Point of reference this is what Willis said of his 400 speed. I think Hocker split 48-high as part of a pacing/relay quadruple last year. He can probably split 47 when sharper I think. This 400 isn’t easy to assess without context, but he looked quite controlled.
Willis: ”Hey Guys,
My 400 relay PB is 48.4, and my FAT is 50.07, which was set in HS (I split 48.6 right around that time).
As much as I have tried to improve my speed since HS, I have had little success. I put this down to many more miles in my legs, and the inability to taper sufficiently to get the pop back to really roll a 4hundy. My 200m PB from HS is 23.40 (FAT), and I have split 22.9 at the start of relay legs.
So why would my 400 FAT be so much slower than my rolling start, but my 200m have less differential? We used to race 100m and 200m most weekends in HS as a secondary event (these were city club meets in NZ), and thus our block starts were of a reasonable standard. However, the challenge I found for the 400m was not the reaction time, but the power required to get up to speed. I had used up so much explosive energy to get up to speed, that by the time I reached the home straight, I was toast. From a rolling start, I can get up to speed with little effort, and coast for the first 250m, and still hold form reasonably well through tot he finish line.
So there you have it. I am stuck as a non-sub50 guy, and it hurts!
The fastest milers I have seen are Nate Brannen (46.8 relay), Gabe Jennings (10.9 100m rolling), and David Krummenacker (I bet he could split 45 high, 46 low). I'm sure Wheating could roll too.”