Running as an athletic discipline requires a high level of endurance and speed endurance,
which is directly related to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, ie the ability of an athlete’s
body to withstand loads, and the following are listed as relevant factors for running success:
anaerobic strength and maximum O2 consumption, lactic acid concentration and oxygen
deficiency, ability to withstand stress, high ability to concentrate and its retention over longer
periods of time. There is a lot of research that has studied the parameters of functional abilities in
an attempt to find the most effective way to improve them, and since there are many similar and
different data on this topic, this paper has been done to classify the available papsers by domestic
and foreign authors which would lead to conclusions applicable both in practice and for further
research
For the purposes of this research, original scientific papers have been analyzed that dealt
with functional abilities as success factors in short, middle and long distance running and the
impact of training on functional abilities, found in electronic databases – Medline, PubMed,
Researchgate, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The research used in this review monitored
transversely the values of submaximal and maximal oxygen consumption, energy systems, heart
rate values, pulmonary ventilation, blood lactate concentration, as well as their changes after
longitudinal implementation of experimental protocols and training processes. Since the collected
research had too few respondents from different populations with a small number of elite runners,
and they did not have enough information about many years of experience, level of sports form,
race categories, and descriptions of training and methods, obtaining empirical information based
on evidence was limited, as well as reaching valid conclusions. Accordingly, there is a need for a
more systematic approach to research and implementation of complex studies with a sufficient
number of runners of all ages, both sexes of the elite level, and cooperation of academic researchers,
clubs and athletes to enable studies that would provide significant statistics, analysis
and interpretation. The results identified in this review provide a starting point for future research
that identifies and quantifies predictors of functional performance as factors of short, middle, and
long distance running success.
