Process of learning pacing strategy in various age groups

Abstract

The effectiveness of pacing strategy as a competitive technique has been demonstrated several times. Additionally, it is evident that the development of a pacing strategy occurs over a series of time trials, indicating that there is a learning effect. Is the process of learning this strategy different in youth compared to adults? Ten elementary school students and ten college students with no previous systematic training in pacing participated in three 1-mile time trials on an indoor 200-meter track. The subjects were instructed to finish the trial as quickly as possible. Velocities (m/s) were calculated every 50-meters, and RPE was expressed every 200-meters. There were significant differences for total running time between the youth and college subjects (p<.001), however running time did not decrease significantly in either group. Variation of running speed (expressed as the within trial coefficient of variation) also decreased across trials for both groups (p<.01). There was not a significant difference in the rate of decrease in variability between the youth and college students (p=.198). Therefore, the pacing strategy between youth and adults is different, and both groups can normalize pacing strategy with repetition over a series of trials, but learning appears to occur at the same rate.