how do you know if youre a distance runner or sprinter?

I suck at sprinting and distance.

Just a recreational runner, but sprinting seems better suited for me. I still prefer to distance run though even though it's more challenging for me

You have to have quick reflexes to sprint, so first test your reflexes by doing a shuttle block test or something similar. Quickness is the prerequisite to sprinting. Quickness is genetic, you can enhance it a tiny bit but not much.

If you are quick enough, then other attributes come into play: explosiveness, balance, body symmetry, proper technique, good mental attitude to competition.

I am a distance runner by personality and genes, but too big …my best races have been 200-800 even though I am not a sprinter , not a lot of fast twitch, can't jump. I am an endurance guy, but then again , I am just too big to run fast for a long time. I bet there are a lot of people in this category. Good all around athlete.

Quickness first wrote:

You have to have quick reflexes to sprint, so first test your reflexes by doing a shuttle block test or something similar. Quickness is the prerequisite to sprinting. Quickness is genetic, you can enhance it a tiny bit but not much.

If you are quick enough, then other attributes come into play: explosiveness, balance, body symmetry, proper technique, good mental attitude to competition.

Something along these lines. Many of the "other attributes" are also naturally present. The best way to know is to go out and race or time trial various distances, preferably with a coach who knows what to look for, as your response to different training is a big factor.

It's possible to win races at both, but you might need a couple of years to focus on either one or the other.

You can get development of your physical systems through mileage and racing long distances, then shift to pure sprint training. Maybe it would take you 8 years to reach your potential at pure sprinting.

You can also go the other way doing sub max reps of your sprint speed, extending the speed outward.

The greatest 400 hurdler did 6-7 miles a day for winter base.

I doubt that everything is known about twitch fibers.

And Ovett may have started as a 200 sprinter.

I think most people know whether they are a sprinter by the time they have left elementary school. If you played any sport, you know whether you are fast or not and who's fast or not

Wrong.

no, I'm really not

You don't know who or what you are until you put your body through the grinder

fred wrote:

You don't know who or what you are until you put your body through the grinder

if you're making burgers, I'll take one

fred wrote:

It's possible to win races at both, but you might need a couple of years to focus on either one or the other.

You can get development of your physical systems through mileage and racing long distances, then shift to pure sprint training. Maybe it would take you 8 years to reach your potential at pure sprinting.

You can also go the other way doing sub max reps of your sprint speed, extending the speed outward.

The greatest 400 hurdler did 6-7 miles a day for winter base.

I doubt that everything is known about twitch fibers.

And Ovett may have started as a 200 sprinter.

It's not so simple. You can do higher mileage but if your legs don't work that way then you'll know. My friend is a 49 400m runner and a 24.2 200m runner. According to him his body just doesn't take longer runs well and he says they feel heavy during them. I'm the opposite. I came to college as a 400 guy (even though I'm slow as hell with a 55 best). But as the training became more sprint focused my body just couldn't do it. On the other hand long runs and 8x300 repeats feel amazing.

fred is right, dummy.

A guy with major talent, destined to be a great 5k/10k guy would look like a fast, sprint-type guy if all he ever did were grade-school sprints.

Just the same, a really fast 200/400-type guy might still be able to pull a 17:30 5k, and would therefore look like an endurance guy to his classmates at hundreds of U.S. high schools.

There's way more to it than how much faster or slower one runs than his peers while in adolescence.

I agree with the first scenario, but the 2nd scenario just wouldn't happen

No one gets through elementary school without figuring out if they are fast at sprinting

I am not sure where you guys are growing up where people don't figure out they are sprinters until someone trains them as sprinters

School kids wrote:

I agree with the first scenario, but the 2nd scenario just wouldn't happen

No one gets through elementary school without figuring out if they are fast at sprinting

I am not sure where you guys are growing up where people don't figure out they are sprinters until someone trains them as sprinters

This argument has nothing to do with the point. We are discussing how to detect whether someone is a "sprint type" or a "distance type". Do most kids find out their sprint abilities in elementary? Yes, of course. Does being good at sprinting mean someone is more of a sprint type? No. Does being bad at sprinting mean someone is more of a distance type? No. This argument adds nothing to the thread.

As a coach, I have my athletes run 3 time trials during the early season: 100m, 400m, and 1600m. I also pay close attention to their natural form and take their body types, personal preferences, and team needs into consideration. From there, I assign each kid to the group that I feel is best for them (sprint, MD, or distance). Most of the time, I get it right. Occasionally, I switch kids into different groups after I watch them race/mature throughout the season.

Can you say something more about you paying close attention to their natural form and body types?

For example, running a 100 [or even a 400] what would 'out' someone as being a distance type. Or how does a pure sprinter run a 1600?

Abraham wrote:

Can you say something more about you paying close attention to their natural form and body types?

For example, running a 100 [or even a 400] what would 'out' someone as being a distance type. Or how does a pure sprinter run a 1600?

Just very obvious stuff; I don't claim to be any type of expert. The times that the kids run are more telling than anything else.

Anyways, my body type assessment is very general: for example, we had a new kid join that was 6'0" 185lbs and decently ripped last year - sprinter. Another kid who joined was about 5'8" 120lbs - distance. The usual rules of thumb are also good - skinny ankles for a distance, big quads for sprints, etc.

As for form - I pay closest attention to form during the 100m and 400m time trials. Easy-to-spot sprinters run on their toes and use their upper bodies more visibly than their distance oriented counterparts . Conversely, the easiest distance types to spot are the "shufflers". Shufflers generally have a low knee drive, a slight backwards lean, and a low arm carriage with minimal swing.

take a runner like me though; I ran a 100m in 11.6 (hand time) 200m in 24.6 (relay split) and 400m in 55.3 (fat). my 800m was 2:07.4 so by the looks of it im a sprinter. but the one mile I did race in High school was a 5:04 and it was essentially a walk in the park, I did not sweat or even get out of breath afterwards or had any sign of fatigue. not to mention my long runs (4.5-6 miles) were at 6:10 pace on average. so am i a sprinter?

now a freshman in college I began training soley for the 400m. I hadnt done a long run in months and was hitting sprint workouts only, one day we had a charity to see how many laps we could do in an hour and for every lap money was donated. i hit 8.5 miles with out any sign of fatigue and it felt amazing. what type of runner am I?

Choose one and hope/train for the best