Athletic Races Represent Complex Systems, and Pacing Behavior Should Be Viewed as an Emergent Phenomenon

Abstract

Pacing is the manner in which effort is distributed over the duration of an exercise bout, and is an important determinant of the extent to which individual potential is realized during athletic races. Observed pacing behaviors are thought to result from complex decision-making processes, and several models have been proposed that may explain the manner in which these decisions are made. In this article we argue that examination of individual factors implicated in the regulation of pacing is unlikely to allow full understanding of the events leading to pacing and performance. Rather than utilizing such a reductionist approach, it is suggested that athletic races be viewed as complex systems, and that pacing behavior is an emergent phenomenon that cannot be fully understood through study of components of the system in isolation. We describe and discuss known and potential interactions between determinants of pacing during races, and conclude with a call for the development of novel research methodologies that may further understanding of the manner in which observed behaviors emerge.

Pacing Strategy Affects the Sub-Elite Marathoner’s Cardiac Drift and Performance

“…Indeed, marathon performance is explained not only by energetic factors but also by the running strategy that deserves more and more attention (Erdmann and Lipinska, 2013;Santos-Lozano et al, 2014;Renfree and Casado, 2018). The majority of marathoners, who were already experimented on, considered their performance given that our population average speed was around 3 h00 min, which was considered to be the Grail by marathon runners who wish to qualify for the historic Boston Marathon.…”

Pacing of Women and Men in Half-Marathon and Marathon Races

“…Although this aspect was not examined in the present study, it would be assumed that head-to-head competition exerted a similar influence in both race distances, since half-marathon and marathon races were massive events. Overall, pacing should be considered as a complex system, where individual responses interacted with environment [36]. In this context, athletes were requested to balance behavior and thinking (self-regulation) to optimize their speed across the race [37].…”

Different race pacing strategies among runners covering the 2017 Berlin Marathon under 3 hours and 30 minutes

“…Another limitation of this study is that it was not considered that the lower the performance level of runners is (in these crowed marathons), the more likely they will suffer from "runner's jam" at the start of the race, which might change their RP in the first kilometres and the subsequent race profile. Unfortunately, our study has not been capable of detecting this as the marathon races are influenced by plenty of factors, making them complex systems [10].…”

“…Both experience and previous training degree could be decisive factors when developing a RP with little intensity variations during the whole marathon [ 7 ]. Besides, it needs to be borne in mind the necessity of continuous decision-making related to competition RP, which will respond to athlete’s momentary situation, behaviour of other runners, and environmental conditions [ 10 – 12 ]. Furthermore, the development of RP might be influenced by “stochastic” variables which the runner will not be able to control beforehand.…”

“…This ability of the best runners to avoid a large speed reduction in the second part of the competition is based on a greater capacity to adapt oneself as a result of a big load of continuous training [ 21 – 23 ], and the ability to maintain the pace throughout the whole race [ 10 ]. Likewise, recreational runners with a largely PP [ 19 , 24 ] who were able to maintain a steadier RP during a marathon [ 7 , 25 ] reported higher training volume compared to those with the same training frequency.…”