I’m an 800 runner and run with quite an erect posture. I seem to be able to maintain my form generally well for most of the race but always in the last 100 of races when I go to pick up the effort and the race begins to hurt my form goes completely out the window. I start leaning back and my arms and legs start going out to the side causing me to lose a lot of forward momentum. My coach is trying to encourage me to get my shoulders in front of my body when I’m racing but I’m finding that difficult to maintain when I start becoming under pressure in races.
I was just wondering if there are any cues you guys could suggest to help with my form. Is it as simple as trying to lean forward or are there more subtle things I should be thinking of with my legs and pelvic position that could help to correct this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Intensive tempo with shorter recovery time while maintaing form.
Sometimes it helps to change the arm drive to a more forward arm swing than normal which moves the CG forward. you need to start the change in mechanics BEFORE you get into problems. If you normally notice the breakdown with 80m to go, start the change with 100 to 110m to go. Certainly, that’s the first step to take before making any training changes. If that fixes the issue, you can leave the rest alone.
Thanks for the tip. Will try it out during my next race!