400m training plan

15 m I'm not in season. I'm starting at 1.5 mi and add .25 miles each week. I'm doing 6:45 per mile. My strength and speed train is weight lifting and plyometric training.

To do well in the 400 metres, how fast one races 200 metres is very important. In US school programs, age 12 to age 17, 400 metre runners are often grouped with 800 metres runners. When coaches want to put their "A" 4 x 400 metres team together, coaches often race the best 200 metres runners. I can see the merits of possibly running up to 30 miles per week for 400 metres training but I know athletes who have raced sub-48 400 on no mileage; (100.& 200) metres training.

That's why I'm doing two days of speed and in the summer I'll bump it up to three

I've trained with some pretty good 400m runners and I've never seen them run over 800m in training, so all this long multiple mile runs is baffling to me.

I'm a Mid-D/Distance coach who has ended up coaching some strictly 400 guys and long hurdlers from time to time. Even from a distance background I don't have them doing distance runs. What coach d posted looks pretty much what I've done.

Progression of pace work from 150-300m

Strength/Tempo type day that has some reps between 300-600m

An acceleration/speed type day of 50-100m

From what I know there had been a pretty strong correlation (for HS level) between sprinters in XC being very great 400m runners

Clyde Hart's program has days in succession of hard lactic work. What happened to needing 48 hours between hard similar workouts? When do they recover? Do they need help to recover?

It also lacks any speed development for most of the year. Any sub-elite athlete needs that, and IMO elites too.

I like coach d's better.

But I think this is an improved version of Mike Hurst's 25-year old program.

Monday

100-200 speed work, 80s-150s, has both speed development and lactic

Tuesday

Morning over-distance, like 400-600s, longer hills like 40sec, multiple 300s back to back, sort of 600-800 speed training

Evening weights , then massage ideally.

Wednesday

Recovery, pool etc

Thursday

Straight speed development, sleds, short (5-6 sec) hills, 40s, 60s, quality plyos like speed bounding

Friday

Sub-max 400 speed work, like

• 2x6x100, 30sec and full recovery,

• the 2 x (3-4x60 + 200) with 30 sec and full recovery,

• the reverse which is 2-3 x (200-300 + 4x50-60)

• 5-6 x 200 at come home speed with 2 min jog/walk back

Saturday

Maybe some rhythm strides, then gym

Sunday

Recovery

2 recovery days per week, 3 hard days, 1-2 of speed development, 2 x gym. A good spread.

I have a younger athlete starting this program next week. He has good speed but also ran 800s until 18 months ago.

Would a good program be

Monday speed/acceleration

Tuesday tempo

Wednesday speed endurance

Thursday tempo

Friday speed/accretion

What does tempo mean to you? When do you recover?

100m-300m around 75% and moderate rest

Then no.

see my program. Speed devlopment/CNA one day, quality and meaningful endurance the next year, gym the next year, rest the next. Always a rest/recovery day before speed development.

Karma Police

I like your version of Mike Hurst's plan. I'm a 48 year old sprinter and do a paired down version of it. I'm going to try some of the workouts you posted.

Karma Police

I like your version of Mike Hurst's plan. I'm a 48 year old sprinter and do a paired down version of it. I'm going to try some of the workouts you posted.

For older and younger athletes injury prevention is the most important thing. All athletes I guess. Mike Hurst calls it prehab.

Most athletes can't be bothered but by your age you should know your problem areas. Do the stretches and strengthening exercises the physio tells you too.

sprinthard wrote:

That's the worst 400 program I've ever seen. And, nothing like Clyde Hart's. He's calling 3 x 350 speed work.

Google Latif Thomas and Mike Hurst 400 training. They have lots of good, free info online.

Agreed!!! AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL! Please don't listen to anything in there. The most important thing for a 400m is speed reserve. It takes far longer to develop speed than it does stamina. Kids will get in shape by racing throughout the season. Latif is good and funny. Not the best, but def really good place to start.

Karma Police wrote:

Friday

Sub-max 400 speed work, like

• 2x6x100, 30sec and full recovery,

• the 2 x (3-4x60 + 200) with 30 sec and full recovery,

• the reverse which is 2-3 x (200-300 + 4x50-60)

• 5-6 x 200 at come home speed with 2 min jog/walk back

Sorry, but none of those are "speed work". That is at best intensive tempo work which is not even fast enough to be special endurance work. If you shorten rest after 100m to 30 sec, there is no recovery to allow anything over 80% intensity after the first few reps, and your form will fall apart bad. Also, you would never do 1200m of speed work. You should stay under 500m and provide larger rest.

Actual Sprinter

Those workouts are intended to make you fight to maintain form like you do in the 400. In the 4 x 60 + 200, Hurst is trying to zap the glycogen out of you, and then make you try to run a 200 at 400 speed.

actual sprinter wrote:

Karma Police wrote:

Friday

Sub-max 400 speed work, like

• 2x6x100, 30sec and full recovery,

• the 2 x (3-4x60 + 200) with 30 sec and full recovery,

• the reverse which is 2-3 x (200-300 + 4x50-60)

• 5-6 x 200 at come home speed with 2 min jog/walk back

Sorry, but none of those are "speed work". That is at best intensive tempo work which is not even fast enough to be special endurance work. If you shorten rest after 100m to 30 sec, there is no recovery to allow anything over 80% intensity after the first few reps, and your form will fall apart bad. Also, you would never do 1200m of speed work. You should stay under 500m and provide larger rest.

If by "speed work" you mean speed development, then of course not. It's "400 speed work", as I said, ie running at 400 speed.

In the the 2 x (3-4x60 + 200) workout, the last 200 is all out. Due to what you've just done, the all out 200 will end up being about same speed as the last 200 of your 400. It's designed to mimic what will happen to you trying to give the last 200 of a 400 everything you've got. I have wached people do this session. It works. Like sprinthard said, it saps the glycogen out of you before you have to run the all out 200.

On the other session, if you're saying that after the first 3 x 100 with 30 secs rest you can't run any faster than 80%, I can tell you first hand you're wrong. With 30 secs' rest, you're getting 150 secs rest when running 600 at 400 speed. It's doable for a well conditioned athlete. I have seen quality juniors do this session. It is very hard after about the first 3 - this is the idea. If you can run 400 at 48 speed, then you can do 5 x 100 with 30 secs' (ie total 2 mins) rest at 12 each, and the hard part is getting it to 6 x 100.