I’m a 6 foot girl about to enter my senior year for track, and was thinking of trying sprinting events…Should i consider the 400 or 400h because of my height?
I’m a 6 foot girl about to enter my senior year for track, and was thinking of trying sprinting events…Should i consider the 400 or 400h because of my height?
Sure, try them out! But if you're able try out a few different events do that and see what you enjoy. Do you have any running background?
Hey, Ty for replying…I didn’t grow up doing sports and don’t have much running background actually. I did the 200 in middle school but quit track and didn’t start again until my sophomore year of highschool where I ran a 27.94. After covid i stopped running again, but now I’m entering my senior year hoping to finally stick to it and make something happen on the track…I always thought my height was hindering me but seeing y’all athletes like Femke Bol and Shaunae Miller dominate is inspiring…
sprintingjourney wrote:
Hey, Ty for replying…I didn’t grow up doing sports and don’t have much running background actually. I did the 200 in middle school but quit track and didn’t start again until my sophomore year of highschool where I ran a 27.94. After covid i stopped running again, but now I’m entering my senior year hoping to finally stick to it and make something happen on the track…I always thought my height was hindering me but seeing y’all athletes like Femke Bol and Shaunae Miller dominate is inspiring…
27 is a pretty decent time! And I imagine you'll get a good bit faster, especially with 400m training. You should totally go for it. Do you plan on doing cross or general prep before track season? Have you tried hurdles yet?
I was actually thinking of doing cross country! I always had bad stamina during practice and thought it would be good conditioning…but I also heard some people are afraid it will slow them down as a sprinter..Never tried hurdles before though
sprintingjourney wrote:
I was actually thinking of doing cross country! I always had bad stamina during practice and thought it would be good conditioning…but I also heard some people are afraid it will slow them down as a sprinter..Never tried hurdles before though
People always say that but plenty of great sprinters ran cross (Joseph Fahnbulleh, David Oliver, John Akii Bua). As long as you're doing strides and fast stuff along with stamina training you'll be fine, especially when developing as an athlete. Just have fun with it though!
If you want to practice hurdles off season and can't access your school hurdles it's pretty easy to make some out of PVC
Also, as you're interested in the intermediate hurdles I'd recommend Another Hurdle, David Hemery's autobiography (1968 400mh champion, lot's of good training insight)
Like Flo'da boy said 27.94 is pretty good. Being 6' is definitely a big positive. I would look at High Jump, Triple Jump, 100 HH, 400 IH, and 200.
The best way to be successful would be to get exposure to proper technique across multiple events (including sprint form) the next month or two, then spend a few months of general prep, and then join the team for winter/indoor track (if available).
If you have a good sprint / jump coach at your school, you should reach out and ask for some offseason technical help. If not, maybe join a club team or hire a coach.
Most athletes will be overwhelmed or struggle a bit when first learning new techniques, but make huge gains after a break / general prep period.
Good luck
Sure, try those out.
And since you already have a decent 200m, also try out the 100m hurdles, 800m, High Jump, Long Jump, Shot put, and Javelin. #Heptathlon