Physiological characteristics related to endurance running performance in female distance runners

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Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationships between running velocity (v) in a 3000‐m race and various physiological parameters. The parameters measured among 57 female distance runners during a treadmill running test were v at the lactate threshold (v‐T lac), oxygen uptake (VO2) at the lactate threshold (VO2 at T lac ), v at the onset of blood lactate accumulation (v‐OBLA), VO2 at OBLA, running economy (steady‐state VO2 at a standard v of 4 m s‐1), maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and v at VO2 max (v‐VO2 max). The v‐OBLA was the blood lactate variable with the strongest correlation with v in a 3000‐m race (r = 0.78, Pv‐T lac (r=0.77, Pv‐VO2 max was strongly correlated with v over 3000 m (r=0.75, Pv‐OBLA, VO2 at Tlac and v‐T lac could account for 73.2% of the variability in v over 3000 m, whereas v‐OBLA on its own explained 61.5%. Blood lactate variables can account for a reasonably large part of the variance in v over 3000 m. Also, v‐VO2 max can be used as a non‐invasive predictor of distance running performance.