Two laws for runners

2000/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Matematika

The world records that runners get in their tests, according to statistics, are governed by a law or mathematical formula. This formula relates the distance travelled to human capacities. The graphic representation of this logarithmic formula is a straight line.

That was what was thought so far, but Italian researchers Sandra Savaglio and Vincenzo Carbone have studied the subject and have, that is, records conform to two laws. All types of walking races (from 100 meters to marathon) and swimming (between 850 and 1,500 meters) have been considered. However, a kind of fracture appears in its graphic representation. Both on foot and in swimming races, the fracture manifests between 150 and 170 seconds (corresponding to 1.00 on foot or 200 meters in swimming). According to the researchers, this break is due to the transition between two cycles of energy production. The first cycle would be anaerobic (which does not need oxygen) and the second aerobic (which needs oxygen).