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Recommendations on Youth Participation in Ultra-Endurance Running Events: A Consensus Statement

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Abstract

Participation in ultra-endurance running (UER) events continues to grow across ages, including youth athletes. The 50- and 100-km are the most popular distances among youth athletes. Most youth athletes are between 16–18 years; however, some runners younger than 12 years have successfully completed UER events. Parents, athletes, coaches, race directors, and medical professionals often seek advice regarding the safety of youth athletes participating in these events, especially with regard to potential short and long-term health consequences. UER may impact key organ systems during growth and development. We propose a decision-making process, based on current knowledge and the experience of the consensus group that addresses age regulations, medical and psychological well-being, training status and race-specific factors (such as distance, elevation change, remoteness, ambient temperatures, level of medical assistance, and type of provisions provided by the race organizers) to use until evidence of long-term consequences of UER in youth athletes is available. These recommendations are aimed at safe participation in UER events for youth athletes with a proper and individualized assessment.

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reproduced from Scheer et al. [6], with permission from Edizioni Minerva Medica)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ultra Sports Science Foundation, 109 Boulevard de l’Europe, 69310, Pierre-Benite, France

    Volker Scheer

  2. Health Science Department, Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA), Madrid, Spain

    Volker Scheer

  3. Department of Nutrition Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    Ricardo J. S. Costa

  4. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CHU Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France

    Stéphane Doutreleau

  5. Medbase St. Gallen am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Beat Knechtle

  6. Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Beat Knechtle

  7. School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

    Pantelis T. Nikolaidis

  8. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    William O. Roberts

  9. Institute of Sport Science, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Oliver Stoll

  10. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA

    Adam S. Tenforde

  11. University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Sports Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA

    Brian Krabak

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  1. Volker Scheer
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  2. Ricardo J. S. Costa
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  3. Stéphane Doutreleau
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  4. Beat Knechtle
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  5. Pantelis T. Nikolaidis
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  6. William O. Roberts
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  7. Oliver Stoll
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  8. Adam S. Tenforde
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  9. Brian Krabak
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Volker Scheer.

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No financial support was received for the conduct of this study, or for the preparation or publication of this manuscript.

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The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

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VS—conception and design of study, organization of consensus group, manuscript writing and editing. RC—manuscript writing and editing. SD—manuscript writing and editing. BK—manuscript writing and editing. PTN—manuscript writing and editing. WOR—manuscript writing and editing. OS—manuscript writing and editing. AT—manuscript writing and editing. BK—conception and design of study, organization of consensus group, manuscript writing and editing.

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Scheer, V., Costa, R.J.S., Doutreleau, S. et al. Recommendations on Youth Participation in Ultra-Endurance Running Events: A Consensus Statement. Sports Med 51, 1123–1135 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01441-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01441-w

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