Best way to run 400?

Well, if you were almost dead at the end, then you were close to right. There really isn't all that much to a 400 to me. It does take time, but you will get a feel for how fast your body can go without having to slow down. So thats pretty much the idea. Get up to speed as fast as possible, maintain the max sustainable speed for the rest of the race. If you can kick a little faster at the end, then go ahead, but remember that that kick in the last 30 meters won't get you the times that spreading out that energy over 200 meters would. This is all just my interpretation of it of course... I'm a distance runner at heart, so I'm definitely not the authority on 400.

There is no way around exhausting yourself in a full out 400 unless you are in damn good shape. get used to pain.

When I was in college, i had open 200m speed around 21 high - 22 low. When I ran the 400, I tried to run the first 200 meters at about 24 seconds and then just truck the last 200 with whatever I had left. Not great scientific advice, but that's what I did. Usually got me under 50. But it depends on what kind of raw speed you have.

You REALLY should be getting this from your coach. But...

Every event longer than 60 is, to some extent, an endurance contest. That is, 60 is as long as you can run all-out without your speed tailing off. It depends somewhat on how much speed you have and how much endurance, but for most sprinters, the best 200 time is run by holding back 0.5 second from your best 100 time in the first half of the race, and the best 400 time is run by holding back 1 second or so from your best 200 in the first half of the race. You can see this if you check Michael Johnson's WR splits. So, you have to learn to hold back somewhat in the first half of the race, when the natural tendency is to do exactly the opposite.

Many people these days race 400 (Clyde Hart's 4 P's) as follows: Run the first 80 almost as fast as possible; PACE the next 120 (don't try to accelerate) until the 200 line; Smoothly accelerate in the next 100 to POSITION yourself for the final sprint, and give whatever you have in the final 100. It helps to know your best 200 time (present time, not your PR) for training purposes, and you can project your 400 time goal as double your 200 time plus 4 seconds. Once you know this, you can place one or more cones on the track to practice goal pace for the 400, and run the first half of the race exactly on pace, so you know what it feels like on race day.

You usually run the last 200m 3 seconds slower than the first. So if you wanna run 50 you would more than likely run 23.5/26.5. If you run say, 44.57, you'd run 21.08/23.49.

and you want to make sure those first 60 meters or so are run a little faster than the next 140 meters, because your body is using a different energy system in the first 5-6 seconds of a race at that speed.

"Speed Kills" gave you some very good info. While MOST guys give up 3 seconds in the second 200, GREAT 400 guys, like MJ, give up 1.5-2 sec. max (check the pacingof his records). The trickiest part to learn is that transition from full throttle the first 80m to "relaxed sprint" down the back straight. Experience and good coaching are the key. If you are passing lots of dead meat down the final 100m, you are running it well.

Run all-out for 400 meters. Guys like me with 27. 200 speed go 28./28. to finish at :57. My best 100m is something like a flying start 12.8. I'm sloooooooow.

Obvious Guy wrote:

Run all-out for 400 meters. Guys like me with 27. 200 speed go 28./28. to finish at :57. My best 100m is something like a flying start 12.8. I'm sloooooooow.

...which is why you shouldn't be advising a sprinter how to run the 4. If a sprinter tries to run "all-out" the whole way, they won't finish. They have to learn to run rhythm and pace- yes, even though it's "only" one lap.

Agreed. Sprinters can't "go all out" in a 400. They would end up walking at about 300 meters. Asking a sprinter "Why can't you just go all out the whole 400?" is like asking a distance runner "Why can't you just run a sub 11 100m?"

I would be interested as to what the original poster's 200m speed is. If you top out at about the mid to high 20's, you would probably be wise to move up to a longer event than the 400m.

6-7 second exceleration run at speed till the 200 mark and then see what your made of. helped me alot I ran 46

any thought for pacing yourself should be gone by 150m to go, from there is usually where I start to give it everything, get some momentum comin upto the final straight, pass a few tiring sprinters and break their hearts ;)

For Speed Kills:

You mention Clyde Hart's 4 P's. I can see PACE and POSITION. What are the other two?

Thanks.