would this be the worst lane since you you have a false sense of where you stand inthe pack, and you cant see inner lane runners?
What is the best way to run it?
How about the inside lane?
Run it the same way you would the mile relay if you were in the lead. I know that it is easier on one of the inside lanes because you see other runners, but if you consistently win races by large margains, you don’t see anyone for very long. In other words, run your own race. You can’t always control the lane you get. It boils down to the mind set you put yourself in. Remember that Angelo Taylor won the hurdles in lane 1 which isn’t a desirable lane either.
excellent! thank you!
At last year’s US Olympic Trials in the 400, Otis Harris was able to get 2nd and qualify for the US team from lane 8 by running all out.
Also Jeremy Wariner in the first heat of the Olympics was in lane 8 and he easily won his heat. But that was against weaker competition.
Are the PR’s listed on your bio your’s…Sorry your screen name threw me off. Wasn’t sure if you are the athlete or your son.
My fastest open 400 ever was run in lane 9 believe it or not. I got out hard and ran my own race. I only saw one person in front of me in lane 7 the whole time until about 300m, then I passed him… I ended up 3rd in that race so it was obviously the strength portion that I was lacking in to finish, I believe lane 4 and 5 came up to close on me at the end… But yeah point goes, lanes can get to a 200/400 runners head, but run your race and you’ll be fine.
You can run well from anywhere but you’d like to have inner lanes for the heats in order to conserve energy and avoid overqualifying
I am coaching my son; they’re his pr’s.
with a hamstring inj, he missed half the season and was able to q for state meet (this thurs). His 400 times are a few sec off the top quartermilers, but it was the same last year; he rises to the competition, and we havent been on a fast track yet. His pr so far; 52.4 (?) - last year same; at states he ran 50.7 in trials and 49.63 to win.
since he is low, he could probably draw an inner or outer lane. I figure he will know what todo with inner as he see everyone. he never ran outside yet.
we had private consult with CF the last 6weeks; running rehab sched, and ART treatments.
If he follows Charlie’s protocols along with the ART, he will do fine. I wish him luck and keep us updated on his performance. Is he a senior?
yes he’s senior.
I recomend CF consult to all; especially if hampered with inj., if you need expert advice.
we came back from a grade 2 strain and with CF emailing the routines we kept up conditioning and were able to apply spec. workouts to optimize a good showing for last 3-4weeks of season.
All the lanes are 400 meters, so it doesn’t matter except that you may be able to conserve some energy on the inside lanes where you can see the competition. When you are in a final, and running at your maximal pace, it shouldn’t matter as much, but I’ll grant you that it’s harder to run relaxed when everyone is chasing you. Regardless, you have to run your own race as you plan it – at the pace you are training for. Sometimes, if you pay too much to the others in the race, you may lose some focus and end up running a faster or slower pace than appropriate. If you’re looking for outside lane positives, the gentler curve is one of them, which may allow for more efficient running in the turns. The other may be fewer distractions, enabling you to run your own race.
This probably doesnt help much, but I’ve always enjoyed running in the outer lanes because I feel, psycologically, that I’m already winning the race and that it’s on the other runners to catch me. As far as the best way to run it, the drawback in having an outside lane is that you really have to know your race plan and be comfortable in sticking to it without seeing the pace everyone else is running at. In order to help with the race, it would probably be useful to establish target times he should be reaching at 200m and 300m in the race and having someone there with a stopwatch calling out the time so he knows if hes on target for his race whether he can see the other runners or not. In regards to the inside lane, just make sure that you dont get out too fast trying to make up ground, instead, focus on running relaxed and sticking to your race plan and then pass on the curve going into the last straight.
My feeling is that since the 400m is such a pace specific event it isn’t so much of an issue because you have probably been training to run such and such time and know and have practiced the splits you want to achieve. Therefore, all you have to do is execute and hope your time (i assume a p.b.) will bring you home out front.
Obviously you don’t want to run a pb in the heats - see others posts.
The outside lane isn’t so bad because at least it doesn’t cut your stride like lane 1. Plus you have to run your own race, at your own pace, as you practiced it, which is nice because it teaches dicipline.
As CF points out on the Van04 DVD (and I have believed for some time but could not articulate until I heard what he was saying) you want the athlete to perform the way you expect every time. When they are ready to win they will and when they arn’t they will at least match thier expectations.
This may not be the case if they are getting feedback as to thier position in the pack and are not experienced enough to know how to handle this information.
Joe hasnt had much 400 training experience this season; target pacing; due to injury;
In our case Joe on inner lane, might run his pace enough to position himself for the win, against unknown runners who may run faster than any previous competition, whereas on outside lane he will have to run a close to max fast pace to ensure placing; or risk having to adjust his pace which is problematic, if he finds he is being overtaken.
the scenario is trials… a consideration is this; if you getgood time you ensure a better lane in finals.
As people have stated before, its not ideal to be in the outside lane when qualifying.
If you do draw the outside lane, the only solution apart from running flat out is guessing what the rest of the field will run. Maybe you could try collecting information on your opponents - previous times etc. That way, once you know who is in your race you can look at the competition, where you rank, and plan a strategy from there.
I have a big spreadsheet of data like this in case a similar thing happens. However there are few runners in the UK of merit so it is probably more applicable in my situation.
All the lanes have drawbacks, but I think a well rehearsed race strategy would help.
Running in lane 1 may seem perfect for some, because you can see everyone, but sometimes it gives the illusion that you’re farther behind than you think. And you might work harder than you need to trying to catch up. And vice versa for lane 8.
I forgot the site, but there’s a list of all the best times run in the 200/400 for each lane. I think Michael Johnson owns most of them. I’ll try to find it.