How to run the 400m??

[#1 Track Stunna]

Strategys???
Facts???

What percent should the first 200 be of your regular 200 time??

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

The first 200 of a 400 should be about 1 second slower than one's average racing 200. In that way it would be smooth and the runner would slow down at less a precipitous rate. Of course there is no rule to be guided by because the great 400s of the past have been run in different ways. Also a sprinter running the 400 would run it differently than an 800 runner.

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

Yes; not only will a sprinter run a 400 differently than a distance runner, but they will have different feelings about the event as well.

Specifically: the sprinters hate it, and the distance runners love it.

[bubba]

Re: How to run the 400m??

As one of my college teammates often said, "go out hard. pick it up in the middle. kick."

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

>The first 200 of a 400 should be about 1 second
>slower than one's average racing 200.>>

Michael Johnson went out in 20.5?!

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

">The first 200 of a 400 should be about 1 second
>slower than one's average racing 200.>>

Michael Johnson went out in 20.5?!"


It sounds a bit fast, but believe it or not he might have in some of his fastest quarters.

I was at a meet in Virginia (George Mason) at which he ran one of his indoor 400m world records (in 1995, when he still ran indoors). I recall that at that meet his first 200 was 21.08 on the way to a 44-something finish.

If he could take a quarter our in 21.08 indoors, it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility for him to take it out in 20.5 outdoors.

[gh]

Re: How to run the 400m??

Here's the splits in World Records that I can find in the IAAF WR Prog book:

Johnson 43.18
21.22/21.96

Reynolds 43.29
21.4/21.9

J. Smith 44.5y
22.1/22.4

T. Smith 44.8y
21.7/23.1

Larrabbee 44.9
22.4/22.5

O. Davis 44.9
21.7/23.2

Kaufmann 44.9
21.8/23.1

G. Davis 45.7y
22.0/23.7

G. Davis 45.8y
22.4/23.4

Lea 45.8y
22.8/23.0

Jones 45.4(A)
21.1/24.3

McKenley 45.9
21.0/24.9

McKenley 46.0y
21.0/25.0

McKenley 46.2y
20.8/25.4

McKenley 46.2y
20.9/25.3

Klemmer 46.0
21.8/24.2

Klemmer 46.4y
22.7/23.7

Harbig 46.0
21.7/25.5

Clearly, modern runners take a slightly different approach than their predecessors!

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

What I've always been told and read was that there should be a 1 second differnce between the 200's. Obviously the higher end runners can narrow that down to less than a second, but invariably you see 2 and 3 second differences in inexperienced runners. I doubt that even splits are the best and definitely not negative splits, so the key is get get at or slightly under 1 second.

In a previous thread we discussed race strategy, to which my reply was
a. get out quickly to establish a fast relaxed long stride to the 200 mark.
b. work the third 100 more than you would like to
c. try to relax the homestretch but actually increase the turnover because everyone's stride is getting shorter.

[michael lewis]

Re: How to run the 400m??

">The first 200 of a 400 should be about 1 second
>slower than one's average racing 200.>>

Michael Johnson went out in 20.5?!" - Do The Math

Checking out the splits in WRs on this thread from GH, it's clear some guys went out less than a second off their PRs. Modern runners, incorporating the experience of their predecessors, appear to take a more judicious approach to the event. Worth noting too that the women's WR of 47.60 was set by Marita Koch opening with a first 200 of 22.47, vs a 200 PR of 21.71. How much faster might she have gone with sounder pacing?

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

>I was at a meet in Virginia (George
>Mason) at which he ran one of his indoor 400m
>world records (in 1995, when he still ran
>indoors). I recall that at that meet his first
>200 was 21.08 on the way to a 44-something
>finish.>>

Actually, you were in Atlanta, but the 21.08 is correct. With a 23.55 second lap for the still-standing indoor world record of 44.63.

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

Anybody who could do a 21.08 on Mason's flat floor would have been able to run about 19-flat outdoors!

[The King]

Re: How to run the 400m??

The Fastest ever first 200m of a Men's 400m race was (and still is!) 20.5s, when Fred Newhouse (USA) passed the 200m point en-route to his 45.4s in Eugene 1972.

The 2nd fastest is 20.7s by Karl Honz during his 44.70 alos in the year 1972.

Innocent Egbunike used to have sub 21.00s first 200m, and Quincy Watts in Barcelona'92 ran 20.9s en-route to his 43.50s victory.

And Harry 'Butch' Reynolds passed the 200m mark in 20.3s during his 43.23 3rd leg in Stuttgart'93 4x4 Relay final,
of course with the aid of a flying start.

As for Women, we all know that Marita Koch's 22.47s opening 200m during her 47.60s Women's 400m WR is out-and-out the fastest ever opening 200m of a Women's open 400m ever.

There have been many sub-23.00s opening 200m for Women's 400m races by Marie Jose-Perec (22.61+ en-route to her 49.13s in 1991 Tokyo WCH),
Jarmila Kratochvilova (22.7+ en-route to her 48.86s in 1982 in Zuirch), Flo-Jo (22.9+ en-route to her 53.56s! in 1988 in Modesto) and Valerie Brisco (22.94+ en-route to her 50.16s in 1988 Seoul OG Women's 400m final).

Olga Nazarova ran 22.2+ en-route to her 47.82s 2nd leg in the Women's WR setting 4x400m relay team (3m:15.17s) of course aided with a flying start.

All of the above comes from Pierre-Jean.

[Guest]

Re: How to run the 400m??

"Actually, you were in Atlanta, but the 21.08 is correct. With a 23.55 second lap for the still-standing indoor world record of 44.63."


No, I was at George Mason; I'm just getting the races confused.

He ran a very fast time at George Mason a bit before the Atlanta race (don't remember what his time at Mason was).

However, you're right that the 21.08 was at Atlanta.

[gh]

Re: How to run the 400m??

The 2nd fastest is 20.7s by Karl Honz during his 44.70 alos in the year 1972.>>

Don't know where "Pierre Jean" got his splits, but I recall T&FN doing some extensive work with a prehistoric-vintage video machine (big wide tape as I remember) post-Munich, and we came up with
Honz 20.1
Sang 20.2
Badenski 20.3
Jenkins 20.4

It was an absolutely insane race. Consensus in the stands at the time was that the U.S. not having made the final had produced the most exciting mass 4x4 ever seen, something that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

[dj]

Re: How to run the 400m??

Here's the splits in World Records that I can find in the IAAF WR Prog book:
Johnson 43.18
21.22/21.96
Reynolds 43.29
21.4/21.9
J. Smith 44.5y
22.1/22.4
T. Smith 44.8y
21.7/23.1
Larrabbee 44.9
22.4/22.5
O. Davis 44.9
21.7/23.2
Kaufmann 44.9
21.8/23.1
G. Davis 45.7y
22.0/23.7
G. Davis 45.8y
22.4/23.4
Lea 45.8y
22.8/23.0
Jones 45.4(A)
21.1/24.3
McKenley 45.9
21.0/24.9
McKenley 46.0y
21.0/25.0
McKenley 46.2y
20.8/25.4
McKenley 46.2y
20.9/25.3
Klemmer 46.0
21.8/24.2
Klemmer 46.4y
22.7/23.7
Harbig 46.0
21.7/25.5
Clearly, modern runners take a slightly different approach than their predecessors!

Ken Doherty's writings always advised even pace. He lauded Larrabee for changing from being a quick starter during the '50s to finding the confidence to become an even-pace runner during his comeback. The change in pace is what Larrabee publically credited for becoming gold medalist and WR-setter.

Except for Tommie Smith, all the record setter after the '60 OG ran their two 200s within one second of each other. Davis and his predecessors (excepting Germans Kaufmann and Harbig) learned the 440 under the U.S. scholastic system, in which the opening 220 was commonly run on the straight and not in lanes. Effective raced strategy dictated getting to the curve first. And because the U.S. had the dominant quarter milers, I suspect Kaufmann and Harbig ran the 400 with the idea of staying with the pace, not lagging well behind.