FL Champ Chad Hall runs open 400 in 51.72

Some of you are seriously over-analyzing a kid going out and running a 400 in a low-key situation. Why does it have to mean anything at all? His team came to the meet to run, his dad coaches at the school, and he obviously didn't want to step into a 1600 or 3200. From what I hear, he had spent the previous week traveling around looking at colleges, so he may not have felt like doing anything more than having fun in a 400. Big deal. He'll be ready when it counts. By the way, last year at his league finals, he won the 1600, then ran steady 70 second splits in the 3200 and stepped back on the track for a leg of the 4X400 which he ran in sub-50. The kid has wheels and he doesn't claim to be a 400 or 800 guy. I'll bet on him when the chips are down later in the season at 1600 or 3200.

i think the vast majority of people responding to this post are not saying anything about chad hall that is remotely negative. most people are responding to (and criticizing) the statements on the first page of this thread by the OP and one or two others that make it seem like 51.72 from a distance runner is "impressive" or shows "serious talent." while i'm sure all of us agree that mr. hall is supremely talented, what most of us are disagreeing with is the idea that this particular 400 race, when combined with his distance running exploits, is proof of that talent. as you point out, he's run sub-50 before on a relay split.

in other words, no one would be talking about this early season 400 but for the fact that someone posted it here and said that it demonstrated supreme talent. again, as you clearly agree, it does not do that - it's just an early season 400, most likely run on a whim.

Commen Cense wrote:

The fact that it's March is important because the big meets aren't until July. That's why it's the date is important, since he probably hasn't started much shorter speed work.

Fair enough- he's not tapering at this moment. He's also not coming off of two months of training that was interrupted, or at least hindered, by the weather.

Commen Cense wrote:

The fact that it's March is important because the big meets aren't until July. That's why it's the date is important, since he probably hasn't started much shorter speed work.

I would be shocked if he weren't doing some weekly basic speed work year round.

all you guys saying you were faster are missing the point it's not the 51 in isolation thats great, it's the fact that he doesn't slow down as the distance gets longer.

Some people run more and more and their 400m times get slower and slower, but some special people can run more and more and get faster over 400m they are the people with gift to run spanking 5's and 10's

Tuone Udaina wrote:

Commen Cense wrote:

The fact that it's March is important because the big meets aren't until July. That's why it's the date is important, since he probably hasn't started much shorter speed work.

I would be shocked if he weren't doing some weekly basic speed work year round.

Yeah, you're probably right. I would assume he's doing some weekly speed workout, but I would also assume he's still not at a point where he is tapering his mileage and doing shorter sprints and intervals. June/July > March

Assuming things fall into place, top times come at the end of the season, not the beginning.