Validity of a heart rate inflection point or a 3.2 kilometer performance pace as estimators of maximal steady‐state running velocity in high school runners

Abstract

Fifty‐seven high school middle distance runners (39 male and 18 female athletes) were assessed for maximal steady‐state (MSS) running velocity (RV), RV at a heart rate inflection point (HRi), and a competitive 3.2 km RV (RV3.2km) for the purpose of determining the correlation between actual MSS RV (MSS RVOBS) and that estimated from the Conconi and LaFontaine field test A Pearson correlation of r = 0.66 (males) and r = 0.38 (females) was observed between MSS RVObs and MSS RV3.2km, and a correlation of r = 0.47 (males) and r = 0.09 (females), respectively, between MSS RVObs and HRi RV was recorded. A HRi was detected in only 33 of 57 subjects (24 male and 9 female athletes). The respective LaFontaine and Conconi field tests overestimated a male's MSS RV, the former by an average of 13.4 and the latter by 7.7 m‐min‐1. A female's MSS RV, on average, was underestimated by 11.9 m.min‐1 by the Conconi test and overestimated by 10.9 m.min‐1 by the LaFontaine test The inaccuracy of the estimations ranged from 2 m...