Program

Physician Assistant M.S.

Year Approved

2015

First Advisor

Hopper, Donald

Abstract

The popularity of marathon running has grown exponentially since the 1970s (Noakes, 2003). This major gain in popularity has led to an increased interest in hydration and nutrition for marathon runners (Tucker et al 2009). The effects of dietary factors such as carbohydrates (CHO) and water on endurance has been extensively studied related to performance, but few studies have examined nutrition’s effect on feelings of exertion. The current study aimed to determine how the in-race nutrition and hydration habits of marathon runners affect their feelings of exertion throughout a 26.2-mile race. Individuals running Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN on June 21st, 2014 were invited to complete an online survey, accessed via the Grandma’s Marathon Facebook and Twitter pages, regarding their fluid and carbohydrate intake and feelings of perceived exertion throughout the race. Ratings of perceived exertion were recorded using the Borg’s Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale. The survey responses of runners 18 years of age and older who finished the marathon within two standard deviations of the average time for their gender were included in data analysis. A correlation regression was performed in order to determine the relationship between carbohydrate and water intake and ratings of perceived exertion. It was concluded that there is no significant relationship between fluid and carbohydrate intake and ratings of perceived exertion throughout a marathon.

Degree Name

Masters of Science in Physician Assistant

Document Type

Masterʼs thesis

Terms of Use and License Information

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

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