Trail running is an increasingly popular endurance sport with races over variety of distances and terrains. Those prolonged running elicits decrease in muscle power output mediated by reductions in neuromuscular function. However, the evaluation of neuromuscular function is still limited in trail runners and difficult on the field setting. Purpose The present study aimed to compare the impact of simulated and field trail running races on neuromuscular function trail runners. Methods 26 trail runners (42 ± 6 years) with 4.2 ± 1.3 years of trailrunning practice were studied. A simulated trail running test (STR) was conducted in a laboratory, consisting of 30 minutes of 15% grade uphill running at 75% of heart rate reserve (HRR) and 30 minutes of 15% grade downhill running at 40% HRR on a treadmill. The short distance trail running race (TRR) was run on mountain single tracks with technical rocky sections and a total distance of 18 km with a positive elevation of 1,080 m. Results After STR, quadriceps maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and rectus femoris M-wave decreased significantly (p<0.05), indicating total and peripheral fatigue. However, no significant changes were observed in central fatigue as assessed by maximal voluntary activation. After TRR, the average time was 279 ± 45 minutes, and height and peak power of counter movement jump (CMJ) decreased significantly (p<0.05). The decreases in MVC observed in the laboratory were associated with the corresponding reductions in peak power of CMJ (r =0.480, p = 0.013) obtained in the field setting. Conclusion The simulated trail running test produced total and peripheral fatigue but not central fatigue in trail runners. Such simulated trail running test could be used as an experimental tool to investigate neuromuscular fatigue in trail runners.
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