Award Date

12-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Kinesiology

Department

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences

First Committee Member

John Mercer, Chair

Second Committee Member

Laura Kruskall

Third Committee Member

Gabriele Wulf

Graduate Faculty Representative

Jefferson Kinney

Number of Pages

78

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to describe variability of pacing during a marathon and to determine if there is a relationship between variability of pacing and marathon performance. A total of 301 race profiles that contained personal global positioning system (GPS) from the Rock „n‟ Roll Las Vegas (Race 1) and San Diego (Race 2) marathons were downloaded (http://connect.garmin.com) and analyzed. Each marathon finish time was placed into one of three finish time bins: Bin 1: 2.5 – 3.9 hrs, Bin 2: 4.0 – 4.6 hrs, Bin 3: 4.7 – 7.2. The coefficient of variation of velocity (Velcov) was calculated for each race profile and compared between races using an independent T-test. Velcov was not different between races (Race 1: 16.6 ± 6.3%, Race 2: 16.7 ± 6.5%). Velcov was lower in Bin 1 vs. Bin 2 (p < 0.05), lower in Bin 1 vs. Bin 3 (p < 0.05), and lower in Bin 2 vs. Bin 3 (p < 0.05) for both races. It was determined that Velcov was different between marathon finish times such that Velcov was greater for slower finish times for either race. It appears that slower marathon finishers had greater Velcov compared to faster marathoner finishers. These results indicate it would be prudent to match training specificity with the event and runner ability.

Keywords

Fatigue; Marathon running; Pace; Running; Variability

Disciplines

Kinesiology | Sports Sciences

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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