The 100-meter sprint is a brief, explosive event; the marathon is a prolonged, high-intensity, endurance event.

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by Rosie Chee
Last updated: Sep 19, 2013
100-Meter Sprint Versus A Marathon
Although they are both running sports the 100-meter sprint and the marathon are two completely different events. The
100-meter sprint is a brief, explosive event (Newsholme, Leech & Duester, 1994; Ross & Leveritt, 2001); the marathon is
a prolonged, high-intensity, endurance event (Wagenmakers, 1999).
The essence of the 100-meter sprint is speed, with little oxygen breathed in during its 10-second duration, making the
event almost entirely anaerobic (Newsholme, et al., 1994); whereas, although completed by elite marathon runners at a
pace between 80-85% of their maximal capacity and the anaerobic system being utilized during sprint efforts in or at the
end of the race, the marathon is a primarily aerobic event completed in 2 to 2.5 hours by elite marathon runners
(Newsholme, et. al., 1994).
Energy
For the body to perform exercise for any given intensity or duration it requires energy. Energy is provided chemically in
the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), a high-energy phosphate stored within skeletal muscle.
ATP is the only fuel that can be used directly by the working muscles for contraction. The body has limited stores (~80100 grams) of ATP, only enough to supply energy for two seconds of maximal sprinting; therefore ATP must be
continually be resynthesized from other sources through different metabolic pathways.
Carbohydrate Metabolism
Carbohydrates are stored in the body as either glycogen or glucose, predominantly in the
liver and muscle, but also in adipose tissue, the bloodstream, and the brain. Carbohydrates
are metabolized through glycolysis, a process that can be both anaerobic (conversion to
pyruvate or lactate) and aerobic (continuation through metabolic pathways as pyruvate
converts to Acetyl-CoA and enters the Krebs cycle and electron transport chain for
oxidative phosphorylation).
During the 100-meter sprint, anaerobic glycolysis of glucose uses two ATP during the reaction, thus yielding a net two
ATP; if glycogen undergoes glycogenolysis before anaerobic glycolysis the net yield is three ATP.
During the marathon a further two ATP is provided through substrate-level phosphorylation in the Krebs cycle, and 32
ATP molecules are resynthesized during oxidative phosphorylation, regenerating a total of 36 ATP through the aerobic
metabolism of carbohydrate.
Muscle glycogen is the most important fuel in the 100-meter sprint, as it is immediately available when contraction occurs
(Newsholme, et. al., 1994).
Lipid Metabolism
Lipids are stored in the body as triglycerides, mostly in adipose tissue, with some intramuscular stores, as well as in the
liver and the bloodstream. Lipids are hydrolyzed down to glycerol and three fatty acids in a process called lipolysis.
Whilst the fatty acids must undergo the aerobic process beta-oxidation in order to regenerate ATP, glycerol can enter the
metabolic pathways through glycolysis.
Lipids are an important energy source during long-distance events such as the marathon, as they are more energy dense
than carbohydrates (Maughan, et. al., 1997; McArdle, et. al., 2007; Newsholme, et. al., 1994). Compared to the 36 ATP

regenerated by a glucose molecule, each triglyceride molecule regenerates a net 460 ATP: 441 ATP through betaoxidation, the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, and a further 19 ATP through the glycolysis of glycerol.
Lipids are not the ideal fuel for exercise because fatty acids must be transported to skeletal muscle from adipose tissue via
albumin in the blood, before they can be oxidized in the metabolic pathways.
However, this makes them the ideal fuel in the later stages of endurance events, such as the marathon, once glycogen
stores have been depleted and the marathon runner's pace has dropped to approximately 50% of their maximal capacity
(Maughan, et. al., 1997; McArdle, et. al., 2007; Newsholme, et. al., 1994).
Protein Metabolism
Protein is stored predominantly in muscle in the body, but also in the liver and minutely in adipose tissue. When glycogen
stores have become depleted protein can become an important fuel, and during endurance events such as the marathon,
protein can provide up to 10% of the energy needed for ATP resynthesis (Maughan, et. al., 1997; Wardlaw & Hampl,
2007).
Proteins have their nitrogen removed through deanimation in both the liver and skeletal muscle, leaving the amino acids to
enter the metabolic pathways through several ways: some amino acids are glucogenic and yield intermediates for
gluconeogenesis; other amino acids are ketogenic and yield intermediates that are synthesized to triglycerol or catabolize
aerobically for energy in the Krebs cycle.
The total ATP regenerated by protein is dependent upon where it enters the metabolic pathways (McArdle, et. al., 2007;
Newsholme, et. al., 1994).
Conclusion
The 100-meter sprint is an explosive, maximal race lasting about 10 seconds. The immediate and short-term energy
systems are utilized to anaerobically chemically regenerate ATP from intramuscular stores of PCr and glycogen
respectively during the race.
Aerobic metabolism via the long-term energy system contributes primarily to the resynthesis of ATP during the marathon,
utilizing carbohydrates, lipids, and some protein as fuel (Maughan, et. al., 1997; McArdle, et. al., 2007; Newsholme, et.
al., 1994).
Both carbohydrates and lipids are used as intramuscular fuels at rest. Studies using the respiratory exchange ratio have
established that both carbohydrates and lipids are used to provide fuel for skeletal muscles during exercise and that their
relative contribution to ATP regeneration changes based on the exercise intensity and duration (Spriet & Odland, 1999).
Short, high-intensity exercise, such as the 100-meter sprint has a greater reliance upon carbohydrates as a fuel source than
the still-high-but-lower-intensity marathon, which relies more upon the oxidation of lipids to regenerate ATP (Maughan,
et. al., 1997; McArdle, et. al., 2007; Newsholme, et. al., 1994; Spriet & Odland, 1999).
Metabolic changes such as lactic acidosis, fuel depletion, impaired excitation-contraction coupling and product inhibition,
that occur during the 100-meter sprint and the marathon, inevitably cause fatigue, thereby reducing the pace that the
sprinter or marathon runner can maintain for the race, which can result in reduced performance in each respective event
(Maughan, et. al., 1997; McArdle, et. al., 2007; Newsholme, et. al., 1994).