Effect of spatial and temporal cues on athletic pacing in schoolchildren

To compare pacing and performance of schoolchildren between running tasks where the end point was defined in units of either distance or time.

Thirty-eight schoolchildren (age = 12.6 ± 0.5 yr, mass = 46.2 ± 7.5 kg, stature = 150 ± 7 cm) first performed a best-effort 750-m running task on a 150-m running track. The schoolchildren were split into two groups, matched for sex, age, and running performance, before completing the second running trial. One group repeated the 750-m running task (distance-distance group), whereas the other completed a running task to a time that had been matched to their previous 750-m performance (distance-time group). Pace was measured every 10% segment throughout each run.

No difference between trials in average running speed was found among the distance-distance group (13.64 ± 1.59 vs. 13.68 ± 1.62 km·h(-1), P > 0.05); however, the distance-time group were slower during the time task compared with during the distance task (13.84 ± 1.61 vs. 13.37 ± 1.57 km·h(-1), P < 0.005). There was no difference in pacing pattern between trials among the distance-distance group (P > 0.05), but the distance-time group exhibited a slower overall slower pace with no end spurt (P < 0.0001). During the time task, children looked at their watches more frequently the nearer they got to the end point (ρ = 0.933, P < 0.0001).

Schoolchildren find it easier to use spatial cues during a pacing task compared with temporal cues. Running pace in all trials followed a classic U-shaped pattern; however, lap-by-lap oscillations in pacing substrategies were also evident, which may be a psychological coping strategy.