Original Research

Pacing Profiles of Olympic and IAAF World Championship Long-Distance Runners

Filipas, Luca¹; La Torre, Antonio^1,2; Hanley, Brian³

Author Information

¹Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy;

²IRCCS Galeazzi Orthopedic Institute, Milan, Italy; and

³Carnegie School of Sport, Headingley Campus, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom

Address correspondence to Luca Filipas, [email protected].

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 35(4):p 1134-1140, April 2021. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002873

Abstract

Filipas, L, La Torre, A, and Hanley, B. Pacing profiles of Olympic and International Association of Athletics Federations World Championship long-distance runners. J Strength Cond Res 35(4): 1134–1140, 2021—The aim of this study was to analyze the pacing profiles of Olympic and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championship long-distance finalists, including the relationship with their recent best times. The times for each 1,000-m split were obtained for 394 men and women in 5,000- and 10,000-m finals at 5 championships. Athletes' best times from the previous 32 months were also obtained. Similar pacing profiles were used by athletes grouped by finishing position in 5,000-m races. Women adopted a more even pacing behavior, highlighting a possible sex-based difference over this distance. Pacing behavior over 10,000 m was more similar between men and women compared with over 5,000 m. The main difference between men and women was that in the men's 10,000 m, as in the men's 5,000 m, more athletes were able to follow the leading group until the final stages. There were large or very large correlations between athletes' best times from the previous 32 months and their result; the fastest finishers also ran closer to their previous 32 months' best times. Despite differences in pacing behavior between events, long-distance runners should nonetheless stay close to the front from the beginning to win a medal.