Here’s a quick email to help you make sure the race plans you’re giving your 1600m runners are optimal.
Are you going to have them “go” with 400m to go or 200m to go or some other distance?
Going at 300m
The reason I like moving with 300m to go are:
Other athletes will have speed up at the bell, so your athlete will – if they’re keeping contact with the runner in front of them – be speeding up already.
Running a hard 300m for a fit athlete is reasonable, while some athletes (younger athletes) lack the fitness to crush a 400m.
If you tell them go “Fast, Faster, Fastest” within the 300m – Fast for the 100m backstretch, Faster for the 100m second curve, and Fastest for the 100m homestretch – they will at least maintain pace, and ideally, they’ll be able to execute this plan. If they can do this, they’ll be happy with the result.
300m as 200m/100m
For younger athletes they can have a simple plan – stay in contact with the runners in front of them, then with 300m to go run hard for 200m, then run their fastest 100m of the race on the homestretch.
“But in Consistency Is Key You Talked About Going at 500m From the Finish?”
Making a move with 500m to go for a veteran athlete who is fit makes a lot of sense. They can go 200m/200m/100m for their Fast, Faster, Fastest moves.
They’ll surprise their competition by going 100m before the bell, then they’ll make another move with 300m to go, which may cause some of their competitors to give in.
But the flip side is this is too much for your kids that finish their season this week at the JV championships. They should go with 300m and then execute the 200m/100m plan.
What’s Best for Your Athletes?
As my friend Jeff Boelé often responds when asked training and racing questions, “It depends.” You’ve got to know what your athlete can handle both mentally and physically.
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