Help 400m

[Speed-driven]

Was wondering if anyone had any tips...i am going to be a Junior and as a sophmore i kinda had a rough year. running 400m in a legit 54.4.. from the start of the year to the end of the year. I did however increase my speed from freshman year. which i ran legit 56's and few 55's..My 4x400 split times are usual also 54's..ive come to think mayb my muscle mass could be increased more..im 5'6 136lbs..also mayb its a mental thing..i just think i could of ran faster but i wasnt getting faster..and the same 54's all year is kinda a sign to me that im doing something wrong.

any ideas..?

[Tha Fonz]

my coach said a lot of times its about tactics. Most of the new 400 guys scracth off 2 seconds because our coach comes up with usually a strategic/tactical way of running the 400 suited for the runner. One that he seems to use for majority of runners is:

When race starts be the first outta the blocks and outta the turn.

Then on the back stretch let momentum and form carry you. Dont really push the pace/speed just maintain. As you go into the turn he says its important to maintain a straight running posture and run the turn as straight as possible [sounds wierd but once you run youll see what he means].

As you go into the turn you start increase power in your stride and quickin rotation and start using your upper body more. [pushing elbows back and swinging wrists up to the shoulders]

As you come out the turn combination of momentum and increase in speed/pace should help propel you to close to full speed. At this point focus on form, quickening stride roatation and upper body support. Along with a slight forward lean. Also he tells his guys to take deep breath or two as they come into the last straight away to make sure they go in calm and not excited and risking losing their form.

This has worked on pretty much all the runners. we had a guy come in running 58's and after working on this tactic/strategy alone he brought his time down to 54's. And eventually 53's doing proper training for it. Majority of the other guys who took it serious and worked on the strategy our coach gave them dropped a couple seconds off there time as well.

[remiks]

my coach said a lot of times its about tactics. Most of the new 400 guys scracth off 2 seconds because our coach comes up with usually a strategic/tactical way of running the 400 suited for the runner. One that he seems to use for majority of runners is:

When race starts be the first outta the blocks and outta the turn.

Then on the back stretch let momentum and form carry you. Dont really push the pace/speed just maintain. As you go into the turn he says its important to maintain a straight running posture and run the turn as straight as possible [sounds wierd but once you run youll see what he means].

As you go into the turn you start increase power in your stride and quickin rotation and start using your upper body more. [pushing elbows back and swinging wrists up to the shoulders]

As you come out the turn combination of momentum and increase in speed/pace should help propel you to close to full speed. At this point focus on form, quickening stride roatation and upper body support. Along with a slight forward lean. Also he tells his guys to take deep breath or two as they come into the last straight away to make sure they go in calm and not excited and risking losing their form.

This has worked on pretty much all the runners. we had a guy come in running 58's and after working on this tactic/strategy alone he brought his time down to 54's. And eventually 53's doing proper training for it. Majority of the other guys who took it serious and worked on the strategy our coach gave them dropped a couple seconds off there time as well.
Sounds quite similar to the Clyde Hart strategy; which, of course is pretty well proven.

[dellyJ800]

Go out hard, run the first 200 one second slower than your 200 meter PR. Accelerate through the turn, then give it all you've got on the home stretch. Pretty simple, really. The problem with this strategy is that you risk losing form in the last 20-30 meters. That's where I ran into problems with it anyway.

[lollazyboiy]

hrmm my 400m coach tells me

fast out blocks then ALL out in the first 80m then just go 85% till u hit the 250 mark but when u hit the 200m mark u should be at like 2 secs past ur PR..THEN KICK AT 250 MARK(2ND GOAL POST IF THEY GOT ONE) WITH ALL U GOT...BUT WHEN U KICK KEEP UR BACK STRAIGHT AND KEEP UR FORM TOGETHER AND DONT LEAN back or foward..

[aidan]

hrmm my 400m coach tells me

fast out blocks then ALL out in the first 80m then just go 85% till u hit the 250 mark but when u hit the 200m mark u should be at like 2 secs past ur PR..THEN KICK AT 250 MARK(2ND GOAL POST IF THEY GOT ONE) WITH ALL U GOT...BUT WHEN U KICK KEEP UR BACK STRAIGHT AND KEEP UR FORM TOGETHER AND DONT LEAN back or foward..


The problem with that strategy is if you go all out for the first 80 meters, you are at full speed when you hit the straightaway.. and then you are actually slowing down. YOU DO NOT EVER WANT TO WILLINGLY SLOW DOWN, only relax your stride as you go down the backstretch. If you slow down purposly, all you are doing is losing precious time that you will not get back. It is much harder to slow down and speed up again, than to just attempt to maintain a fast speed you start with. Also, kicking with "all you got" with 150m to go is another HUGE mistake, at least for a high school runner. After running a hard 250m, kicking hard the entire last 150m will bring the lactic acid out wayyy to early, causing almost any runner to tie up horribly a good 40m-50m from the finish if this above strategy is run as it is written.

[one_more_hurdler]

i have to agree with The Fonz. thats how all of us on are mile relay run and we ran 3:24 at district. we would have ran about 3:22 at state but we droped the baton on are 3rd to 4th hand off. droping are time to a 3:30.

[Speed-driven]

well i get the basis how to run the 400m..i just dont always perform to ability for whatever reason... you guys probably wont believe how weird our 4x400 team was this year... running a PR of 3:23..senior first leg runner never tried at practice and ends up running a 52 split..2nd leg just started running the 400m as a senior with a split 51...senior 3rd leg runner was legit with a 51..and our senior anchor leg who didnt run any faster than a 51 split..pulls off a 48 split.. now i dunno how that can happen to a team so disfigured and unlogical to put together..but hey i guess it worked

[BVHrun-er]

i just finished my sophmore year in high school. went from a PR of 54.9 in the 400 to a 52.2

my training focused on form and some strength conditioning. the 2 main things i learned to do that helped me the most in my opinion was strategy and relaxation.

i ran my races starting hard out of the blocks coming around the turn. hit the backstretch and just pace with everyone, nice and long strides so it doesnt tire you out. when hitting the next turn run on the line of the lane inside of you and start to drive your arms more. slingshot out of the turn and drive your arms and give all the power you can to your legs. keep you elbows in, back straight, and heaad still. you wanna run with your body relaxed, no tension in the face, (it all adds up), just let your lips bounce around. you might look funny, but people wont laugh when you beat them to the line.

relaxation wise. gotta keep your head clear. if you know the times of other runners in your race to be faster than yours. just chill. think about how your gonna run the race strategy wise. you blind yourself with the wrong thoughts, and you will be giving up in your race before it even starts. trick i always use is singin. get a song stuck in your head and just let it flow when you runnin. when your in the blocks. take a few deep breaths, clear your head. when they say set, come up and take a deep breath and hold it. when the shoot the gun. let it all out and get into a rythm



goodluck in your next season.