Physiological factors associated with the success in marathon running

Marathon running is the most gruelling athletic event in international sport. Success of well trained athlete largely depends upon his perfect coordination of movements in relation to speed and optimum physiological adjustments. In order to identify the physiological factors which play crucial contributory role in successful marathon runners an evaluation study was conducted on 7 successful Indian athletes from among many competitors. Results of the study were compared between the 1st and the 7th rankers vis-a-vis the world champion in this event. Results indicated that the maximal aerobic power and economy in 'work' involved in marathon running were most important factors for the success in this event. In addition, a comparison of the blood lactic acid level of Indian with that of the world champion revealed that the latter could sustain at 85% of his maximal aerobic power for 2 hours compared to 78% and 62% of 1st and 7th ranker Indian athletes. There was not much of a difference between the world and Indian champion in this respect. Further, thermoregulatory efficiency was also found to play an important contributory role in determining success in this event. It is considered that a suitable index incorporating all the above factors is likely to be the most appropriate screening procedure in the evaluation programme of marathon runners for the reasons as discussed.