Dr Bryce Dyer explores the optimal conditions that can help swimmers, cyclists and runners produce their best...
"}},"slug":"optimal-temperature-for-sports-racing-performance","blogTags":"Performance","featuredPost":false,"author":{"name":"Dr Bryce Dyer","slug":"bryce-dyer","facebookHandle":"https://www.facebook.com/bryce.dyer.98","twitterHandle":null,"instagramHandle":null,"linkedInProfile":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbrycedyer/","stravaProfile":null,"bio":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"html":"Dr Bryce Dyer is Deputy Head of Department at Bournemouth University and a Visiting Professor at the University of Bolton. He holds PhD’s in High Performance Product Development and Sports Technology Ethics. With a passion for the equipment we use in sport, Bryce has worked with athletes or national teams for the 2012, 2016 and 2021 Paralympic Games.
\nA masters athlete with a self-professed emphasis on versatility and variety, Bryce has won medals in his age group at national championships in six different sports and gone on to compete at age-group world championships in a few of these. He currently competes as a cyclist in time trial, track and offroad events.
\nBryce has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, is a Chartered Technological Product Designer and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
"}},"title":"Masters Athlete and Associate Professor of Sports Technology at Bournemouth University","headshot":{"file":{"url":"//images.ctfassets.net/428xzyjdw7rf/6j0eYjdjVeJqfny5gXW83L/c49e632232c4cd0a26f15e76e476ab5f/BryceDyer.png"}}},"scientificallyReviewed":null,"image":{"resize":{"src":"//images.ctfassets.net/428xzyjdw7rf/6mXyUQHKChInb2aBXopNg1/9677ef139c3b7b37c48001fdc6b11412/ezgif.com-gif-maker__19_.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=70&fit=fill","width":1200,"height":630}},"socialMediaImage":null,"body":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"excerpt":"The 2017 World Cross Country Championships held in Uganda were about as far from optimal race conditions as you can get. Female athletes in the under 20’s race…","html":"The 2017 World Cross Country Championships held in Uganda were about as far from optimal race conditions as you can get. Female athletes in the under 20’s race were hauled away on stretchers and in the men’s event, Joshua Cheptegei went from enjoying a 12-second lead to staggering around the course as the extreme heat took its toll.
\nAs the saying goes, ‘Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress’. But she can also provide conditions that help you produce your very best.
\nSo, what do those conditions look like exactly?
\nCycling is a perfect example of the tug of war that can occur between environmental conditions and physiological circumstances. There’s a long and interesting formula which dictates the physics that control a cyclist’s performance. One of the factors within this formula is that of air density. If the air is less dense, then the level of resistance the cyclist is faced with reduces, and they would then go faster for the same effort as a result.
\nFor example, there’s a choice between thicker or thinner air for athletes that compete for the cycling hour record. The record is essentially a simple one – how far can you ride in an hour whilst performing laps of a velodrome?
\nRiders attempting to break the record effectively have two choices when it comes to air density: stay at sea level and produce your best power output or go high up and enjoy the benefits of less dense air.
\nWhen arguably the greatest ever cyclist, Eddy Merckx, set the record in Mexico City in 1972, he competed at the almost insane altitude of 2,300m.
\nMerckx – nicknamed ‘the cannibal’ (due to his insatiable appetite for winning races) - decided to go all in and try and break the obscure 10km and 20km distance records at the same time. As a result, things then came unglued around the halfway point and whilst he held on to take the records, he later stated the effort took years off his life.
\nFor the mere mortals amongst us, atmospheric pressure is still crucial - even at our local triathlon or time trial. Our best conditions would involve the phenomena colloquially known as a ‘float day’ whereby the environmental conditions are ‘perfect’.
\nAs a swimmer, there are some other factors you may wish to consider when it comes to water temperature.
\nFirstly, dehydration can still be an issue – even when you’re exercising in water. As you’d probably expect, when water temperature rises, the risk of dehydration also increases. This might not be a big deal if you’re racing a flat 100m crawl but if you’re doing a longer open water affair or a day’s full swim meet, some hydration considerations are sensible.
\nGoing in the other direction, swimming performance has been shown to degrade as the water gets colder because it demands more oxygen uptake to perform, which results in a less efficient swim technique. It’s why there are boundaries for how hot or cold the swim leg of a triathlon should be held in.
\nA scientific study in 2018 tried to articulate this point by saying an event should be held in water no cooler than 12°C (53.6°F) with a wetsuit and 16°C (60.8°F) without. There are a quite a few studies of fish out there that state water density actually drops slightly with cooler waters. You’d think this would be desirable to athletes, but you then end up with the situation the researchers in the 2018 study found when two of their participants fully committed to the pursuit of scientific truth by then developing hypothermia. This emphasises the fact that you can’t decouple the benefits of the environment from the biology of humans when you haven’t enjoyed the advantages a few million years of evolution, like our friends the salmon.
\nThe reality is that the optimal temperature is the overall balance between what temperature you’re experiencing, your projected workout intensity and any clothing you’re wearing.
\nIn the case of a triathlon, the differences in wetsuit thickness and coverage, as well as the size and fat percentage of the different athletes will mean the optimum water temperature will vary and this is worth testing in the days before your open water swim-based event.
\nFinally, if we head back to where this piece started with respect to running, things get quite interesting because the environmental conditions a distance runner requires aren’t the same as those preferred by a 100m sprinter. A sprinter would want low air density, coupled with warm air and humidity. Furthermore, hotter conditions have also been demonstrated to improve the maximal peak force generated by the muscles, which would be key for sprinting.
\nFor distance runners, their velocity is lower, so aerodynamic drag isn’t proportionally as important to their performance. Don’t get me wrong, it still matters to a point – such considerations were key in Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-2 hour marathon at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in 2019. However, other issues such as fueling, hydration and footwear design are going to have a much greater impact on the outcome.
\nThen there’s the impact of the heat over longer periods of time. When the performances of the six big marathon races (such as London, Paris and Boston) were once analysed over a decade, it was shown that the greatest environmental impact on their running performance was actually air temperature and once it increased above an optimal level, performance markedly decreased. Of course, a little caution is advised as the results could have been affected by runner’s personal motivations or how in-race tactics played out.
\nAny heat stress – particularly those shown to be in the 25-45°C (77-113°F) range - is going to lead to the body struggling to manage itself. This will ultimately lead to a reduced performance compared to efforts in cooler events held at 15-25°C (59°-77°F). In the main though, the optimum air temperature has been suggested as being in the range of 7–15°C (44-59°F) for a marathon.
\nAll in all, the optimum environmental conditions for your chosen event will ultimately vary based on your ability, size, duration, and location. So, it’s what I’d call a ‘Goldilocks’ scenario – not too much, not too little, and with sensitivity to your personal needs.
\nEither way, the best thing you can do practically is your homework in advance of what you’re likely to face and then equip and prepare yourself accordingly.
\n