GinebraLast weekend, a new edition of the Ultra Pyrenees mountain race took place, in which more than 1,300 runners gathered in the Cadí mountain range to cover more than 100 km of distance and 6,600 meters of positive elevation gain. Tests like this, extremely demanding, make us question the limits of the human body, as well as the role that physiology, nutrition and rest play in achieving good sports performance and, in general, enjoying a healthy life.
Answering these questions was one of the goals of Kilian Jornet’s latest challenge, called Alpine Connections, which he completed in August and in which he surrounded himself with a scientific team to understand in detail his physical condition and mental After having climbed more than 170 peaks of the Pyrenees in just eight days last year, this year the well-known athlete climbed 82 peaks of more than 4,000 meters in the Alps in just 19 days. In total he covered a distance of more than 1,200 km in two weeks, a feat clearly within the reach of the bodies and minds of very few humans.
During the project, Jornet was accompanied by a team of physiologists who took measurements of different physiological and mental parameters. The team, made up of doctor in biology and biomedicine Jesús Álvarez-Herms, professor at the University of the Basque Country, and Sergi Cinca, advisor in health and high sports performance, has provided him with essential support to successfully overcome the challenge.
“Throughout the challenge we have been taking measurements of many parameters to try to find out what happens physiologically, metabolically and cognitively during this type of effort”, explains Jornet. “The most interesting thing is that we can take advantage of a challenge of this magnitude to learn how the human body reacts,” he adds.
The body adapts to find balance
The human body is a very complex system. Its operation depends on a large number of physiological functions that allow the organism to adapt to the changes that take place during sports practice between individual thresholds that define each athlete. Parameters such as body temperature, for example, are essential to study how different stimuli promote imbalances in certain thresholds, such as those that occur when a great physical effort is made.
“What the body does for its survival, without differentiating between competitions and extreme efforts, is to try to keep the thresholds of these physiological parameters stable,” says Cinca, present throughout the challenge in the Alps.
“There can be several parameters that are altered and that affect this balance, such as temperature,” continues this expert, who adds that “we call them the thresholds of life or death, since they are the parameters that if destabilized the organism enters a state of protection that endangers its integrity”.
Understanding how the body adapts is essential not only to plan good physical preparation for very demanding competitions, but to understand what it means to be in good health. “Dr. Álvarez-Herms has developed a methodology to improve the performance of athletes and also improve their health. From his point of view, there can be no maximum performance if there is no systemic health,” says Cinca.
Although the physical side is essential to achieve this type of challenge, the psychological part is just as much or more so. In fact, after a great effort such as running a marathon, not only is there the necessary recovery of the whole organism, but also a good mental and emotional recovery is crucial. “After a big goal there is always this period of mini-depression, especially in projects like this, in which there is a lot of cognitive work and risk management,” confesses Jornet.
During the Alps challenge, Cinca and Álvarez-Herms have also collected data on the runner’s cognitive state to assess the effects of wear and tear and optimize preparation and rest. “Kilian has an exceptional mental part, with a very decisive resilience and focus. But he loves to do what he does”, explains Cinca, who adds that “from the top of the mountains, Kilian feels liberated from everything” .
An unconventional diet
One of the key factors in both athletic performance and overall good health is nutrition. Beyond the classic recipe for a balanced diet, elite athletes follow dietary protocols that can become very strict in order to achieve maximum performance in competition. However, one of the main takeaways from the Alps Challenge is that classic feeding protocols are not necessarily optimal. “I ate a lot and a lot of things – comments Jornet -: I had an energy expenditure of about 8,500 calories a day.”
The way Jornet has faced the latest challenge in the Alps is significantly different from how he is doing in the Pyrenees. “The main difference has been mainly at the level of food management, sleep and recovery – explains the athlete -. For example, in the Pyrenees I ate every few hours, while in the Alps we tried to eat less often , but more quantity and certain types of food.”
“There were days when we determined that he had to go out fasting when he had 40 hours of crossing ahead of him. Or we told him: “Today you will drink water with vinegar””
During the last challenge, the athlete followed his usual vegetarian diet and avoided the intake of processed pasta and sports supplements. “On the other hand, it has had the best performance ever in a test of these characteristics, and this is due to the fact that we respected all of Kilian’s physiological processes, from circadian rhythms to its microbiota,” says Cinca.
Thanks to the close monitoring of the runner’s physiology through the analysis of their biochemistry, genetics, body fluids, capillary blood, urine, saliva, feces and gases from airways, physiologists provided a series of tips that are far removed from the canons of sports nutrition. “There were days when we determined that he had to go out fasting when he had 40 hours of crossing ahead of him. Or we told him: ‘Today you will drink water with vinegar'”, explains Cinca.
The intestinal microbiota, peça clau
One of the key factors in how nutrition affects athletic performance and overall health has to do with gut microbiota. “It’s a very relevant field for improving health and sports performance,” comments Álvarez-Herms. The microbiota are the set of microorganisms – mainly bacteria, but also viruses, protozoa, fungi and yeasts – that are found mostly in the last section of the large intestine and that, in a symbiotic relationship with the organism, help to the digestion of food, the processing of complex carbohydrates and the production of vitamins and hormones, among many other functions.
The population of about 40 trillion bacteria that make it up has been forged over millions of years of evolution and is unique to each of us, which means that not everyone digests food in the same way. “In the case of Kilian, we have seen that the metabolism of fats is much more important than that of carbohydrates, and this canon is far, for example, from the current generic recommendations in sports nutrition”, comments Álvarez-Herms.
Another interesting example of how the microbiota affects performance in long-distance tests is found in a study done by a team of researchers from Harvard University in 2019. In this study, the microbiota from runners was analyzed of the popular Boston Marathon. In the corresponding analysis they found that the population of bacteria was very similar between the athletes, indicating its influence on sports performance and subsequent recovery. In this case, it was analyzed how the microbiota varied before and after the sports test. The researchers discovered that the concentration of a type of bacteria called Veillonella increased significantly after the race. The fundamental function of this bacterium is to process lactic acid, which is produced in large quantities during intense exercise and causes muscle fatigue.
The researchers tried to introduce Veillonella in mice and observed that their performance was 13% higher than that of mice that had not been supplied with this substance. This discovery opened the door to the use of probiotics, bacteria with a specific health benefit, as a substance to improve sports performance. In any case, these probiotics may not only be useful for elite athletes but may also help improve the health of some people with metabolic disorders such as diabetes.
Every body is unique beyond genetics
Good preparation and nutrition are essential for good sports performance. However, genetics play a fundamental role and can determine the success of an athlete’s career. However, today we know that genetics is not as decisive as it was a few decades ago. Since the discovery of epigenetics we know that the way genes are expressed depends to a large extent on the external factors that each person encounters. That’s why bodybuilders have also begun to integrate epigenetics to direct gene expression toward specific performance goals.
“We work with athletes from two to four years apart, because there are epigenetic changes that until this period are not expressed in the way that interests us,” explains Cinca. “And this requires a lot of patience on the part of the athlete, and also on our part,” he adds.
In Jornet’s case, “even though he has better genetics than most people, he’s not extremely exceptional,” he says. “What makes the difference is epigenetics. Having grown up in a mountain environment has marked his physiology and his adaptive capacity,” he adds.
The Jornet Alps challenge represents an unprecedented human feat. Thanks to the scientific monitoring it has had, it has been possible to collect a large amount of data that will be analyzed in detail to obtain further conclusions. “It will be possible to extract interesting ideas for the whole population about the management of nutrition and the management of physical and cognitive effort, as well as recovery”, concludes Jornet.
“Scientific evidence can cause a paradigm shift in the health sciences and sport. Each person can reach their maximum potential if they are stimulated correctly, depending on their age, lifestyle and motivation. This requires individuality, patience and knowledge”, concludes Cinca.
Although Jornet has better genetics than most people, she is not extremely exceptional. What makes the difference is epigenetics: growing up in a mountain environment has shaped their physiology and adaptive capacity.”
