration status of this level may not significantly affect performance, they can impact on participant sensations of effort and well-being.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - An Assessment of the Hydration Status of Recreational Endurance Athletes During Mountain Marathon Events
    AU  - Elizabeth Mahon
    AU  - Allan Hackett
    AU  - Timothy Stott
    AU  - Keith George
    AU  - Ian Davies
    Y1  - 2014/07/30
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12
    T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
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    EP  - 86
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8540
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140204.12
    AB  - Changes in hydration status have been shown to have deleterious effects on physiological functioning, physical performance, mental decision making, and subjective sensation of effort. This exploratory study assessed the hydration status of athletes taking part in mountain marathon events and the implications on performance, cognition and well-being markers. Twenty-nine male recreational athletes from the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) and nineteen from the Longmynd Hike (LH) provided urine samples before, at mid-point (in the OMM) and after the events. Body mass; reaction time tests; and subjective ratings of well-being and effort were also collected/performed at these time points. Post-urine specific gravity (Usg) values [(OMM: 1.023 (range: 1.008 – 1.038) g/ml; LH: 1.024 (range: 1.014 – 1.035) g/ml] were significantly higher than pre-values [(OMM: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml; LH: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml] in both events (p  0.05). There was no association between hydration status and overall performance in the LH, whilst change in Usg from pre- to mid-event was positively associated with performance in the OMM (r = .561, p = 0.004). Whilst no associations were observed between hydration status and reaction time, rate of perceived exertion and subjective ratings of nausea showed positive associations with Usg. These findings suggest that although changes in hydration status of this level may not significantly affect performance, they can impact on participant sensations of effort and well-being.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

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