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Review
. 2020 Mar 15;8(3):35.
doi: 10.3390/sports8030035.

Factors Affecting Training and Physical Performance in Recreational Endurance Runners

Daniel Boullosa  1 , Jonathan Esteve-Lanao  2 , Arturo Casado  3 , Leonardo A Peyré-Tartaruga  4 , Rodrigo Gomes da Rosa  4 , Juan Del Coso  5
Affiliations
Review

Factors Affecting Training and Physical Performance in Recreational Endurance Runners

Daniel Boullosa et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

Endurance running has become an immensely popular sporting activity, with millions of recreational runners around the world. Despite the great popularity of endurance running as a recreational activity during leisure time, there is no consensus on the best practice for recreational runners to effectively train to reach their individual objectives and improve physical performance in a healthy manner. Moreover, there are lots of anecdotal data without scientific support, while most scientific evidence on endurance running was developed from studies observing both recreational and professional athletes of different levels. Further, the transference of all this information to only recreational runners is difficult due to differences in the genetic predisposition for endurance running, the time available for training, and physical, psychological, and physiological characteristics. Therefore, the aim of this review is to present a selection of scientific evidence regarding endurance running to provide training guidelines to be used by recreational runners and their coaches. The review will focus on some key aspects of the training process, such as periodization, training methods and monitoring, performance prediction, running technique, and prevention and management of injuries associated with endurance running.

Keywords: amateur runner; endurance exercise; exercise intensity; running technique; sports performance; sports training.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Evidence-based recommendations for physical conditioning training, running technique, and injury prevention in recreational endurance running.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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