The purpose of this study was to apply the "critical velocity" concept to short intermittent high-intensity running exercises in prepubescent girls and boys and to compare the running performances obtained either by intermittent or continuous exercise runs. Eleven 8 to 11-year-old children underwent a maximal graded field test to determine peak oxygen uptake (peakVO2) and maximal aerobic velocity (MAV). During the six following sessions, they randomly performed three continuous runs (90, 100, and 110% of MAV) and three intermittent runs (120, 130, and 140% of MAV) until exhaustion. Intermittent exercises consisted of repeated 15 s runs each one separated by a 15 s passive recovery interval. For continuous as well as intermittent exercises, distance versus time to exhaustion (TTE) relationships were calculated to determine continuous (CVc) and intermittent (CVi) critical velocities. Values for peakVO2 and MAV were 45.8 +/- 5.3 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) and 10.5 +/- 1.0 km h(-1), respectively. For the whole population, a significant relationship was found between the distance to exhaustion (DTE) and TTE for continuous (r2= 0.99, P < 0.05) and intermittent exercises (r2 = 0.99, P < 0.05). Significant relationships were found between peakVO2 and both CVc (r2= 0.60, P < 0.01) and CVi (r2= 0.47, P < 0.05). In conclusion, as for continuous exercises, a linear relationship was found between DTE and TTE for short high-intensity intermittent exercises. CVc was significantly related to peakVO2, while a significant lower relationship was found between peakVO2 and CVi.