Variability of GRF Components between Increased Running Times during Prolonged Run

A study was conducted to investigate the possible effects of fatigue which was resulted from increased running time on the stability during a prolonged run. The purposes of this study were twofold: first, to determine the discrete and non-linear variability of GRF (ground reaction force) components between running times to know the body stability, and second, to determine the pattern between discrete and non-linear variability. Nineteens healthy young adult males served in this study as subjects who ran at their preferred running speed. GRF data for twenty strides were collected at 5, 65, and 125 minutes during run. Variance coefficient and Lyapunov Exponent techniques on the GRF data were used to calculate variability index for each of the running time conditions. There were no difference between discrete variabilities of three components of GRF, but non-linear variability of the Fz component of GRF was decreased by increasing running time (p<.01). No relationship was found between discrete and non-linear variability.