Abstract
Trail runners must consider several aspects related to timing and prediction, especially in a race environment, including the race profile, terrain type, other competitors, aid station spacing, and nutrition. Runners also have to allocate their attention, make decisions, and ignore irrelevant cues throughout training and racing. We are interested in better understanding how the different components of timing (including internal beat, beat perception, and timing discrimination abilities) and cognition (including attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) relate to efficient movement through a complex terrain in a performance setting. This presentation aims to present what we’ve established so far in the beginning stages of this project and opens for input moving forward!
?
Bio
Nora Serres is currently a Ph.D. fellow here at RITMO as well as a professional trail runner for adidas Terrex. However, her introduction to rhythm was through classical music - she studied the oboe and played in symphony orchestras, eventually going to St. Olaf College in Minnesota, USA to pursue this passion. There she found psychology, receiving her bachelor’s degree in psychology and linguistics, focusing on research around training and rehabilitation for young cochlear implant recipients. This led to a consulting job in the private healthcare sector, and after a few years she moved back to Norway. She received her master’s degree in developmental psychology from the University of Oslo, working with Julien Mayor and Natalia Kartushina on language development and dialectal input, as well as Tone Hermansen on theory of mind development. In parallel, her running career developed as she competed more frequently internationally and received her first professional contract in 2023. Her research interests weave together these passions, curious to understand how different aspects of rhythm relate to our thinking, learning, and performance, and what’s at play when we run wild.