Peak Running Speed

If there was just a single factor that you could work on that might improve your racing, what do you think it might be? The key may be your peak running speed, according to a new study from Barry Scott, Ph.D., and Joe Houmard, Ph.D., at the University of East Carolina in Greenville.

In spite of all the information we've gained from sport and exercise science we still are not clear which are the most important factors influencing running performance. Obviously maximal oxygen uptake is important in the sense that the higher it is the more effectively we can burn the fuels that drive our muscles. But if you ranked runners by their maximal oxygen uptake, you would find this would not exactly predict their rankings at various distances up to the marathon. Other factors, such as stroke volume of the heart, lactate tolerance, and others, all interact in a complex way to influence how athletes perform on the roads. If we take the Scott and Houmard study at face value, we need not be concerned with all these details because they found peak running speed determines 5K performance, in which case increased peak running speed ought to lead to faster race times.

In the study, a group of well trained women and men ran on a level treadmill at gradually increasing speed to define their peak running speed. The rating of peak running speed related to the runners' 5K performance, measured either in a laboratory 5K treadmill trial or in a recent 5K race on the roads, and the link held for women and men.

This study does not say that all you have to worry about is your peak running speed. Remember, the men and women were highly trained distance runners. In other words, these athletes had well established endurance, strength, and flexibility, and trained regularly with long runs and speed work. Also, would this relationship between peak speed and performance extend to other distances? Runs at 5K involve a significant degree of anaerobic effort, and the amount of anaerobic effort decreases as distance increases. Perhaps the significance of peak running speed becomes less important at longer distances. The question in intriguing, though, because there are many examples elite runners who were 10K track specialists and who moved up to the marathon and achieved success.

The foundation of your training should remain long runs for endurance, and hill work for strength, and speedwork. For extra zip, try breaking up your routine runs with spells of slow accelerations until you are running fast, then gradually slow down. See if a few of these, a couple of times a week, will teach you to run faster, then see if your race times improve. A word of caution from Editorial Board Member Jack Daniels, Ph.D.; "I encourage athletes to run all-out only in races when it counts. During training, fast running should be controlled and relaxed. Running too fast often encourages strain and loss of relaxation that actually causes you to go less fast than you are capable of. Having some one watch your facial expressions for signs of stress can give valuable feed back."

(International Journal of Sports Medicine, 1004, Vol. 15, No. 8, pp. 504-507) Copyright, The American Running Association.