Physiological characteristics and performance of a world-record breaking tower runner

This study reports the physiological and performance profiles of a world-class tower runner during a 6-week period surrounding a successful Guinness World Record (WR) attempt, and discusses the efficacy of a tower running specific field test. The world-ranked number 2 tower runner completed four exercise tests [laboratory treadmill assessment (3 weeks before the WR attempt), familiarisation to a specific incremental tower running field test (1 week before), tower running field test (1 week after), and tower running time trial (TT) (3 weeks after)] and the WR attempt within 6-week period. Peak oxygen consumption (VO₂peak) during the laboratory test, field test, and TT were 73.3, 75.5 and 78.3 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹, respectively. The VO₂ corresponding to the second ventilatory threshold was 67.3 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ (89.1% of VO₂peak), identified at stage 4 (tempo; 100 b·min⁻¹), during the field test. The duration of the TT was 10 min 50 s, with an average VO₂ of 71.7 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ (91.6% of VO₂peak), HR of 171 b·min⁻¹ (92% of peak HR), vertical speed of 0.47 m·s⁻¹, and cadence was 117 steps·min⁻¹. A world-class tower runner possesses a well-developed aerobic capacity. A specific, field-based test revealed greater VO₂peak than a laboratory test, indicating a need for sport-specific testing procedures.