Sleep–Wake Behaviour of 200-Mile Ultra-Marathon Competitors: A Case Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the sleep–wake behaviour of 200-mile ultra-marathon runners before, during, and after a competition. A longitudinal, observational study was conducted to collect the sleep data of four (two females; mean age: 45.5 ± 3.1 years) runners competing in a 200-mile ultra-marathon (N = 4). Wrist-worn activity monitors, in conjunction with self-report sleep diaries, were used to measure sleep, beginning seven days prior to the race and concluding seven days following the race (2–19 June 2021). Descriptive analysis of runners’ subjective and objective sleep data was conducted. All runners completed the 200-mile event in an average of 82.5 ± 7.1 h. On average, runners obtained 4.7 ± 3.0 h of sleep from 4.8 ± 2.4 sleep episodes, averaging 59.9 ± 49.2 min of sleep per episode. Runners averaged 6.0 ± 1.3 h of sleep per night in the week before the competition and 6.3 ± 1.3 h per night in the week following the competition. Runners in the 200-mile (326 km) ultra-marathon drastically restricted their sleep. However, obtained sleep, the number of sleep episodes, and sleep episode length were greater than those previously reported with 100-mile (161 km) runners. In-race sleep data suggest an increased need for sleep as race duration increases. Interestingly, runners obtained less than the recommended ~8 h of sleep per night, in both pre-race and post-race phases of the competition.