"Falling Behind," "Letting Go," and Being "Outsprinted" as Distinct Features of Pacing in Distance Running.

Authors

• Carl Foster
• Renato Barroso
• Daniel Bok
• Daniel Boullosa
• Arturo Casado
• Cristina Cortis
• Andrea Fusco
• Brian Hanley
• Philip Skiba
• Jos J de Koning

Publication/Presentation Date

9-1-2024

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In distance running, pacing is characterized by changes in speed, leading to runners dropping off the leader's pace until a few remain to contest victory with a final sprint. Pacing behavior has been well studied over the last 30 years, but much remains unknown. It might be related to finishing position, finishing time, and dependent on critical speed (CS), a surrogate of physiologic capacity. We hypothesized a relationship between CS and the distance at which runners "fell behind" and "let go" from the leader or were "outsprinted" as contributors to performance.

METHODS: 100-m split times were obtained for athletes in the men's 10,000-m at the 2008 Olympics (N = 35). Split times were individually compared with the winner at the point of "falling behind" (successive split times progressively slower than the winner), "letting go" (large increase in time for distance compared with winner), or "outsprinted" (falling behind despite active acceleration) despite being with the leader with 400 m remaining.

RESULTS: Race times ranged between 26:55 and 29:23 (world record = 26:17). There were 3 groups who fell behind at ∼1000 (n = 11), ∼6000 (n = 16), and ∼9000 m (n = 2); let go at ∼4000 (n = 10), ∼7000 (n = 14), and ∼9500 m (n = 5); or were outkicked (n = 6). There was a moderate correlation between CS and finishing position (r = .82), individual mean pace (r = .79), "fell behind" distance (r = .77), and "let go" distance (r = .79). D' balance was correlated with performance in the last 400 m (r = .87).

CONCLUSIONS: Athletes displayed distinct patterns of falling behind and letting go. CS serves as a moderate predictor of performance and final placing. Final placing during the sprint is related to preservation of D' balance.

Volume

19

Issue

9

First Page

867

Last Page

873

ISSN

1555-0273

Published In/Presented At

Foster, C., Barroso, R., Bok, D., Boullosa, D., Casado, A., Cortis, C., Fusco, A., Hanley, B., Skiba, P., & de Koning, J. J. (2024). "Falling Behind," "Letting Go," and Being "Outsprinted" as Distinct Features of Pacing in Distance Running. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 19(9), 867–873. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2023-0308

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

38917986

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article