PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF MIDDLE-DISTANCE RUNNING PERFORMANCE - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

To compare the relative contributions of their functional capacities to performance in relation to sex, two groups of middle-distance runners (24 men and 14 women) were selected on the basis of performances over 1500-m and 3000-m running races. To be selected for the study, the average running velocity (nuBAR) in relation to performances had. to be superior to a percentage (90% for men and 88% for women) of the best French nuBAR achieved during the season by an athlete of the same sex. Maximal O2 consumption (VO2max) and energy cost of running (C(R)) were measured in the 2 months preceding the track season. This allowed us to calculate the maximal nuBAR that could be sustained under aerobic conditions, nu(a,max). A nuBAR : nu(a,max) ratio derived from 1500-m to 3000-m races was used to calculate the maximal duration of a competitive race for which nuBAR = nu(a,max) (t(nua,max). In both groups nu(a,max) was correlated to nuBAR. The relationships calculated for each distance were similar in both sexes. The C(R) [0.179 (SD 0.010) ml.kg-1.m-1 in the women versus 0.177 (SD 0.010) in the men] and t(nua,max) [7.0 (SD 2.0) min versus 8.4 (SD 2.1)] also showed no difference. The relationships between VO2max and body mass (m(b)) calculated in the men and the women were different. At the same M(b) the women had a 10% lower C(R) than the men; their lower M(b) thus resulted in an identical C(R). In both groups C(R) and VO2max were strongly correlated (r = 0.74 and 0.75 respectively, P < 0.01), suggesting that a high level of VO2max could hardly be associated with a low C(R). These relationships were different in the two groups (P < 0. 05). At the same VO2max the men had a higher nu(a,max) than the women. Thus, the disparity in track performances between the two sexes could be attributed to VO2max and to the VO2max/C(R) relationships.