The Effect of Stride Frequency on Running Performance at the Speed of VOx₂max

Lim B, Burrus BM, Ortega JD, Kwon YS. The Effect of Stride Frequency on Running Performance at the Speed of VO2 max. JEPonline 2020;23(6):1-13. Running economy (RE) is a critical factor to determine running performance (RP) either duration or distance. Among many variables influencing to RE, stride frequency (SF) is one of the important variables. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of SF variations on RP at the speed of VOx₂max (sVOx₂max). Twelve male recreational runners (age: 25.8 ± 4.9 yrs, height: 171.4 ± 6.2 cm, mass: 71.9 ± 7.5 kg, VOx₂max: 54.0 ± 5.6 mL·kgx^-1·minx^-1, preferred SF (PSF): 89.3 ± 4.0 strides·minx^-1) completed a graded exercise test and running sessions. The subjects ran on the treadmill with 0% grade at the sVOx₂max with 5 SF conditions (PSF, ±5%, ±10%) until volitional fatigue. The running speed was determined based on each individual’s VOx₂max via the metabolic equation. The running distance, duration, energy expenditure (kcal), and VOx₂were significantly different across SF variations (P<0.05). However, respiratory rate (RR), expired ventilation (VE), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were not statistically significant (P=0.72, P=0.09, P=0.69, respectively). All subjects ran the greatest distance while running with 105% PSF (2.53 ± 0.89 km). Stride frequency (SF) variations have a significant influence on running performance in terms of covering more distance during all-out effort high intensity running.