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Sports
Special Issues
Training, Load, and Physiology in Trail Running
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Training, Load, and Physiology in Trail Running

A special issue of Sports (ISSN 2075-4663).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2027 | Viewed by 4101

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ignacio Martinez-Navarro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Education and Sport, Universitat de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Interests: ultra-endurance; performance; exercise physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carlos Hernando Domingo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Education and Specific Didactics, University of Jaume I, Av. Vicente Sos Baynat s/n, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Castellón, Spain
Interests: physical activity; sports medicine; physiology; health; physical education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Eladio Collado-Boira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nursing Department, University of Jaime I, Av. Vicente Sos Baynat s/n, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Castellón, Spain
Interests: nursery; nephrology; sports medicine; physiology; health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Trail running races have become extremely popular in recent years, and the physiological and health consequences of performing such demanding efforts have increasingly attracted the interest of the scientific community. Additionally, trail running has recently been recognized by World Athletics as a new running discipline, with the organization hosting its own Trail World Championships. It is therefore of interest for athletes and coaches to identify the factors that play a critical role in performance in order to improve training strategies and competition results.

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore the specific factors that make trail running performance different from similar-distance road races, especially those related to the different means of locomotion (i.e., downhill running, uphill walking, and pole walking) that concur in trail running and how fatigue affects them (i.e., the assessment of its durability). Both interventional and observational studies are welcomed in this emerging field of research.

Dr. Ignacio Martinez-Navarro
Dr. Carlos Hernando Domingo
Dr. Eladio Collado-Boira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sports is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • trail running
  • training
  • performance
  • downhill running
  • uphill walking
  • pole walking
  • durability

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 366 KB  
Article
Downhill Running-Induced Muscle Damage in Trail Runners: An Exploratory Study Regarding Training Background and Running Gait
by Ignacio Martinez-Navarro, Juan Vicente-Mampel, Raul López-Grueso, María-Pilar Suarez-Alcazar, Cristina Vilar-Fabra, Eladio Collado-Boira and Carlos Hernando
Sports 2026, 14(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14010012 - 4 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1963
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the effect of a downhill-running (DR) bout on muscle damage biomarkers. It also examined whether training background and gait kinematics may influence DR-induced muscle damage and strength loss. Thirty-six experienced trail runners (25 men, 11 women), participants of [...] Read more.
This study aimed to assess the effect of a downhill-running (DR) bout on muscle damage biomarkers. It also examined whether training background and gait kinematics may influence DR-induced muscle damage and strength loss. Thirty-six experienced trail runners (25 men, 11 women), participants of a 106 km ultra-trail, performed a 5 km DR bout at 15% decline and at an intensity equivalent to their first ventilatory threshold. Muscle damage biomarkers (creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and myoglobin) were analyzed before and 30 min after the DR protocol, and also before and after the UT race. Isometric strength was assessed before and after DR, and gait parameters were recorded during DR. All muscle damage biomarkers increased following DR (d = 0.19 to 1.85). Lactate dehydrogenase concentrations after the race and DR were associated (r = 0.64). Athletes who habitually performed downhill repetitions showed reduced creatine kinase (182 ± 73 U/L vs. 290 ± 192 U/L; p < 0.05; d = 0.64) and greater squat strength retention (4 ± 10% vs. −9.1 ± 16.8%; p <0.05; d = 0.87). Ankle plantar flexion and squat strength retention were inversely correlated with vertical oscillation (r = −0.44) and step length (r = −0.37), respectively. In summary, lactate dehydrogenase response to a short DR bout could indicate an athlete’s readiness to handle ultra-trail-induced muscle damage, although further research is needed to confirm it. In addition, despite the exploratory nature of the study, regularly performing downhill intervals and adopting a more terrestrial gait pattern appear to soften strength loss and muscle damage response to DR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Training, Load, and Physiology in Trail Running)
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