Jul 253 min read

How comes Keely can run so quick?!

Updated: Jul 31

National record holder, silver medalist in Tokyo, now aiming for gold in Paris, Keely Hodgkinson is quick! But how comes she can run so quick? Read on to find out...

Dr Laurence Birdsey, with Keely's help, put some of the Manchester Metropolitan University students through their paces, to see how long they could run at Keely's 800 m pace. But, why did they find it so hard? What means that Keely can sustain this for a full 800m? How can you run faster?

Speed is speed

One of the key determinants of 800 m performance is maximal sprint speed, with speed over 20 m and 200 m strongly related to 800 m performance (Bachero-Mena et al., 2017). In high standard runners (<1:47.50) when aerobic capacity is similar between runners, maximal speed is strongly correlated with performance (Sandford et al., 2019) showing just how important it is. High level male 800 m runners can achieve maximal sprint speeds of over 35 km/h! That would be breaking the speed limit on a lot of roads in Wales...!

So, that's the first thing. Keely can produce very high power, applied technically well in a horizontal manner, to run fast (Hunter, 2005; Haugen, Breitschädel, et al., 2019). This is key, and one of the reasons why some students couldn't even run at Keely's 800 m pace.

Maximal sprint speed, huge power generation, technique, and strong anaerobic qualities, are the first things that are critical to run at Keely's speed, and sustain it for more than a few seconds. So, if you want to run fast, run fast!

Aerobic capacity

Being able produce enough power, in the right way, to run at the required speed is the first thing. But that's only going to get you so far, as these students found out! Another key determinant of performance is maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max) (Ingham et al., 2008). This is the maximal rate of oxygen that the body can take in and use (Bassett and Howley, 1997), and sets the upper limit for the aerobic energy system. The speed run at this intensity is even more important however, termed velocity at maximal oxygen uptake (VV̇O2max) (Ingham et al, 2008). This is a combination of V̇O2max, running economy (the oxygen or energy cost of running) and neuromuscular qualities.

"If you want to run fast, run fast!"

So, once the speed can be reached, it's then down to producing enough energy, at a fast enough rate, to maintain that speed, and the aerobic energy system is key to this, providing around 65-70% of the total energy contribution during the race. Our muscles require ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to contract and to produce power, and using oxygen (using the aerobic energy system) is a great way to supply this ATP for the whole 800m. So the higher the V̇O2max, the more oxygen the body can take in and use, the more ATP can be supplied to muscles to maintain strong, powerful contractions, allowing you to run faster for longer.

In high level performers, V̇O2max values of 60-77 ml/kg/min have been reported for male runners with an average SB of 1:55 (Bellinger et al., 2021), 72-74 ml/kg/min for faster male runners (1:49), and 62-65 ml/kg/min for female 800 m specialists with average SB of 2:06 (Ingham et al., 2008). These are pretty big, especially when you consider the strength, power and speed of these performers!

Speed and endurance

The 800 m is a challenging middle-distance event requiring maximal speed, speed endurance and aerobic capacity to perform well. These factors, whilst of course observing the technical requirements for the event, as well as tactical, is what stands Keely out from the rest.