Resumen de Percent Utilization of [latin capital V with dot above]o2max at 5-km Competition Velocity Does Not Determine Time Performance at 5 km Among Elite Distance Runners

Eva Maria Stoa, Oyvind Storen, Eystein Enoksen, Frank Ingjer

• The present study investigated to what extent maximum oxygen uptake ([latin capital V with dot above]o2max) and fractional utilization (%[latin capital V with dot above]o2max) in 5-km competition speed correlate with 5-km performance times among elite long distance runners. Eight elite long distance runners with 5-km performance times of 15.10 minutes ( ± 32 seconds) were tested for [latin capital V with dot above]o2max during an incremental protocol and for %[latin capital V with dot above]o2max during an 8-minute treadmill test at the velocity representing their 5-km seasonal best performance time. There was no correlation between fractional utilization and 5-km performance. The study showed no significant difference between [latin capital V with dot above]o2max obtained during an incremental [latin capital V with dot above]o2max test and %[latin capital V with dot above]o2max when running for 8 minutes at the runner's individual 5-km competition speed. The 5-km time was related to the runner's [latin capital V with dot above]o2max even in a homogenous high-level performance group. In conclusion, the present study found no relationship between fractional utilization and 5-km performance time. Training aiming to increase %[latin capital V with dot above]o2max may thus be of little or no importance in performance enhancement for competitions lasting up to approximately 20 minutes.