TIMES TO EXHAUSTION AT 100-PERCENT OF VELOCITY AT VO2MAX AND MODELING OF THE TIME-LIMIT VELOCITY RELATIONSHIP IN ELITE LONG-DISTANCE RUNNERS

The aim of this study was to measure running times to exhaustion (Tlim) on a treadmill at 100% of the minimum velocity which elicits VO2max (vVO(2max) in 38 elite male long - distance runners (VO2max = 71.4 +/- 5.5 ml.kg(-1).min(-1) and vVO(2max) = 21.8 +/- 1.2 km.h(-1)). The lactate threshold (LT) was defined as a starting point of accelerated lactate accumulation around 4 mM and was expressed in %VO2max. Tlim value was negatively correlated with vVO(2max) (r = -0.362, p<0.05) and VO2max (r = -0.347, p<0.05) but positively with LT (%vVO(2max)) (r = 0.378, p<0.05). These data demonstrate that running time to exhaustion at vVO(2max) in a homogeneous group of elite male long-distance runners was inversely related to vVO(2max) and experimentally illustrates the model of Monod and Scherrer regarding the time limit-velocity relationship adapted from local exercise for running by Hughson et al. (1984).