Aim: 

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of training intensity on the androgen profile and reproductive system in male road runners.

Methods: 

Thirty-two male road runners (30–70 years of age, divided into two age classes: 30–55 and 55–70), lightly trained (N = 8, for each age) or hard trained (N = 8, for each age), were subjected to andrological and sport evaluations. Andrological questionnaires (AMS scale and IIEF) were administered and blood samples were collected for androgen determination by RIA.

Results: 

The younger road runners had androgen plasma levels in the lower limit of the normal range for sedentary people and the levels increased with the increase of training. In the older runners, instead, the androgen plasma levels decreased with the increase of training. Reproductive parameters were worse in subjects with higher androgen plasma levels.

Conclusion: 

Our study confirms the role of training in modulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axes. In particular, the hard trained athletes had lower levels of androgens and a higher number of andrological alterations (as shown by the results of the andrological questionnaires) than the lightly trained athletes.