UBCO research study uncovers how endurance training transforms the body and mind
November 7, 2025
“I wouldn’t say I was a couch potato,” laughs UBC alumnus Vicens Paneque. “But I’ve certainly never done anything this intense before. It’s changed the way I see my body and what it can do.”
The “it” Paneque refers to is the ULTRA Project—a first-of-its-kind research study that aims to take 40 healthy but inactive individuals and, through a structured training plan, turn them into long-distance triathletes 12-months later.
At the end of the project, participants should be ready to complete a long-distance triathlon race, meaning a 3.9-kilometre swim, 180.2-km bike ride and 42.2-km run.
While Paneque’s goal “is to just finish the race,” the panel of researchers analyzing his performance data are delving much deeper.
They want to know: What a year-long training program will do to cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic function, as well as how an individual’s psychology may change?
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