(1) Background: half-marathon races are popular among recreational runners, with increases in participation among middle-aged and women. We aimed to determine the effects of two half-marathon training programs on hematological and biochemical markers in middle-aged female recreational runners; (2) Methods: ten women (40 ± 7 years) followed moderate intensity continuous training (MICT), based on running volume below 80% V˙O2max, and another ten women followed high intensity interval training (HIIT) at 80%-100% V˙O2max, with less volume, and combined with eccentric loading exercise. Hematology, plasma osmolality, and plasma markers of metabolic status, muscle damage, inflammatory, and oxidative stress were measured before (S1) and after (S2) training and 24 h after the half-marathon (S3); (3) Results: both training programs had similar moderate effects at S2. However, the acute response at S3 induced different alterations. There was a greater decrease in cholesterol and triglyceride levels in MICT and reductions in markers of damage and inflammation in HIIT. Greater variability in some plasma markers at S3 in MICT suggests that there is inter-individual variability in the response to training; (4) Conclusions: HIIT led to better adaptation to the competition maybe because of the repeated exposure to higher oxygen consumption and eccentric loading exercise.
Keywords: high intensity interval training; inflammatory; moderate intensity continuous training; muscle damage; oxidative stress; recreational running.