Lead-off split vs. flying start split

Sprinting Discussion High School Sprints/Field Events

9 years ago 04/20/2015 7:26pm EDT

I am trying to decide on a 4th runner for my HS girl's 4x400m team. I want to run the best squad possible at our first big invite this Friday. I currently have 4 possibilities to choose from.

My original plan was to run all of them in the 400m at our dual meet on Wednesday and then just pick the fastest girl. However, I still want to win the meet and doing this simply would not make sense from a team-scoring standpoint. Instead, I am going to run them all in the 4x400m and pick the girl with the fastest split (I know I could time trial them, I just don't want to do that on the day before a meet and it did not fit into my workout plans for today).

My question is: How much time should I subtract from the leadoff runner's split to make it fair? All 4 girls are hellbent on making the relay and I want to make sure that they understand the selection criteria that I am using ahead of time. Anyways, I am thinking 0.5 seconds. Does that sound about right for HS girl's in the 66-68 second range? Any responses are appreciated.

9 years ago 04/20/2015 7:43pm EDT

re: 162430

It seems you have three legs picked and are looking for the fourth piece of the puzzle. Run the four possible additions head-to-head from the blocks and the winner becomes your leadoff runner.

9 years ago 04/20/2015 9:03pm EDT

re: 162430

Well if they are 66 runners it really doesn't matter that much bc their level is so low that they could run significantly slower or faster based on many diff factors and motivation. Just do it in a way that makes them feel that it is fair.

Generally though it is between prolly around .5-.8 secs for a fly vs. Start, but that can be misleading bc some kids run way better splits when they have someone to chase than running in lanes. It really takes some experience with the kids at different a spots and in different scenarios to find how each kid responds. It also depends a lot on how good the handoff is.

My suggestion is to let them race bc that removes all the variability and makes it seem more fair and objective for them.

Hope that helps

9 years ago 04/21/2015 12:11pm EDT

re: Coachhhh

In my experience, 4x4 splits from dual meets are wildly variable, not because of the nature of relay running, but because it is a dual meet. More often than not, the race spreads out on the first leg and they are running completely solo after that. Some girls are good at running close to their best alone, others need the competition of a big meet to perform at their best. Younger ones typically struggle because they don't know how fast they should be going. I agree that if you want to compare them accurately, they need to all be running side-by-side.

That said, I agree with about 0.5 second for the flying start vs standing. Though my less experienced kids usually gain almost no advantage (sometimes a disadvantage!) from a flying start because their handoffs are bad.

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