Interrelation of one mile running time and HST score among rural school boys

Peak physiological capabilities are necessary for top level performance in sports, although skills and motivation play an important role. Laboratory assessments often give us valuable insights concerning the physiological factors underlying athletic performance. The Physical Fitness Index (PFI) determined by the Harvard Step Test (HST) is one of the most important indexes which predicts the physical abilities of athletes. HST, Cooper's 12-min run-walk test and one-mile run are good measures of cardiorespiratory fitness. In the present study, we have attempted to determine the relationship between HST and the one-mile run in an open field on 31 school boys of a rural village, 14-15 years of age, who were in early puberty. The mean HST score was 90 +/- 7.07, and one-mile running time was 443.45 +/- 29.82 s. There is a good correlation between HST and running time (r = 0.94). Probable running time for one-mile may be determined from the HST score by using the regression equation: Running time in s = 783 - 4* HST +/- 0.13 (SE of estimate).