Sport Specialization in Middle School and High School Long-Distance Runners

• Published in: Journal of athletic training 2021-09, Vol.56 (9), p.1003-1009
• Main Authors: Garcia, Micah C., Taylor-Haas, Jeffery A., Rauh, Mitchell J., Toland, Michael D., Bazett-Jones, David M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescents; Athletic directors; Cross country running; High Schools; Middle schools; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Secondary schools; Sleep; Specialization; Sport Specialization; Sports; Teenagers; Track & field
• ISSN: 1062-6050; 1938-162X
• DOI: 10.4085/462-20

ContextPrevious reports suggested that highly specialized adolescent athletes may be at a higher risk of injury, worse sleep quality, and less sport enjoyment than low-level specialized athletes. To date, the sport specialization literature has primarily addressed adolescent athletes in a variety of sports. However, whether the findings on sport specialization in predominantly nonrunning athletes are generalizable to adolescent long-distance runners is unknown.ObjectiveTo compare injury history, running volume, quality of life, sleep habits, and running enjoyment among male and female middle school and high school long-distance runners at different sport specialization levels.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingOnline survey.Patients or Other ParticipantsA total of 102 male (age = 15.8 ± 0.9 years) and 156 female (age = 15.6 ± 1.4 years) uninjured middle school and high school athletes who participated in long-distance running activities (completion rate = 50.7%).Main Outcome Measure(s)Participants were stratified by sex and sport specialization level (low, moderate, or high). Group differences were assessed in self-reported running-related injuries, running habits, EQ-5D-Y quality of life, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index sleep quality, sleep duration, and running enjoyment.ResultsHighly specialized male and female middle school and high school long-distance runners reported more months of competition per year (P < .001), higher weekly run distance (P < .001), more runs per week (P < .001), higher average distance per run (P < .001), and greater running enjoyment (P < .001) than low-level specialized runners. Adolescent boys reported a higher average weekly run distance (P = .01), higher average distance per run (P = .01), and better sleep quality (P = .01) than adolescent girls. No differences among sport specialization levels were found for running-related injuries (P = .25), quality of life (P = .07), sleep quality (P = .19), or sleep duration (P = .11) among male or female middle school and high school runners.ConclusionsHighly specialized male and female middle school and high school long-distance runners reported higher running volumes and running enjoyment than low-level specialized runners. However, high-level specialized runners did not describe a greater number of running-related injuries, lower quality of life, or lower sleep quality or duration as expected.