Running performance and aerobic working capacity in female runners

The aim of this study was to determine which physiological variables are most representative in running performance in middle- to long distance female runners. Twenty runners, ranging from club to international level, were divided into three groups: (A) 400-800 m runners (n=8); (B) 1500-3000 m runners (n=7); and (C) half marathon runners (n=5), Maximal O-2 consumption (VO(2)max), anaerobic threshold (AT), aerobic threshold (AERT) and running economy (RE) at running speed of 13 km/h were measured. VO(2)max/kg was the lowest in a group A and the highest in a group C (52.0+/-2.6 - 59.9+/-2.4 ml.min(-1).kg(-1), p<0.05 - 0.01).(V)over dotO(2)/kg at AERT was lowest in a group A (p<0.05) and the heart rate (HR) at the same intensity was lowest in a group C (p<0.05), Running economy calculated as a percentage from (V) over dotO(2) max/kg and MR,,, was the lowest in a group C (p<0.01). In group A the (V) over dotO(2) at AT and AERT correlated significantly (both r=-0.65, p<0.05) with running performance. In a group B, only RE (as % from (V) over dotO(2) max/kg) correlated significantly (r = 0.90, p<0.01) with running performance. In a group C only the body weight influenced negatively the running performance (r = -0.94, p<0.01). When all used physiological variables were entered into a forward stepwise multiple-regression procedure only in a group B the RE accounted for 94.9% (R-2) of the variance in running performance results. It was concluded that in homogenous groups of female middle- and long distance runners only RE can account for a large part of the running performance in middle distance runners.