The effects of face mask use during self-paced running.

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to understand the physiological and perceptual effects that face mask use produced during self-paced running. Methods: Eleven healthy college students performed three randomly sequenced 3200- meter self-paced running trials, each with a different masked condition (no-mask, surgical mask, N95 mask). Heart rate, Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), Rating of Perceived Dyspnea (RPD), pace, and completion time were measured for each trial. Results: The results showed that mask use did not have a significant effect on pace, completion time, or heart rate. Session RPE was significantly higher in the N95 condition compared to control. Both the surgical and N95 conditions had significantly higher dyspnea scores compared to the control. Conclusion: This study found that during self-paced running, healthy young runners tend to maintain their normally chosen running pace, completion time, and heart rate constant while compensating with higher RPE and dyspnea scores.