Physiological measures tracking seasonal changes in peak running speed

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Running Performance

Background:

• Assessing physiological changes during training is crucial for understanding performance improvements in distance runners.
• The diagnostic value of physiological measures from incremental treadmill tests for predicting performance changes remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the relationship between alterations in physiological measures and changes in peak running speed throughout a training season.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-four male distance runners underwent four incremental treadmill tests over 17 weeks.
• Key physiological measures recorded included peak running speed, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), running economy, and lactate threshold.
• Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to correlate changes in physiological measures with changes in peak running speed.

Main Results:

• Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) demonstrated a strong correlation with performance changes (r=0.57), predicting 1.4% change in peak speed.
• Running economy showed a moderate predictive value (r=0.33), predicting 0.8% change in peak speed.
• Lactate threshold and body mass provided minimal predictive information regarding changes in running performance.

Conclusions:

• Changes in VO2max during an incremental treadmill test are a significant predictor of peak running speed changes in trained runners.
• Running economy offers moderate predictive utility, whereas lactate threshold and body mass contribute little to predicting performance fluctuations over a training season.