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Faculty of Graduate Studies

Katherine Boere

  • M.Eng. (Kaunas University of Technology, 2021)
  • B.Sc. (University of British Columbia, 2016)
Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Topic

The Effects of Prolonged Running on Cognitive Performance and Brain Activity

School of Medical Sciences

Date & location

  • Monday, September 14, 2026
  • 1:00 P.M.
  • Virtual Defence

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Olav Krigolson, School of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria (Supervisor)
  • Dr. Gordon Binsted, School of Medical Sciences, UVic (Member)
  • Dr. Kristin Lane, School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, UVic (Outside Member)

External Examiner

  • Dr. Karen Waldie, School of Psychology, University of Auckland

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Dr. Richard Marcy, School of Public Administration, UVic

Abstract

People describe going for a run or walk to “clear their head,” and decades of research support this intuition: a single bout of exercise reliably enhances cognitive performance. Most of this evidence, however, comes from relatively brief periods of exercise (<60 minutes) and as a result, the cognitive effects of prolonged exercise remain poorly understood. The few studies that have examined exercise durations longer than 90 minutes report inconsistent findings, relying on small samples and behavioural measures that may fail to capture underlying neural changes not reflected in performance outcomes. This dissertation addressed this gap using electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the effects of prolonged acute exercise (> 90 minutes) on cognitive performance and associated brain activity. Experiment 1 assessed working memory before and after a two-hour treadmill run, with follow-up assessments over twenty-four hours of recovery. Working memory performance (2-back task) was unchanged, while cognitive effort (measured with frontal theta power) increased one-hour post-exercise. Experiment 2 examined executive function before and after a 50-km ultramarathon race. Post-race, athletes’ reaction times shortened but with 14% greater variability, alongside reductions in event-related potentials associated with inhibitory control (N2) and attentional allocation (P3). Experiment 3 assessed low- and high-load working memory in females before and after racing a marathon. Again, reaction times shortened, with a decline in high-load (3-back) task accuracy. Cognitive effort (frontal theta power) increased for both low- and high-load task versions. Notably, chronic low energy availability risk predicted working memory accuracy declines, while lower in-race carbohydrate intake and longer race duration predicted greater cognitive effort. Experiment 4 examined reward sensitivity before and after a marathon. Reaction time did not change at the group level, plausibly reflecting both the reward-learning task design and a sample with a disproportionate share of participants at risk for chronic low energy availability. Neural sensitivity to feedback (the amplitude of reward positivity) increased from pre- to post-race, with lower in-race carbohydrate intake associated with larger increases in reward amplitude. Together, these studies provide tentative evidence that prolonged endurance exercise produces domain-specific cognitive and neural changes shaped by exercise duration, task demands, and energetic context. Overall, these findings suggest that energetic status may be a modifiable factor shaping brain function during endurance competition, and highlight the value of neural measures for detecting cognitive costs that reaction time alone can miss.

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