Barefoot Running: Does It Prevent Injuries?

 Based on the review article below (see link) and recent studies barefoot running is not  a preventative running measure for reducing injury rates in runners. In some recent studies, barefoot running has been linked to increased foot, Achilles, and lower leg injuries.

http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/919/art%253A10.1007%252Fs40279-013-0093-2.pdf?auth66=1380303113_6c3c436df6a638cce02d88c99e90ee07&ext=.pdf

A new study shows runners do not have increased incidence of atrial fibrillation

 Past studies have reported that walking reduces the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) by 48%, whereby running  increased AF risk by 53%. A resent study (linked below) found "the risk for cardiac arrhythmias was similar in walkers and runners who expended comparable METhr/d during structured exercise. We found no significant risk increase for self-reported cardiac arrhythmias associated with running distance, exercise intensity, or marathon participation. Rhythm abnormalities were based on self-report, precluding definitive categorization of the nature of the rhythm disturbance. However, even if the runners’ arrhythmias include sinus bradycardia due to running itself, there was no increase in arrhythmias with greater running distance."

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0065302

Possible super runners?

The article linked below shows that overexpression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP)  (PEPCK-C) in skeletal muscle leads to supercharged mice capable of running long distances and having a great longevity. What is there to stop humans from having gene therapy to increase expression of (PEPCK-C) in skeletal muscles and how do you ensure that this will not happen or happening. Good by EPO and welcome the new wave of performance enhancement, gene therapy.
http://www.jbc.org/content/282/45/32844.full

Female Athlete Triad, (low energy availability, functional hypothalamic amen- orrhea, and osteoporosis)

Based on past published studies correlating body fat, hormonal levels and bone density. I have always recommend that female distance runners drink a glass of milk (8oz) per day, incorporate dairy products into their diet, and maintain a body fat level above 10%. I believe it is especially important to keep track of middle school to college females body fat levels, as many have the opinion that skinner equals faster running times.

I have linked a recent paper entitled, "Update on the female athlete triad". This manuscript covers recent research which identifies components of the Triad (low energy availability, functional hypothalamic amen- orrhea, and osteoporosis) among female adolescent athletes, particularly those participating in leanness sports,such as endurance running.
http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs12178-013-9168-9.pdf

Consumption of analgesics before a marathon and the incidence of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and renal problems

 The bottom link or take home messaged from this study is save your pain meds for after the marathon, not before.

 The link below is a study that looks at consumption of over the counter pain medications before a marathon and the incidence of complications. The authors concluded,"the use of analgesics before participating in endurance sports may cause many potentially serious, unwanted analgesic effects (AEs) that increase with increasing analgesic dose. Analgesic use before endurance sports appears to pose an unrecognised medical problem as yet. If verifiable in other endurance sports, it requires the attention of physicians and regulatory authorities."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23604350

The Effects of Uphill vs. Level-Grade High-Intensity Interval Training on VO2max, VMax, VLT and TMax in Well-Trained Distance Runners.

 This recent study (see link below) has a control group which the other study concluding uphill interval improved 5km times did not. Because the study linked below has a control group, their conclusions is supported that,"both uphill and level-grade interval training can induce significant improvements in a run-to-exhaustion test in well-trained runners at the speed associated with VO2max, but that traditional level-grade training produces greater gains." I believe it would be safe to say that these types of training would lead to an improved 5km time.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22996027

Uphill interval training will benefit 5-km time-trial performance

 I'm a firm believer that both uphill and downhill training or repeats are beneficial to any running program whether you are a sprinter, middle distance runner, distance runner, or marathoner. Running on hills will give you confidence in your abilities, build strength and speed.

A recent publication (see link below) concluded, "runners can assume that any form of high-intensity uphill interval training will benefit 5-km time-trial performance." Based on the design of this study, I feel the authors have over stated their results. I believe to conclude that uphill interval training improves 5km times this study needed to include more test groups: 1)that did not do any intervals ( easy distance running),but continued to run, 2) one group that did not do uphill intervals, but did track intervals, 3) and one group that did no intervals, but threshold runs. For example if groups 1,2 and 3 did not show 5km time trial improvement over the same time period, then they could conclude uphill interval trianing is the best way to improve 5km time. If group 1 did not show improvement, but group 2&3 did, there published conclusion would be support and a comparison could be made between other training method. However, if group 1 showed improvement, there existing conclusions would not stand.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Effects+of+Different+Uphill+Interval-Training+Programs+on+Running+Economy+and+Performance.