VO2 attained during treadmill running: the influence of a specialist (400-m or 800-m) event.
OBJECTIVE
Previously it has been observed that, in well-trained 800-m athletes, VO2max is not attained during middle-distance running events on a treadmill, even when a race-type pacing strategy is adopted. Therefore, the authors investigated whether specialization in a particular running distance (400-m or 800-m) influences the VO2 attained during running on a treadmill.


METHODS
Six 400-m and six 800-m running specialists participated in the study.A 400-m trial and a progressive test to determine VO2max were completed in a counterbalanced order. Oxygen uptakes attained during the 400-m trial were compared to examine the influence of specialist event.


RESULTS
A VO2 plateau was observed in all participants for the progressive test, demonstrating the attainment of VO2max. The VO2max values were 56.2 +/- 4.7 and 69.3 +/- 4.5 mL x kg-1 x min-1 for the 400-m- and 800-m-event specialists, respectively (P = .0003). Durations for the 400-m trial were 55.1 +/- 4.2 s and 55.8 +/- 2.3 s for the 400-m- and 800-m-event specialists, respectively. The VO2 responses achieved were 93.1% +/- 2.0% and 85.7% +/- 3.0% VO2max for the 400-m- and 800-m-event specialists, respectively (P = .001).


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate that specialist running events do appear to influence the percentage of VO2max achieved in the 400-m trial, with the 800-m specialists attaining a lower percentage of VO2max than the 400-m specialists. The 400-m specialists appear to compensate for a lower VO2max by attaining a higher percentage VO2max during a 400-m trial.
James
David V B
DV
Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Care, University of Gloucestershire, UK.
Sandals
Leigh E
LE
Draper
Stephen B
SB
Maldonado-Martin
Sara
S
Wood
Dan M
DM
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005080:Exercise Test; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D014142:Track and Field / Q000502:physiology*