Author(s): SUGAWARA, H., ENOMOTO, Y., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA, Country: JAPAN, Abstract-ID: 1505

INTRODUCTION:
800m races are known to be difficult for runners to run keeping their maximal sprint speed (MSS) during the race, and then pacing strategy is a crucial issue for improving their performance. However, runners can control their running speed in the first part of the race, and they can reserve running speed. The running speed is determined by the product of step frequency (SF) and step length (SL). It has not been revealed how the reserve of running speed, maximal SF (MSF), and maximal SL (MSL) contribute to running speed in the race. The purpose of this study was to assess running speed, SF, and SL during the first part of the 800 m race reserved from MSS, MSF, and MSL for a male runner.
METHODS:
A male 800m runner (age: 21 years, height: 1.80 m, weight: 74.0 kg) participated in the 60 m running speed increase test (RSIT) on a straight track in this study. The running speed, SF, and SL for each 10 m were calculated from the video, and MSS, MFS, and MSL for the participant were detected. The running speed, SF, and SL for each 100 m (120 m for the first section) were also calculated from the videos of the 800 m races. The relative of running speed (RRS), SF (RSF), and SL (RSL) for each section were then estimated to divide by MSS, MSF, and MSL. In this study, a successful race and a failed race were defined as 99 % and less than 99 % of the seasons best record (SB) in 2023.
RESULTS:
The participant’s SB was 1:48.17, MSS was 9.68 m/s, MSF was 4.29 steps/s, and MSL was 2.39 m. The RRS for the successful races was 79.6% in the 0-120 m section and decreased to 71.2% in the 700-800 m section. The RRS for the failed races was 77.2% at the 120-200 m section and decreased to 69.3% at the 700-800 m section. The large difference in RS between the successful and failed races for each section was in the 0-120 m section, followed by the 120-200 m section. In three out of eight failed races’ the average speed of 400-800m was faster than the successful races. The RSF and RSL were changed from 77.6 to 82.6% and 80.7 to 94.2% during the successful races. RSF in the successful and failed races were 82.6% and 81.1% for 0-120m, 79.8% and 79.1% for 120-200m. RSL in the successful and failed races were 91.0% and 89.1% for 0-120m, 94.2%, and 92.5% for 120-200m.
CONCLUSION:
The 800m runner reserved about 20% running speed, 20% SF and 10% SL from his maximal values in his successful races. But in the failed races, the reserve of the running speed in the first section was large, even if the running speed in the second lap of the race was faster than. Running with a reserve of about 20% of his MSS for participants during the first part of a race is effective in improving his best record. Further research needs to be conducted with more 800m runners to identify a proper reserve of speed during the first part of 800m race.