Pre-race determinants influencing performance and finishing of a transcontinental 4486-km ultramarathon Determinants were examined before the race that influence the performance and finish of one of the largest transcontinental multi-stap running. Forty-five participants of the Transseurope Footrace 2009, which ran 4486 km in 64 stages (average 70.1 km daily) were analyzed in terms of training and running experience. This included years of regular endurance sports (experience), the number of finished marathons, ultramarathons and multi-stay runs, records before the race for marathon and specific UM races as well as the scope of training before the race last year before the trans-internal footrace with volume (km/ Week), duration (h / week) and intensity (km / h). The average total run speed during the transseurope footrace was 8.25 km h.71% of the subjects finished the race.The middle training volume is 5500 km. Finisher and non-finishers of trans-European footrace showed no significant difference in the determinants tested before the race. There was no connection between years of regular endurance sports, number of marathons, ultramarathons, and multi-stay runs with performance at the transseurope footrace. There was a very strong positive correlation between the intensity of the training before the race and performance at the transseurope footrace. The volume of workout before the race correlated with the performance at the transseurope footrace. Records before the race in certain ultra races (6-hour, 50 km, 100 km races) showed a high correlation performance at the transseurope footrace. The performance of the ultramarathon correlates vice versa with age. As in other endurance disciplines with shorter routes, the athletes also need a stage-specific experience, training and adaptation before the race in ultra-length multi-stage endurance sports if they want to achieve good performance.
However, the termination of a multi-stap run does not seem to be consistent with regard to certain experiences before the race. Further research results of the Transseurope FooTrace project can show potential risk factors for the task of a transcontinental course. The whole article can be found under https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31311242/