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Modeling Run Test Validity SUMMARY
BackgroundMilitary physical fitness tests (PFTs) connmonly include a distance run to estimate aerobic fitness. This use of run tests is justifiable because performance is related to laboratory measurements of maximal oxygen uptake {V02max) ■ V02max is the accepted reference standard for measuring aerobic capacity.
ObjectiveThis review tested the hypothesis that endurance run tests are equally valid for different types of people.
ApproachLiterature searches identified 133 studies relating laboratory VOamax measurements to performance on run tests. These studies involved 1 or more endurance runs. An endurance run was defined as one that was 2:2 km in distance or ^12 min in duration. Data on validity, population attributes, and research methods were coded. Hedges and Olkin's metaanalysis procedures were used develop a mathematical model to predict run test validity.
ResultsAverage validity was moderately high (r = .75), but could vary between r = .52 and r = .84 in different test situations. Run test validity was not related to the age, gender, fitness level, or running experience of the people who were tested. Validity was related to the type of run test (T for "type," 1 = fixed-distance; 2 = fixed-time) and the sample variability of VOzmax (SDV02max for standard deviation of V02max) . The equation to predict validity based on these two variables was zu/ = -059 + (.115*SDV02max) + (.197*T). The equation coefficients indicate that validity was higher in samples with greater VOamax variation and when a fixed-time run test was used. Publication bias, low power of the studies reviewed, and other potential sources of bias had little effect on £he findings.