Is it OK running ahead of the beeps in the early stages?
Some athletes, particularly those lacking in speed, may find it beneficial to get a little ahead of the recording early on in the test, to put a little distance ‘in the bank’ for later when the pace gets faster. It may not seem like a big deal to let the athlete get ahead of the tape early on, but it changes the test procedure and may mean that the results are not valid. It is hard to control such actions, so next time the test is performed it may not be done the same way, resulting in poor reliability of the test too. So I would not let an athlete get ahead of the recording (just as you don’t let them get behind).
