A field tool for the aerobic power evaluation of middle-aged female recreational runners.

This study used time to exhaustion (TTE) to predict VO2max in female recreational master runners. Forty-two middle-aged women (mean = 40.5 +/- 5.9 years) who had trained for recreational running performed two Universite de Montreal Track Tests in the facilities of the University of Barcelona (Spain). The first was performed on a treadmill (t), the second, on an athletics track (field: f). After measuring TTE and VO2max on the treadmill, a first-order equation was obtained to estimate fVO2max from fTTE. No significant difference was observed between the estimated fVO2max (46.5 +/- 2.9 mL.kg(-1).min(-1)) and the measured tVO2max (46.2 +/- 5.3), with a mean value of the absolute differences of less than 8% of the tVO2max average. High agreement between the two VO2max values was also evident, as shown by the low bias of the differences and the Bland-Altman plot. The equation obtained is of interest to evaluate performance in middle-aged female recreational runners. It will allow coaches and runners to set running paces for training and could be used in training routines to determine improvements after a training program. Moreover, these tools could be used in the field to assess the physical fitness of middle-aged women, in efforts to preserve their health and physical function.