Kinematic variations due to changes in pace during men's and women's 5 km road running

The purpose of this study was to investigate variations in kinematic parameters in men's and women's 5 km road racing. Athletes often vary their pace and changes particularly tend to occur towards the end of a race due to fatigue and sprint finishes. Twenty competitive distance runners (10 male, 10 female) were videoed as they completed the English National 5 km championships. Three-dimensional kinematic data were analysed using motion analysis software (SIMI, Munich). Data were recorded at 950 m, 2,400 m and 3,850 m. Repeated measures ANOVA showed significant decreases in speed due to reduced step length and cadence in both men and women. These decreases predominantly occurred between the first two measurement points. The hip, knee, ankle and shoulder angles at both initial contact and toe-off did not change significantly, but there were significant reductions in the elbow angle for both men (at initial contact) and women (at toe-off).