Any tips on running curves? this has been an extremely weak part of my race and I am looking on ways to improve upon it.
Could curve running also be improved upon with core strength? Are you supposed to angle yur arm swing differently while running a turn?
thanks for you advice 
There should be quite some info on this, but anywayâŚ
âYou should not push too much in your stride. During a speed session, try a series of runs off the curve from the top, concentrating on keeping your arm in a little closer than usual, tilting your head slightly down and to the left. Keep the hands moving from face level to the hip, legs moving up and down and âstepping overâ âdonât push at allâ.
âThe start of the 200m must be maximal, whole controlledâ.
âThe old expression is âburn the turnâ, which is true, but perhaps not in the way it is commonly understood. The common instruction is to accelerate hard off the turn and this always appears to be the case when you see films of races, but appearances can be deceptive, since, as the athletes come off the curve, their true position minus the stagger becomes apparent. In reality, most of the damage has been done in the initial stages out of the blocks. The key to the 200m is to accelerate as strongly as possible up to approximately 45 to 50m, where top speed in the race will be achieved and then maintain that speed for as long as possible. The emphasis is on smooth, cyclic action, with the head tilted slightly down and to the left to help the athlete negotiate the turn. The arms are carried at 90 degrees at the elbow. No other adjustment should be necessary. Attempts to increase the pace or change the stride pattern on the edge of the turn are the reason for the vast majority of injuries in the 200m. At the very least, a change in mechanics at this point will carry the athlete to the outside of the lane causing him to travel an extra distanceâ.
CF, 2002 Forum Review, I believeâŚ
Hope it helps!
What about body position on the bendâŚ
some say attack it as a series of straights with left shoulder turned to the centre of the body whilst on the bend!!!
DON QUARRIE used to give that advice and he was the finest bend runner of his generation (or almost any other).
Re: the bend as it concerns 400m in particular, you may like to take a look at the most recent page on the âlactate thresholdâ threadâŚ
In Some quarters in Australia they are coaching this method but have dug this out from Charlie.
from 2002
âtry a series of runs off the curve concentrate on keeping your arm in a little closer than usual, tilting your head slightly down and to the left, keeps the hands moving from face level to hips, legs moving up and down and stepping over - dont push at allâ.
i am hoping charlie can clarify some of this but would??? the action of head slightly down and to the left cause the dropping of left hip?
Also how about running into the curves especially on an indoor track?
i never understood what dont push meant, i need explanations on that
Donât force the running. Let the speed come.
Donât overanalyse it, just give it a try. Youâll feel a difference right away. (This is for full-size track outdoors) When you biuld up gradually with this method, youâll find yourself building speed with ease. One key here is not to raise yor head up before youâre completely out of the corner, otherwise youâll drift out to the outside of the lane and waste distance.
Now what about indoor 200 meter tracks?
I was recently taught by my sprint coach on how to run the indoor track curves.
He had us running a series of cufves and he noticed that we all hugged the inside of the lane. He explained to me that by trying to hug the inside of the curve the whole way, Im expending alot of energy trying to stay on the inside. In conclusion to this statement, he taught me the method of âapexingâ the curve.
Basically, you start on teh outside of the lane and you start running intowards the inside. Once your foot hits the inside, you should start running back towards the outside(At this stage, youâll be halfway). Once u hit the oustide, you go for the inside once more time and come out touching the outside. By doing this, I found that I was able to relax more coming out of the turn and âslingshotâ so to say,a metre or so.
Can someone clarify if this method is correct?
Problem there is the turns are various with differing banking heights. If you get an outer lane on a banked track, you run like hell down the first bank- itâs too late if you wait to move on the flat, then run straight for the wall and let the banking take you through the turn. If you try to set up for the second corner, youâll end up straightening up and will find yourself sitting and losing your speed.
charlie you mentioned âOne key here is not to raise your head up before youâre completely out of the corner, otherwise youâll drift out to the outside of the lane and waste distanceâ
Q is this for the developing 200m sprinter one of the main faults in not being able to hold the turn???
and
âkeep legs moving up and down and dont pushâ & keep hands moving from face to hips"
Q
for the novice or developing 200m sprinter what is the best way to describe what they should be feeling with leg action and in the arm axction are you recommending shortened action on the bend behind the body???
1: Itâs prob the main reason.
2: Yes, the legs drive up and down.
charlie
have been working on your formula for bend running over the past few weeksâŚ
mixed success some athletes nailed it first time and found it easier to hold speed both on and off the bend then when they had the left shoulder turned out around the bendâŚ
but had problems with some of them shortening their stride to much when trying to get a feel for the up and down action of the legs.
but well keep at it and also can you pour some light on the âkeep hands moving from face level to hipsâ statement is this a shortened arm action aroud the bend???
Maybe the arm action is in too tight. I keep the arm action at right angles at the elbow on the way up and back to the hip. The arm action may open a bit more on the straight. I assume youâre talking about outdoor curves?? Iâm interested to hear how anyone feels energy-wise with this technique outdoors. I suspect youll find it more energy-efficient.
Indoors, you just run for the wall with as normal a stride as possible and you let the curve/banking take care of the rest.
yeah charlie definately working outdoors not much snow in australia this time of the year.
will let you know the feedback on the bend technique tomorrow when we test it out in a comp.
its our first real hit out of the season so bustin to see if what we have done has served them well.
Charlie
had our first hit out in a comp working under your 200m race model and bend running tech of head slightly down and to the left.
results
2 x 200m pbâs
1 x 200m season best
all 3 felt that it was the easiest bend they have ever run and that it felt to easy.
the arms tended to still come to far behind the body on the bend but something to work on in coming weeks.
even the 400m f, executed it well on the bottom bend and ran a 3 year pb in her first real race of the season.
Thatâs terrific! Glad to hear things are going well. Certainly, I found my 200m dropped bigtime when I started working on this. I think youâll find more to come in the near future.
charlie
i have a question in regards to coaching the hand from face to hip action on the bendâŚ
did you feel this restricted you when you first used that action.
and what cues did you feel made you get a feel for it