The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of training and echocardiographic left ventricular indices with competitive results in distance running. Echocardiography was performed on 53 male sub-elite runners. Training parameters and competitive results in races from 800 m to marathon were also analysed. Simple correlation analysis revealed a positive association between left ventricular mass or wall thickness and average running speed in races of 1500 m, 3000 m, and 10 000 m (p < 0.05). Training volume correlated with competitive results in distance running stronger and more consistently, however, than did cardiac size parameters. Additionally, training volume correlated positively with ventricular wall thickness and mass but not chamber size. Multiple linear regression analysis supported training volume and left ventricular mass index as independent predictors of distance running performance. Neither simple correlation nor multiple regression analysis evidenced a positive association between ventricular diameter or peak diastolic filling parameters and competitive results (p > 0.05). Thus, the results of our study suggest that competitive results of sub-elite middle and long distance runners are related stronger to training volume than echocardiographic data, and that left ventricular muscle mass but not chamber size correlates positively with average running velocity during distance races.
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