Fig. 6
From: Special endurance coefficients enable the evaluation of running performance
Summary of the study—approach, correlations of results, and applications for running practice. The annual best lists of national (German) male runners from 100 m to 10,000 m over 42 years (1980–2022) were used to identify the performances of these runners, which were listed annually over neighboring distances (100 m/200 m to 5000 m/10,000 m) (Table 1). The resulting intra- and inter-individual coefficients of special endurance (KsA), which represent the relative loss of pace between neighboring distances, are remarkably constant over the entire period and show low variability (Fig. 1). The median and percentiles of the KsA values (Table 1) were then used to derive respective statistical reference ranges for neighboring distances from 100 m/200 m to 5000 m/10,000 m (Tab. S03). In addition, theoretical ranges (Tab. S04) were derived for non-neighboring distances (100 m/400 m, 800 m/3000 m, 1500 m/5000 m, 3000 m/10,000 m) and a two-phase exponential decay function (Fig. 5) to calculate theoretical ranges for any distance pair. The function has not yet been tested (dashed lines). We have shown that the KsA values derived from international, national, and regional performance are largely within the respective ranges for both neighboring distances (Fig. 2) and non-neighboring distances (Fig. 3). Finally, the KsA values were used to develop an evaluation scheme. This scheme assumes that the performance of the main distance is influenced by both the performance of the respective neighboring and feeder distances (both upper and lower). From this scheme, a pattern of four different KsA values has emerged, which can be utilized for individualizing training, choosing the most promising competition distance, and finding and mentoring talents. KsALF/LN, Ksa values between the lower feeder (LF) and the lower neighboring (LN) distance; KsALN/M, Ksa values between the lower neighboring (LN) and the main (M) distance; KsAM/UN, Ksa values between the main (M) and the upper neighboring (UN) distance; KsAUN/UF, Ksa values between the upper neighboring (UN) and the upper feeder (UF) distance.
