The purpose of this investigation was to explore the relationship between velocity of lactate threshold (vLT) and various measures of body mass and composition: mass, lean mass, fat mass, percent body fat (% fat), and body surface area (BSA). We hypothesized that mass would be inversely related to vLT, and that differences in measures of body mass and composition would account for a significant amount of variability in vLT. A total of 21 healthy male runners served as subjects. Body composition was assessed by hydrostatic weighing. A significant negative relationship (r = -0.759, p < 0.01) was between body mass and vLT. The coefficient of determination between vLT and body mass indicated that nearly 58% of the variability in vLT was explained by body mass in these subjects. Significant relationships were also between vLT and BSA (r = -0.72, p < 0.01), fat mass (r = -0.70, p < 0.01), % fat (r = -0.59, p < 0.01), and lean mass (r = -0.41, p < 0.05). Linear regression yielded the following model: y = 369.48 - 1.7343 (X), where y = predicted vLT (m·min-1) and X = body mass (kilograms) (SEE = 15.45). Velocity of lactate threshold was significantly inversely related with body mass in a group of male runners. The calculated coefficient of determination suggests that nearly 58% of the variability in vLT was explained by body mass. The present data suggest consideration of categorizing participants in `road runs` by body mass to equate competition, as is done in other sports (e.g., weightlifting).
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