External Feedback Does Not Affect Running Pace in Recreational Runners

Many runners receive external feedback, such as running pace, during training; however, it is unknown if this feedback increases the intensity of a given exercise session. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the provision of pace feedback on self-selected submaximal running pace, heart rate, and perceived exertion in recreational runners. Ten runners (6 female, 4 male) completed four 30-min treadmill running bouts in random order, each on a separate day. In each session, participants adjusted their pace as desired; however, all treadmill display information was concealed from the runners. During each bout, participants were given feedback regarding running pace every five minutes as follows: 1) no pace feedback, 2) accurate pace feedback 3) false positive pace feedback (5% faster than the actual pace), or 4) false negative pace feedback (5% slower than the actual pace). Average running paces were 5:35 ± :12, 5:32 ± :12, 5:30 ± :12, and 5:30 ± :12 min:sec/km for the no pace, accurate pace, false positive, and false negative feedback conditions, respectively, which were not statistically different. The different feedback conditions also yielded no significant differences in average heart rate, maximal heart rate, or rating of perceived exertion. These results suggest that periodic external feedback regarding running pace does not affect overall self-selected running pace or exercise intensity during a running bout in recreational runners.