Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the reaction time of leg in starting to run among three groups, namely, the sprinters, the long-distance runners and the untrained people. An electronic timer was used in connection with a signal pistol and a starting block. This device made possible an accurate measurement of the time, period between the shooting and the detachment of the right foot of the subjects from the starting block. The subject were 10 sprinters, 10 long-distance runners, and 10 untrained people. Each subject performed several trials in order to get accustomed to the signal and the method of starting to run. Three times of reaction time were recorded. The data were analyzed by using the Pearsons Product Moment Correlation to obtain reliability coefficient of the device. The means of reaction time of the three groups were compared by t-test. The following findings were obtained 1. The reliability coefficient of this device is 0.84. 2. The reaction time of the leg in starting to run of the sprinters is significantly shorter than that of the untrained people (α=.01) 3. The reaction time of the leg in starting to run of the sprinters is significantly shorter than that of the untrained people (α=.01) 4. There is no significant difference between the reaction time of leg in starting to run of the long-distance runners and the untrained people.