Although marathons are 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) long and take even

Question

Although marathons are 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) long and take even world-class marathoners over 2 hours to run, athletes who train by running 90 minutes a day fare better in marathons than do those who train by running 120 minutes or more a day.

Each of the following, if true, contributes to an explanation of the difference in marathon performances described above EXCEPT:

(A) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the greater the chances of suffering adverse health effects due to air pollution.

(B) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the easier it is to adjust to different race lengths.

(C) The longer the run, the more frequent is the occurrence of joint injuries that significantly interfere with overall training.

(D) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day grow bored with running and become less motivated.

(E) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day deplete certain biochemical energy reserves, leaving them less energy for marathons.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Came in close to a minute. This one wasn't so bad. I guess trying to relate this to the real world helps. Anyway the gist of all this is that a marathon is 2 hours long, but for some reason those whose daily practice is less than this do better on an actual marathon.

Although marathons are 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) long and take even world-class marathoners over 2 hours to run, athletes who train by running 90 minutes a day fare better in marathons than do those who train by running 120 minutes or more a day.

Each of the following, if true, contributes to an explanation of the difference in marathon performances described above EXCEPT:

Edit: A, C, D, and E all help explain why we have this kind of paradox in the passage. (B) does not.

(A) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the greater the chances of suffering adverse health effects due to air pollution.
Longer period is shown to increase the chances of suffering adverse health effects, so this would mean less chance of doing well by an actual marathon date if you are practicing for longer period daily.

(B) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the easier it is to adjust to different race lengths.
Nope. This seems to be an advantage of longer training periods. (Edit: Correct answer choice)

(C) The longer the run, the more frequent is the occurrence of joint injuries that significantly interfere with overall training.
Explains why a runner may not be in peak condition by an actual marathon date.

(D) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day grow bored with running and become less motivated.
Explains why a runner may not perform as well on an actual marathon.

(E) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day deplete certain biochemical energy reserves, leaving them less energy for marathons.
Explains why training less helps on an actual marathon.

yashikaaggarwal · Answer

What's your concluding answer?

Posted from my mobile device

TarPhi · Answer

The answer is B.

B states the advantage of running longer periods of time.

gmat2020trgt770 · Answer

Conclusion : Athletes who train by running 90 minutes a day fare better in marathons than do those who train by running 120 minutes or more a day.
Conclusion links between : training time per day and the performance in marathon.

Ques  : Each of the following, if true, contributes to an explanation of the difference in marathon performances described above EXCEPT:

Pre- thinking : Any option that does weakens the link between duration of training time and performance in the marathon will be our correct option.

Options Analysis :

(A) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the greater the chances of suffering adverse health effects due to air pollution. -   Incorrect   as it is in the same direction as conclusion. More training hours daily -> adverse health effects -> poor performance in marathons.

(B) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the easier it is to adjust to different race lengths. -   Correct   as it is opposite direction with conclusion. Longer tarining hours daily -> easier to adjust in race lengths, this should lead to easier to run in marathons. This is opposite to the conclusion.

(C) The longer the run, the more frequent is the occurrence of joint injuries that significantly interfere with overall training. -   Incorrect   as it is in the same direction as conclusion. Longer run -> more frequent joint injuries -> poor performance in longer run.

(D) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day grow bored with running and become less motivated. -   Incorrect   as it is in the same direction as conclusion. training >90mins per day -> bored with running and less motivated runners -> poor performance in marathon.

(E) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day deplete certain biochemical energy reserves, leaving them less energy for marathons. -   Incorrect   as it is in the same direction as conclusion. training >90mins per day -> deplete certain biochemical energy reserves, less energy for marathons -> poor performance in marathon.

ksht · Answer

(A) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the greater the chances of suffering adverse health effects due to air pollution. -  supports the argument 
 
(B) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the easier it is to adjust to different race lengths . -  weakens the argument

(C) The longer the run, the more frequent is the occurrence of joint injuries that significantly interfere with overall training.  -supports the argument

(D) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day grow bored with running and become less motivated.  -supports the argument

(E) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day deplete certain biochemical energy reserves, leaving them less energy for marathons.  -supports the argument

TheStoryteller · Answer

Be mindful of the term "Except". I almost missed it. Now A,C,D,and E, all are able to resolve the paradox except B.
(A) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the greater the chances of suffering adverse health effects due to air pollution.
- Explains why 120 min run is harmful in 'long run'(pun intended)

(B) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the easier it is to adjust to different race lengths.
Correct Answer- This goes against the argument by claiming that the longer run should be more beneficial.

(C) The longer the run, the more frequent is the occurrence of joint injuries that significantly interfere with overall training.
Again, gives a downside to longer run.

(D) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day grow bored with running and become less motivated.
- And hence lose! Explains the paradox--which unfortunately we don't want! Wrong answer.

(E) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day deplete certain biochemical energy reserves, leaving them less energy for marathons.
--Poor runners. But hey this one explains the paradox too. So wrong answer again.
P.S- Some kudos would be great!

poojakhanduja3017 · Answer

IMO B. Took 1 minute to solve.

(A) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the greater the chances of suffering adverse health effects due to air pollution. :  Supports running less, hence No

(B) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the easier it is to adjust to different race lengths. - weakens the argument   Support running more, hence it is the correct answer.

(C) The longer the run, the more frequent is the occurrence of joint injuries that significantly interfere with overall training.   Supports running less, hence No. It takes running more in a negative light.

(D) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day grow bored with running and become less motivated. -supports the argument   Supports running less, hence No

(E) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day deplete certain biochemical energy reserves, leaving them less energy for marathons. -  Supports running less, hence No

Paras96 · Answer

(A) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the greater the chances of suffering adverse health effects due to air pollution.

This option suggests that running for longer durations daily may lead to adverse health effects due to air pollution. This could be a factor that explains why those who train for shorter durations (90 minutes a day) perform better in marathons, as it implies that they may be exposed to less air pollution. So, it contributes to explaining the difference in marathon performances.
 (B) The longer the period of time that one runs daily, the easier it is to adjust to different race lengths.

This option discusses the ability to adjust to different race lengths but doesn't directly address the difference in marathon performances between those who train for 90 minutes a day and those who train for 120 minutes or more. It doesn't provide a clear explanation for the performance difference, so it does not contribute significantly to the explanation.
(C) The longer the run, the more frequent is the occurrence of joint injuries that significantly interfere with overall training.

This option suggests that longer runs are more likely to result in joint injuries that can interfere with training. This is relevant to the discussion in the passage about why those who train for shorter durations might perform better, as it highlights potential injury risks for those training longer.
(D) Runners who train over 90 minutes per day grow bored with running and become less motivated.

This option suggests that runners who train longer may become bored and less motivated. While this may be a factor, it doesn't directly explain the difference in marathon performances mentioned in the passage, which focuses on health, injuries, and training duration.
(E) Runners who trai

Option (E) seems to be incomplete and does not provide any information to analyze.
So, based on the provided options, option (B) is the one that does not contribute significantly to explaining the difference in marathon performances described in the passage.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Although marathons are 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) long and take even

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