Factors influencing on running

Running economy is important, but can it be altered? It seems that persons beginning exercise definitely become more efficient with training, as do persons who are already trained but who continue heavy training. (

1981

) followed a single runner during 6 months of interval training and found that the subject’s running efficiency improved by between 9 and 16% at three different speeds. However, his body weight also fell about 6%, which could have been the more important factor explaining the improved running efficiency. Subsequently these authors showed that the running efficiency of Steve Scott, Americas premier 1500 m runner of the early 1980s, improved with interval running. (

1985

) showed that the running efficiencies of a group of elite Swedish distance runners improved between 1 and 4% during the course of one year, changes that where in the range of those measured in the adolescent runners is studied by (

1971

). Svedhaug and Sjodin speculated that the continual improvements in the running performances of these Swedish athletes were due to slowly progressive improvements in their running efficiencies rather than to increase in the VO2max values, which were relatively fixed, increasing only during that phase of the season when the athletes were performing high-intensity interval-type training.