Running research - 06/08/11

I go through a lot of research paper abstracts everyday, mostly in my field of study (stem cell biology), but also about running. I never have enough time to write about them. So, here is what I will do. I will pick a few interesting looking abstracts and list the links from time to time.

I don't have access to full texts of all these papers, so I will put a warning at the beginning each time, mentioning that I didn't review the paper myself, I am just going by the abstract. The papers are, of course, peer-reviewed before publication.

OK? So here goes the first edition:

Athletic identity and disordered eating in obligatory and non-obligatory runners.

First of all, did you know that there is an obligatory exercise questionnaire? Looks like it measures how big an exercise-addict you are.

This study suggests that eating disorders are more prevalent among those who are addicted to exercise (that is, people who score over 50 in the aforementioned questionnaire).

Assessing cognitive impairment following stroke.

This group showed that exercise post stroke can help patients regain their cognitive abilities faster.

Personal Best Marathon Time and Longest Training Run, Not Anthropometry, Predict Performance in Recreational 24-Hour Ultrarunners.

And one for ultramarathoners. As the title says, your success in an ultramarathon is best predicted from your longest training run and your marathon PR. And here is the formula for it:

Performance in a 24-hour run, km) = 234.7 + 0.481 (longest training session before the 24-hour run, km) - 0.594 (personal best marathon time, minutes)

Gotta love statistics!