Extreme endurance performances

Introduction

In this course you will explore participation in extreme sports and be introduced to the multidisciplinary approach to examining topics. There are many examples of activities that are considered extreme owing to their high-risk nature, such as parkour, base jumping and freestyle skiing. In this course you will focus predominantly on extreme endurance activities – in other words, activities that are considered ‘extreme’ because they push the limits of human endurance, both physically and mentally.

Figure 1

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A photo showing a runner running along a road that runs through countryside. He is wearing clothing suitable for competing in a triathlon.

Figure 1

You may hear news stories of people running a marathon every day for a year, cycling across Europe, or swimming across the English Channel. But why do people decide to take on such extreme feats of endurance and to what extent is the body able to support them before reaching exhaustion? Using a multidisciplinary perspective you will explore these questions and reach a better understanding of what the human body is capable of.

This OpenLearn course is an example of level 1 study in Sport and fitness [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . You might be interested in the related Open University course E114 Active bodies: introducing the study of sport and exercise.