CHANGES IN MECHANICAL POWER AND RUNNING ECONOMY IN DISTANCE RUNNERS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between changes in running economy and running mechanics by using a segment kinematics approach. Six male university distance runners performed treadmill running before and after the 4 month period, while oxygen consumption and running motion were also measured. Mechanical power was calculated by a segment kinematics approach, the data for 4 of 6 subjects were analysed. Running economy for 2 of 4 subjects were improved and mechanical power were decreased. Running economy for the other 2 subjects deteriorated but change in mechanical power was different for one subject which decreased while for increasing for another subject. The relationships between changes in running economy and running mechanics varied with the individual runner