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Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsams

Original research

Incremental test design, peak aerobic running speed and endurance

performance in runners
Fabiana A. Machado a,b, , Ana Claudia P. Kravchychyn b , Cecilia S. Peserico b ,
Danilo F. da Silva b , Paulo V. Mezzaroba b
a
b

Department of Physical Education, State University of Maring, Brazil

Associate Post-graduate Program in Physical Education UEM/UEL, State University of Maring, Brazil

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 27 September 2012
Received in revised form
15 December 2012
Accepted 22 December 2012
Available online xxx
Keywords:
Peak treadmill velocity
Time trial
Performance prediction
Stage duration

a b s t r a c t
Objectives: Peak running speed obtained during an incremental treadmill test (Vpeak ) is a good predictor of
endurance run performance. However, the best-designed protocol for Vpeak determination and the best
Vpeak denition remain unknown. Therefore, this study examined the inuence of stage duration and
Vpeak denition on the relationship between Vpeak and endurance run performance.
Design: Relationship.
Methods: Twenty-seven male, recreational, endurance-trained runners (10-km running pace:
1017 km h1 ) performed, in counterbalanced order, three continuous incremental treadmill tests of
different stage durations (1-, 2-, or 3-min) to determine Vpeak , and two 5-km and two 10-km time trials
on a 400-m track to obtain their 5-km and 10-km run performances. Vpeak was dened as either (a) the
highest speed that could be maintained for a complete minute (Vpeak-60 s ), (b) the speed of the last complete stage (Vpeak-C ), or (c) the speed of the last complete stage added to the multiplication of the speed
increment by the completed fraction of the incomplete stage (Vpeak-P ).
Results: The Vpeak determined during the 3-min stage duration protocol was the most highly correlated
with both the 5-km (r = 0.95) and 10-km (r = 0.92) running performances and these relationships were
minimally inuenced by the Vpeak denition. However, independent of the stage duration, the Vpeak-P
provided the highest correlation with both running performances.
Conclusions: Incremental treadmill tests comprising 3-min stage duration is preferred to 1-min and 2min stage duration protocols in order to determine Vpeak to accurately predict 5-km and 10-km running
performances. Further, Vpeak-P should be used as standard for the determination of Vpeak .
2013 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Peak running speed obtained during an incremental treadmill test (Vpeak ) is a good predictor of endurance performance in
runners13 and can be determined without the use of expensive
metabolic equipment or invasive techniques2 during incremental
treadmill tests comprising short1,2 or long4,5 stage protocols. For
example, Noakes et al.1 and Stratton et al.3 determined Vpeak during a maximal treadmill test using 1-min stages, whereas Machado
et al.4 and Slattery et al.5 used a protocol comprising 3- and 4min stages, respectively. However, the effect of stage duration on
the relationship between Vpeak and endurance run performance, as

Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: famachado@uem.br, famachado uem@hotmail.com
(F.A. Machado).

well as the best protocol for the determination of Vpeak , remains

unknown.
Peak power output obtained during an incremental exercise
test is highly correlated with long-distance cycling performance.68
Two studies examined the effect of stage duration during cycle
exercise tests on the relationship between peak power output and
cycling performance.9,10 Bentley and McNaughton9 showed that
the peak power output derived from an incremental test comprising 3-min stage durations had a higher correlation with the
average power output sustained during a 90-min cycling time trial
(r = 0.94; p < 0.01) than the peak power output derived from a 1min stage duration test (r = 0.54; p > 0.05). McNaughton et al.10
reported similar correlation coefcients (r) between the average
power output during a 30-min cycle time trial and the peak power
output derived from tests consisting of either 3- or 5-min workload
increments (0.96 vs. 0.96; p < 0.001), suggesting that an increase in
stage duration from 3- to 5-min during incremental cycle exercise
does not affect the association between peak power output and

1440-2440/$ see front matter 2013 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.009

Please cite this article in press as: Machado FA, et al. Incremental test design, peak aerobic running speed and endurance performance in runners.
J Sci Med Sport (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.009

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short-distance cycling performance. However, comparisons of the

relationship between Vpeak determined during different running
protocols and endurance run performance to determine the best
running protocol have not yet been conducted.
The denition of Vpeak in running tests remains equivocal. Vpeak
has already been dened as the highest speed that can be maintained for a complete minute1,3,5 or as the speed of the last complete
stage during a maximal test.4 Additionally, Kuipers et al.11 dened
Vpeak proportionally as the speed of the last complete stage added
to the multiplication of the speed increment by the completed fraction of the incomplete stage. This last denition seems less arbitrary
and not inuenced by subjective judgments because the Vpeak of an
athlete who sustains a speed during 58, 59, or 60 s should be similar. Given that there exists three differing denitions of Vpeak , the
denition of Vpeak may affect its relationship with endurance run
performance.
Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to examine the
inuence of stage duration and Vpeak denition on the relationship between Vpeak and endurance run performance over 5-km
and 10-km time trials. A second aim of this study was to generate
a predictive equation for the indirect determination of the 5-km
and 10-km time trials from the best-dened Vpeak . Based on cycle
ergometer studies, we hypothesized that the Vpeak determined during the 3-min stage protocol would correlate more strongly with
endurance run performance than that determined during the 1- or
2-min stage protocols. Additionally, we expected that the best definition of Vpeak would be the proportional denition11 because it is
not inuenced by subjective judgments.

2. Methods
Twenty-seven male, recreational, endurance-trained runners of
regional and local level with a minimum of 2 years of training
experience and a training volume of at least 20 km wk1 volunteered to take part in this study. The 10-km running times
of the participants were between 35 and 60 min, with a pace
between 10 and 17 km h1 (4475% of the world record). Characteristics of the participants (mean SD) were age 40.5 12.1
years, height 173.1 6.9 cm, body mass 67.8 8.6 kg and body mass
index (BMI) 22.6 2.1 kg m2 . The training characteristics were
frequency 5.1 1.3 days wk1 and distance 63.1 27.5 km wk1 ,
ranging from 20 to 100 km wk1 . Prior to testing, all participants
provided written informed consent and the local ethics committee
approved the experimental protocol.
In a counterbalanced order, participants who were habituated
to running tests performed three continuous incremental exercise tests of different stage durations on a motorized treadmill
(Super ATL; Inbrasport, Porto Alegre, Brazil), with the gradient
set at 1%. The tests were performed over 2 weeks, with each
test separated from the other by at least 48 h. The different stage
duration protocols were as follows: (a) short stage duration of
1 min (P1 min ), (b) intermediate stage duration of 2 min (P2 min ),
and (c) long stage duration of 3 min (P3 min ). After a warm-up
that consisted of walking at 6 km h1 for 3 min, each protocol
started with an initial treadmill speed of 8 km h1 , followed by
an increase of 1 km h1 between each successive stage until participants reached their volitional exhaustion (i.e., participant was
unable to continue running). Consistently across each trial, participants were strongly encouraged, verbally, to invest maximum
effort. The tests were performed at the same time of the day, under
normal laboratory conditions (temperature = 2022 C and relative humidity = 5060%). Participants were instructed to report for
testing well-rested, well-nourished, and well-hydrated, wearing
lightweight comfortable clothing. Participants were also instructed
to avoid eating 2 h before the maximal exercise tests, to abstain

from caffeine and alcohol, and to refrain from strenuous exercise

for 24 h before testing.
Before testing, participants were familiarized with the 620
Borg scale,12 which was used to measure the rating of perceived
exertion (RPE) during the last 15 s of each stage and at exhaustion. The highest RPE value was adopted as the peak RPE (RPEpeak ).
Heart rate (HR) was recorded every ve seconds throughout the
tests (Polar RS800sd, Kempele, Finland) and HRmax was dened
as the highest HR value recorded during the test.13 Neither respiratory gases nor blood lactate was monitored during the tests
given that such interventions could affect the performance of the
participants.14 Earlobe capillary blood samples (25 L) were collected into a capillary tube at the end of the tests (time zero of
recovery) and at the third, fth, and seventh minutes of passive
recovery, sitting in a comfortable chair. From these samples, blood
lactate concentration was subsequently determined by electroenzymatic methods using an automated analyzer (YSI 2300 STAT,
Ohio, USA). Peak blood lactate concentration (LApeak ) was dened
for each participant as the highest post-exercise blood lactate concentration value.
The Vpeak was dened as either (a) the highest speed that could
be maintained for a complete minute (Vpeak-60 s ), (b) the speed
of the last complete stage (Vpeak-C ), i.e., the highest speed that
could be maintained for more than 90% of the stage duration,
or (c) the speed of the last complete stage added to the multiplication of the speed increment by the completed fraction of
the incomplete stage11 (Vpeak-P ), calculated according to the equation Vpeak-P = Vcomplete + (Inc t/T), in which Vcomplete is the running
speed of the last complete stage, Inc the speed increment (i.e.,
1 km h1 ), t the number of seconds sustained during the incomplete stage, and T the number of seconds required to complete a
stage (i.e., 60 s for P1 min , 120 s for P2 min , and 180 s for P3 min ).
The maximal effort was deemed to be achieved if the incremental test met two of the following criteria: (1) LApeak 8 mmol L1 ,
(2) HRmax 100% of endurance-trained age-predicted HRmax
(APMHR) using the age-based 206 0.7 age equation13 and (3)
RPEpeak 19 in the 620 Borg scale.15
Thereafter, participants undertook two 5-km and two 10-km
time trials on a 400-m outdoor running track, which took place
within a 15-day period after the laboratory testing. Participants
continued their regular training between the laboratory testing and
time trial performances. They were tested twice on each of the 5-km
and 10-km runs to ensure an accurate performance measure.2 The
trials were at least 48 h apart, began at 18:00 h, and were preceded
by a self-determined warm-up of 10 min duration. A hydration
station was set up on the track with natural water. All of the participants were encouraged to give their best performance. The best
5-km and 10-km times for each runner were recorded and the mean
5-km running speed (S5 km ) and 10-km running speed (S10 km ) from
the best trials were calculated in km h1 .16
Data are presented as mean SD and were analyzed using the
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 17.0 software (SPSS
Inc., USA). The ShapiroWilk test was used to check the normality of the data distribution. The relationship between Vpeak
and endurance run performance was examined using Pearson
productmoment correlation coefcient (r), adjusted coefcient of
determination (R2 ), and standard error of estimate (SEE) for the
68% condence interval. Simple linear regression analyses were
used to generate a predictive equation for S5 km and S10 km from
Vpeak . The variables were compared using a repeated measures
ANOVA followed by the Bonferroni post hoc test. The sphericity assumption was checked by Mauchlys test of sphericity
and, where violations occurred, degrees of freedom were corrected using GreenhouseGeisser (epsilon 0.75) or HuyndFeldt
(epsilon > 0.75) estimates of sphericity. Statistical signicance was
set at p < 0.05.

Please cite this article in press as: Machado FA, et al. Incremental test design, peak aerobic running speed and endurance performance in runners.
J Sci Med Sport (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.009

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Table 1
Physiological variables obtained during incremental treadmill tests comprising stage durations of 1 min (P1 min ), 2 min (P2 min ), and 3 min (P3 min ).
Variables

P1 min

RPEpeak (620 Borg scale)

LApeak (mmol L1 )
%APMHR (%)
Vpeak-60 s (km h1 )
Vpeak-C (km h1 )
Vpeak-P (km h1 )

19.7
9.2
102.0
18.0
18.2
18.3

P2 min

0.7
1.9b
3.1a
1.8a,b
1.6a,b
1.6a,b

19.8
8.9
103.9
16.9
16.6
16.9

P3 min

0.4
1.9
4.1
1.7b
1.6b
1.6b

19.9
7.6
103.2
16.2
16.0
16.2

0.4
2.0
4.0
1.6
1.7
1.6

Values are mean SD, n = 22. RPEpeak , maximum rating of perceived exertion; LApeak , peak blood lactate concentration; %APMHR, percentage of age-predicted maximum
heart rate; Vpeak-60 s , highest speed maintained for a complete minute; Vpeak-C , highest speed maintained for more than 90% of the stage duration; Vpeak-P , speed of the last
complete stage added to the multiplication of the speed increment by the completed fraction of the incomplete stage.
a
p < 0.05 compared with P2 min .
b
p < 0.05 compared with P3 min .

3. Results
Five of the 27 participants did not meet at least two criteria of
maximal effort in at least one test. Additionally, one participant did
not perform the 10-km time trials. The tests from these participants
were not included in the results.
The summary of the physiological variables obtained during
the incremental tests (mean SD) is given in Table 1. Analysis of
variance revealed a signicant effect of the stage duration on the
Vpeak-60 s (p < 0.001), Vpeak-C (p < 0.001), Vpeak-P (p < 0.001), LApeak
(p = 0.005), and percentage of APMHR (%APMHR; p = 0.018). The
RPEpeak did not signicantly differ among the three protocols
(p = 0.38). The Vpeak-60 s , Vpeak-C , and Vpeak-P differed signicantly
between the three protocols and were inversely related to the
length of the stage duration.
The values of Vpeak-60 s , Vpeak-C , and Vpeak-P were highly correlated with each other during P1 min , P2 min , or P3 min (r 0.96;
p < 0.001). The values of Vpeak-C during P1 min , P2 min and P3 min were
highly correlated with each other (0.91 r 0.93; p < 0.001). Similarly, the values of Vpeak-P during P1 min , P2 min and P3 min were highly
correlated with each other (0.92 r 0.95; p < 0.001). Nevertheless,
the correlations between Vpeak-60 s during P1 min and P3 min (r = 0.83;
p < 0.001), or during P2 min and P3 min (r = 0.87; p < 0.001) were not
too high.
The average times for the best 5-km and 10-km time trials
were 20.5 2.7 and 43.3 6.1 min, respectively. Their respective
mean speeds were 14.9 1.8 (S5 km ) and 14.1 1.8 km h1 (S10 km ).
Table 2 presents the relationship between S5 km and Vpeak during
the three protocols of different stage duration. The Vpeak during
P3 min presented the highest correlation (0.94 r 0.95; p < 0.001)
and lowest SEE with S5 km , independent of how Vpeak was dened
(i.e., Vpeak-60 s , Vpeak-C , or Vpeak-P ), followed by the Vpeak during
P2 min (0.88 r 0.93; p < 0.001) and by the Vpeak during P1 min
(0.83 r 0.89; p < 0.001). Specically, the Vpeak-P during P3 min presented the highest signicant correlation and lowest SEE with S5 km

(r = 0.95; SEE = 0.57 km h1 ) and could alone explain 91% of the S5 km

variation. Further, Vpeak-P and Vpeak-C presented similar high correlations and low SEE with S5 km performance. In contrast, Vpeak-60 s
presented the lowest correlation and highest SEE with S5 km during P1 min (r = 0.83; p < 0.001), P2 min (r = 0.88; p < 0.001), and P3 min
(r = 0.94; p < 0.001).
Table 3 presents the relationship between S10 km and Vpeak during the three protocols of different stage duration. The Vpeak during
P3 min presented the highest correlation (0.91 r 0.92; p < 0.001)
and lowest SEE with S10 km independent of how Vpeak was dened
(i.e., Vpeak-60 s , Vpeak-C , or Vpeak-P ), followed by the Vpeak during
P2 min (0.86 r 0.90; p < 0.001) and by the Vpeak during P1 min
(0.76 r 0.83; p < 0.001). Specically, the Vpeak-P during P3 min presented the highest signicant correlation and lowest SEE with
S10 km (r = 0.92; SEE = 0.74 km h1 ) and could alone explain 84% of
the S10 km variation. Additionally, Vpeak-P and Vpeak-C presented similar high correlations and low SEE with S10 km performance. In
contrast, Vpeak-60 s presented the lowest correlation and highest
SEE with S10 km during P1 min (r = 0.76; p < 0.001) and P2 min (r = 0.86;
p < 0.001).
The predictive equations for the indirect determination of 5-km
and 10-km time trials from the best-dened Vpeak were:
5-km time trial (min) = 46.4 1.6 Vpeak-P
during P3 min (km h1 );

R2 = 0.92;

SEE = 0.8 min

10-km time trial (min) = 98.0 3.4 Vpeak-P

during P3 min (km h1 );

R2 = 0.83;

SEE = 2.5 min

4. Discussion
The major nding of the present study was that Vpeak determined during the protocol comprising 3-min stage durations was
the most highly correlated with both the 5-km (r = 0.95) and

Table 2
Relationship between 5-km running speed (S5 km ) and peak running speed obtained during incremental treadmill tests (Vpeak ) comprising stage durations of 1 min (P1 min ),
2 min (P2 min ), and 3 min (P3 min ).
Protocol
P1 min
P1 min
P1 min
P2 min
P2 min
P2 min
P3 min
P3 min
P3 min

Variable X (km h1 )
Vpeak-60 s
Vpeak-C
Vpeak-P
Vpeak-60 s
Vpeak-C
Vpeak-P
Vpeak-60 s
Vpeak-C
Vpeak-P

Correlation (95% CI)

a

0.83
0.88a
0.89a
0.88a
0.93a
0.93a
0.94a
0.95a
0.95a

(0.620.93)
(0.730.95)
(0.750.95)
(0.730.95)
(0.830.97)
(0.840.97)
(0.860.97)
(0.880.98)
(0.890.98)

Regression equation

Adjusted R2

SEE (km h1 )

S5 km = 0.68 + 0.87 X
S5 km = 4.02 + 1.04 X
S5 km = 3.48 + 1.00 X
S5 km = 1.71 + 0.98 X
S5 km = 2.68 + 1.06 X
S5 km = 3.01 + 1.06 X
S5 km = 2.35 + 1.06 X
S5 km = 1.87 + 1.04 X
S5 km = 2.89 + 1.10 X

0.67
0.76
0.78
0.77
0.85
0.86
0.87
0.89
0.91

1.07
0.90
0.87
0.89
0.71
0.70
0.65
0.60
0.57

Values are mean SD, n = 22. CI, condence interval; Vpeak-60 s , highest speed maintained for a complete minute; Vpeak-C , highest speed maintained for more than 90% of the
stage duration; Vpeak-P , speed of the last complete stage added to the multiplication of the speed increment by the completed fraction of the incomplete stage.
a
p < 0.001.

Please cite this article in press as: Machado FA, et al. Incremental test design, peak aerobic running speed and endurance performance in runners.
J Sci Med Sport (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.009

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Table 3
Relationship between 10-km running speed (S10 km ) and peak running speed obtained during incremental treadmill tests (Vpeak ) comprising stage durations of 1 min (P1 min ),
2 min (P2 min ), and 3 min (P3 min ).
Protocol
P1 min
P1 min
P1 min
P2 min
P2 min
P2 min
P3 min
P3 min
P3 min

Variable X (km h1 )
Vpeak-60 s
Vpeak-C
Vpeak-P
Vpeak-60 s
Vpeak-C
Vpeak-P
Vpeak-60 s
Vpeak-C
Vpeak-P

Correlation (95% CI)

a

0.76
0.83a
0.83a
0.86a
0.89a
0.90a
0.92a
0.91a
0.92a

(0.490.90)
(0.620.93)
(0.630.93)
(0.690.94)
(0.740.95)
(0.760.96)
(0.800.97)
(0.800.96)
(0.810.97)

Regression equation

Adjusted R2

SEE (km h1 )

S10 km = 0.12 + 0.78 X

S10 km = 3.46 + 0.96 X
S10 km = 2.76 + 0.92 X
S10 km = 1.60 + 0.93 X
S10 km = 2.30 + 0.98 X
S10 km = 2.68 + 0.99 X
S10 km = 2.18 + 1.00 X
S10 km = 1.53 + 0.97 X
S10 km = 2.48 + 1.02 X

0.55
0.67
0.68
0.73
0.78
0.80
0.83
0.83
0.84

1.22
1.05
1.04
0.95
0.86
0.82
0.76
0.76
0.74

Values are mean SD, n = 21. CI, condence interval; Vpeak-60 s , highest speed maintained for a complete minute; Vpeak-C , highest speed maintained for more than 90% of the
stage duration; Vpeak-P , speed of the last complete stage added to the multiplication of the speed increment by the completed fraction of the incomplete stage.
a
p < 0.001.

10-km (r = 0.92) running performances. Furthermore, the relationships between Vpeak determined during P3 min and endurance run
performance were minimally inuenced by the Vpeak denition.
However, independent of the stage duration, the Vpeak-P provided
the highest signicant correlation and lowest SEE with 5-km and
10-km running performances. This nding suggests that Vpeak-P
should be used as standard for the determination of Vpeak .
Previous studies have shown that Vpeak is a good predictor of
endurance run performance13 that can be determined without
expensive metabolic equipment or invasive techniques during an
incremental treadmill test. However, it is critical that maximum
effort has been exerted in any test to determine Vpeak . Despite some
criticism, a plateau in oxygen uptake with a continued increase
in exercise intensity is usually considered the main criterion for
the attainment of maximal effort.15 In the present study, oxygen
uptake was not monitored during any of the Vpeak tests because
such intervention may affect the Vpeak (unpublished data) and consequently could have inuenced the present nding. Additionally,
it is common that subjects fail to demonstrate a plateau in oxygen
uptake during a maximal incremental test.15 For these reasons, the
present study used secondary criteria to dene the maximal effort
including high levels of blood lactate after maximum test, HRmax
and RPEpeak .15,17,18 In addition, each participant was encouraged
verbally to produce maximal effort and only the participants that
met at least two of the above three maximal effort criteria during
the three incremental tests were included in the data analysis.
In relation to the HRmax criterion, we used a conservative criterion (i.e., HRmax 100% of APMHR) to avoid the inclusion of
participants who did not exercise maximally. Midgley et al.19
showed that the liberal HRmax criterion HRmax 85% of APMHR
could be satised at as little as 68% of maximal oxygen uptake.
Poole et al.20 reported that of 5 out of 8 subjects who exceed their
age-predicted HRmax 10 bpm criterion, oxygen uptake at that
criterion averaged only 76% of maximal oxygen uptake. Hence,
Midgley et al.19 proposed a novel set of criteria to identify whether
a subject has elicited maximal oxygen uptake including HRmax verication. If the difference between HRmax during the incremental
and verication phases is 4 bpm, then this is accepted as sufcient
evidence of maximal effort.19 Unfortunately, in the present study,
participants did not perform a verication phase.19,20 While this is
a limitation of this study, the use of a conservative HRmax criterion
possibly restricted the impact on the reported ndings.
Similar to the ndings of Bentley and McNaughton9 who examined nine well-trained triathletes during cycle ergometer tests, the
Vpeak derived from an incremental run test in our study comprising
3-min stage durations was the most highly correlated with the 5km and 10-km running performances. Bentley and McNaughton9
showed that the peak power output derived from an incremental
test comprising 3-min stage durations had a higher correlation with
the average power output sustained during a 90-min cycling time

trial (r = 0.94; p < 0.01) than the peak power output derived from
a 1-min stage duration test (r = 0.54; p > 0.05). It must be emphasized that, different from our study, these researchers derived the
peak power output from two different protocols, not only in terms
of stage duration, but also in terms of initial power output and
incremental rates. The 1-min stage duration test started at 150 W
with increments of 30 W. The 3-min stage duration test started
at a power output representing 50% of the peak power output
obtained from the 1-min stage duration test followed by increases
in power output by 5% every 3 min until exhaustion. In contrast to
the present study, these authors reported strikingly different correlations between the 90-min cycling performance and the peak
power output obtained from the 1-min and 3-min stage duration protocols. The 1-min protocol was designed to induce fatigue
within 810 min and the 3-min protocol lasted 24 min (i.e., 8
workloads). Given that participants performed a 90-min cycle time
trial to obtain their average sustained power output, it is not surprising that this correlated better with the peak power output
attained during the long than the short test. Besides that, the difference between both correlations could have been affected by the
small sample and also by the reproducibility of the tests. We also
reported that the 5-km was more correlated with Vpeak than the
10-km running performance. Unfortunately, we did not measure
participants running pace during the 5-km and 10-km running performances. Such a measure every 400 m, for example, would allow
us check whether any participant altered his pace excessively inuencing the correlation between Vpeak and running performances.
McNaughton et al.10 reported similar correlation coefcients
between the average power output during a 30-min cycle time trial
and the peak power output derived from tests consisting of either
3- or 5-min workload increments, suggesting that an increase in
stage duration from 3- to 5-min during incremental cycle exercise
does not affect the association between peak power output and
short-distance cycling performance. A protocol comprising 5-min
stage duration was not analyzed in the present study. However, we
veried that an increase in stage duration from either 1 to 2 or 2 to
3 min increased the correlation between the Vpeak and endurance
run performances, increasing its values in recreational runners.
The present data suggest that the protocols comprising 3min stage durations should be used to determine Vpeak , rather
than 1-min stage duration protocol in recreational runners. In
contrast, previous studies found high correlations between Vpeak
determined during 1-min stage duration treadmill protocols and
long distance running performance in highly-trained competitive
runners.1,3 For example, Noakes et al.1 reported a very high and
signicant correlation (r = 0.94) between the Vpeak during a 1min stage duration protocol (21.3 2.0; range: 1724 km h1 ) and
the 10-km race time (35.0 3.9 min) in 43 specialist marathon and
ultra-marathon runners. In our study, the performance level of
the participants was lower than that during the study of Noakes

Please cite this article in press as: Machado FA, et al. Incremental test design, peak aerobic running speed and endurance performance in runners.
J Sci Med Sport (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.009

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et al.1 (i.e., Vpeak-60 s during P1 min = 18.0 1.8; range: 1421 km h1 ;

10-km time trial = 43.3 6.1 min). Thus, the ndings from present
study should be used with caution to the population of endurancetrained runners with higher level of performance than recreational
runners.
Scott and Houmard2 also recruited competitive male runners
(n = 14) who had trained a minimum of 48 km wk1 and had performed a 5-km time trial in 15.9 0.8 min. Participants performed
a self-paced 5-km run time under controlled laboratory conditions
and a maximal treadmill test to determine Vpeak . The initial speed
of the maximal treadmill test was 2.7 m s1 (9.7 km h1 ) and was
increased by 0.14 m s1 (0.5 km h1 ) every 30 s until volitional
fatigue. The Vpeak , dened as the nal speed attained for more than
5 s during any fraction of the test, presented a high correlation with
5-km time trial performance (r = 0.83; p < 0.001). In our study, the
recruited recreational runners had a training volume higher than
20 km wk1 and a relatively low level of performance (i.e., 5-km
time trial: 20.5 2.7 min). However, during P1 min , the protocol that
was the most similar to that used by Scott and Houmard2 , Vpeak
showed a correlation with 5-km run performance similar to that
found by Scott and Houmard2 irrespective of the Vpeak denition
(i.e., 0.83 r 0.89; p < 0.001).
Another interesting study was conducted by Stratton et al.3 that
assessed 39 previously untrained volunteers (17 males, 22 females)
before and after 6 weeks of endurance training. Participants completed a 5-km run performance, conducted at a recreational park,
and a discontinuous incremental treadmill test until volitional
exhaustion to determine Vpeak . The initial speed of the maximal
treadmill test was set at 9 km h1 and this speed was increased
by 1 km h1 between each of the 1-min successive stages. Each
stage was separated by a 1-min period of rest. The average 5-km
run performance increased signicantly after training (11.9 1.6
vs. and 12.6 1.7 km h1 ). The Vpeak , dened as the nal speed
that could be sustained for 1 min, also increased signicantly after
training (18.4 2.1 vs. 18.9 1.9 km h1 ) but the correlation (r)
between Vpeak and 5-km time trial decreased slightly from 0.89
(pre-training) to 0.83 (post-training). In our study, the recreational,
endurance-trained participants had a higher level of 5-km run performance (S5 km = 14.9 1.8 km h1 ), but the correlation between
Vpeak during P1 min and S5 km was also similar to that reported by
Stratton et al.3 Thus, based on the present study and studies from
Scott and Houmard2 and Stratton et al.3 it seems that the correlation between Vpeak and endurance run performance is minimally
inuenced by training states (untrained vs. trained) or level of performance.
In fact, previous studies have not reported the error of their
estimates and have not examined the Vpeak during protocols comprising 3-min stage duration. The correlation coefcient is sensitive
to the heterogeneity (spread) of values between participants21 and
is more affected by extreme values than the mean. Additionally,
it is affected by intraindividual differences (i.e., the variability of
a variable during repeated measures). According to Hopkins and
Hewson,22 the variability of performance of distance runners is
affected by age groups and level of performance. Thus, it is not
recommended to conclude something through correlation coefcients arising from studies with different samples. Hence, further
studies are needed to examine whether the ndings of the present
study are valid to competitive runners of higher performance
level.
An important nding of present study was that the denition of Vpeak as the highest speed that could be maintained for
a complete minute (i.e., Vpeak-60 s ) should be avoided especially
during protocols comprising 1-min or 2-min stage durations. The
Vpeak-60 s presented the lowest correlation with S5 km and S10 km for
both P1 min and P2 min . In contrast, it is strongly recommended to
dene Vpeak as the speed of the last complete stage added to the

multiplication of the speed increment by the completed fraction

of the incomplete stage (i.e., Vpeak-P ). The present data show that
Vpeak-P presented the highest correlation with both S5 km and S10 km
independent of the stage duration of the three protocols.
In the present study, the P3 min test started with an initial
speed of 8 km h1 and speed increments of 1 km h1 every 3 min.
Although the test duration during P1 min was shorter than that during P3 min , it is unlikely that the P3 min protocol would last longer
than 60 min. One possible solution to shorten the overall length of
a test would be to adopt an intermediate protocol comprising 2-min
stage durations. Indeed, Vpeak-P during P2 min was highly related to
5-km and 10-km running performances. Additionally, increasing
the magnitude of the increments reduces the total duration of the
test as the subject is brought to exhaustion earlier.23 Consequently,
further studies are needed to examine the effects of both incremental rates and initial test speed on the relationship between Vpeak and
endurance run performance.
The proposed predictive equations for the indirect determination of 5-km and 10-km time trials from the Vpeak-P during P3 min
presented a small error. Thus, these generated equations can be
used to predict accurately 5-km and 10-km running performances if
applied to individuals with characteristics similar to those involved
in the present study (e.g., 10-km running pace between 10 and
17 km h1 ). However, it is important to emphasize some limitations of this study. Besides the maximal effort criteria previously
discussed, we must emphasize that the running performances were
performed on a 400-m outdoor running track, subject to environmental conditions and terrain. Alterations in these variables could
affect the generated predictive equations and associations between
Vpeak and endurance run performance.

5. Conclusion
In summary, Vpeak determined during the protocol comprising 3-min stage durations was the most highly correlated with
both the 5-km and 10-km running performances. Furthermore,
the relationship between Vpeak determined during P3 min and
endurance run performance were minimally inuenced by the
Vpeak denition. However, independent of the stage duration,
the Vpeak-P provided the highest correlation with 5-km and 10km running performances and should be used as standard for
the determination of Vpeak . Additionally, we provided predictive
equations that can be used to accurately predict 5-km and 10km endurance running performance in recreational runners from
treadmill tests. Further research is also warranted to examine the
use of Vpeak to prescribe training intensity and evaluate training
effects.

6. Practical implications
Use incremental treadmill tests comprising 3-min, rather than 1min or 2-min stage durations, to determine peak aerobic running
speed in male recreational runners with a 10-km running pace
between 10 and 17 km h1 .
Dene peak aerobic running speed during incremental treadmill
tests proportionally as the speed of the last complete stage added
to the multiplication of the speed increment by the completed
fraction of the incomplete stage avoiding subjective judgments.
Use the proposed equations to accurately predict 5-km and
10-km running performance from peak aerobic running speed
during incremental treadmill tests in male recreational runners
with a 10-km running pace between 10 and 17 km h1 , which
can be non-invasively measured by coaches and practitioners
without expensive costs.

Please cite this article in press as: Machado FA, et al. Incremental test design, peak aerobic running speed and endurance performance in runners.
J Sci Med Sport (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.009

G Model
JSAMS-814; No. of Pages 6

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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Ministrio da Cincia e Tecnologia MCT and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientco e
Tecnolgico CNPq, Brazil.
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Please cite this article in press as: Machado FA, et al. Incremental test design, peak aerobic running speed and endurance performance in runners.
J Sci Med Sport (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.009