{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T10:27:02Z","timestamp":1780396022487,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,3]],"date-time":"2024-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1722643200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The concept of the \u201ccentral governor\u201d in exercise physiology suggests the brain plays a key role in regulating exercise performance by continuously monitoring physiological and psychological factors. In this case report, we monitored, for the first time, a marathon runner using a metabolic portable system and an EEG wireless device during an entire marathon to understand the influence of brain activity on performance, particularly the phenomenon known as \u201chitting the wall\u201d. The results showed significant early modification in brain activity between the 10th and 15th kilometers, while the RPE remained low and cardiorespiratory responses were in a steady state. Thereafter, EEG responses decreased after kilometer 15, increased briefly between kilometers 20 and 25, then continued at a slower pace. After kilometer 30, both speed and respiration values dropped, along with the respiratory exchange ratio, indicating a shift from carbohydrate to fat metabolism, reflecting glycogen depletion. The runner concluded the race with a lower speed, higher RPE (above 15\/20 on the Borg RPE scale), and reduced brain activity, suggesting mental exhaustion. The findings suggest that training strategies focused on recognizing and responding to brain signals could allow runners to optimize performance and pacing strategies, preventing premature exhaustion and improving overall race outcomes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph21081024","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,5]],"date-time":"2024-08-05T07:37:30Z","timestamp":1722843450000},"page":"1024","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Brain, Metabolic, and RPE Responses during a Free-Pace Marathon: A Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Florent","family":"Palacin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"EA 4445\u2014Movement, Balance, Performance, and Health Laboratory, Universit\u00e9 de Pau et des Pays de l\u2019Adour, 65000 Tarbes, France"},{"name":"Billatraining SAS, 91840 Soisy-sur-\u00c9cole, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luc","family":"Poinsard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"EA 4445\u2014Movement, Balance, Performance, and Health Laboratory, Universit\u00e9 de Pau et des Pays de l\u2019Adour, 65000 Tarbes, France"},{"name":"Billatraining SAS, 91840 Soisy-sur-\u00c9cole, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julien","family":"Mattei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physip, 6 Rue Gobert, 75011 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2300-9476","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian","family":"Berthomier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physip, 6 Rue Gobert, 75011 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6085-998X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"V\u00e9ronique","family":"Billat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"EA 4445\u2014Movement, Balance, Performance, and Health Laboratory, Universit\u00e9 de Pau et des Pays de l\u2019Adour, 65000 Tarbes, France"},{"name":"Faculty of Sport Science, Universit\u00e9 \u00c9vry Paris-Saclay, 23 Bd Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand, 91000 \u00c9vry-Courcouronnes, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1080\/15438627.2019.1586705","article-title":"The \u201cNew York City Marathon\u201d: Participation and performance trends of 1.2M runners during half-century","volume":"28","author":"Vitti","year":"2020","journal-title":"Res Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"(2024, January 24). 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