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Effects of Two Endurance Training Programs on 5-km Running Performance in Recreational Runners

NCT07738640 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2026-08-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study will examine the effects of two 8-week endurance training programs on 5-km running performance in recreational runners. Participants will be randomly assigned to a lactate threshold training group, a pyramidal-to-polarized endurance training group, or a control group that maintains usual physical activity without receiving the study training program.

Before and after the intervention, participants will complete assessments of 5-km running performance, aerobic fitness, lactate threshold, running economy, blood lactate responses, and brain activity recorded before and after maximal exercise. The study will compare changes among the three groups and examine whether physiological and post-exercise neural responses are associated with improvements in running performance.

The main purpose is to determine whether the two training programs produce different improvements in 5-km running performance and to better understand the physiological and neural adaptations associated with endurance training in recreational runners.

Conditions

  • Endurance Running Performance
  • Exercise Training Adaptation

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Lactate Threshold Training

Participants will complete an 8-week individualized endurance training program prescribed primarily around the lactate threshold. Training intensity will be determined from baseline physiological testing. The program will specify the frequency, duration, and intensity of each training session and will be adjusted according to the study protocol.

BEHAVIORAL

Pyramidal-to-Polarized Endurance Training

Participants will complete an 8-week individualized endurance training program in which the training-intensity distribution progresses from a pyramidal pattern during the initial phase to a polarized pattern during the later phase. Training intensity will be prescribed using individually determined physiological thresholds obtained from baseline testing. The program will include low-, moderate-, and high-intensity running sessions, with the relative distribution of training time across intensity zones adjusted according to the planned periodization. Training frequency, session duration, and intensity will be standardized according to the study protocol and monitored throughout the intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Shuqi Jia

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
25 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-08-31
Primary Completion
2026-10-31
Completion
2026-11-08

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07738640 on ClinicalTrials.gov