Ultra -Endurance Triathlon Competition Shifts Fecal Metabolome Independent of Changes to Microbiome Composition

Grosicki, GJ, Pugh, J, Wosinska, L, Quilter, K, Mattimoe, D, Allen, J, Joyce, S, O’Sullivan, O and Close, G ORCID: 0000-0002-7210-9553 (2023) Ultra -Endurance Triathlon Competition Shifts Fecal Metabolome Independent of Changes to Microbiome Composition. Journal of Applied Physiology, 135 (3). pp. 549-558. ISSN 8750-7587

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Abstract

Understanding changes to gut microbiota composition and metabolic output in response to acute exercise may be necessary for understanding the mechanisms mediating the long-term health and performance benefits of exercise. Our primary objective was to characterize acute changes in the fecal microbiome and metabolome following participation in an ultra-endurance (3.9 km swim, 180.2 km bike, 42.2 km run) triathlon. An exploratory aim was to determine associations between athlete-specific factors [race performance (i.e., completion time) and lifetime years of endurance training] with pre-race gut microbiota and metabolite profiles. Stool samples from 12 triathletes (9 males/3 females; 43 ± 14 yr, 23 ± 2 kg/m2) were collected ≤48 h before and the first bowel movement following race completion. Intra- and inter-individual diversity of bacterial species and individual bacterial taxa were unaltered following race completion (P > 0.05). However, significant reductions (P < 0.05) in free and secondary bile acids [deoxycholic acid (DCA), 12-keto-lithocholic acid (12-ketoLCA)] and short-chain fatty acids (butyric and pivalic acids), and significant increases (P < 0.05) in long-chain fatty acids (oleic and palmitoleic acids) were observed. Exploratory analyses revealed several associations between pre-race bacterial taxa and fecal metabolites with race performance and lifetime history of endurance training (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that 1) acute ultra-endurance exercise shifts microbial metabolism independent of changes to community composition and 2) athlete performance level and training history relate to resting-state gut microbial ecology.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	06 Biological Sciences; 11 Medical and Health Sciences; Physiology; 31 Biological sciences; 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences; 42 Health sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QP Physiology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Amercian Physiological Society
Date of acceptance:	19 June 2023
Date of first compliant Open Access:	5 March 2026
Date Deposited:	05 Mar 2026 15:54
Last Modified:	05 Mar 2026 15:54
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28177

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