Hey guys, this is sort of off topic I do a lot of sled pulls in the offseason, but the facility I use now doesn’t have any sleds, now either I buy one or do somethign else to replace that. I really like doing them and found them to be beneficial and I was wondering if any one knew where I could buy one (online)?
Isorobic exerciser perhaps?
jov_jov, get an old, big tire (free) and piece of strong rope (less than $5.00 US). Tie it to a weight belt and walk outside. If all you need is resistance why do you need a nice, shiny, red sleigh?
Thomas
Maybe just put your car into nuetral and push it… A big thumping car tyre does not compare to a sled. A sled is smooth and controlling. A car tyre bounces and the resistance is strong, easy, strong, easy.
When doing resisted runs with sleds for acceleration devel. it is most benificial for it to slow you down no more than 10%. Im not so sure anyone can pull an automobile that fast if developing accel. was in fact the goal. That is a good idea for max strength perhaps although itll look very funny to people passing by.
boldwarrior, run on grass with a long rope. The tire works. Some sleds shift side to side at the start. Almost everything is going to “not be smooth” unless it has wheels and is on rails.
Another suggestion:
Tire-tube filled with sand, attached to a rope around your waist.
The downside of these is that resistance decreases as your speed increases.
The device listed by Quick and recommended by Charlie is the answer to this…
Could you not do resistance work with a harness?
have a partner or trainer apply the required resistance. might not be as consistant and exact as a weight sled, ‘but hey’, Who gives a monkeys! You’ll be working and at least you’ll get something out of it. 
this might relate to surface, length of rope and/or your technique while running and it might tell you something about it actually…
I made my own sled, very easy. Have never had it slop side to side. Maybe a tyre on a tartan track might glide smooth?? No idea. A lot of footy guys around here use a tyre, they hate it, hard to start, bounces, carries on. Whereas a sled, very cheap and easy to build, long rope, a gym belt around your gut as a harness - maybe just my harness and the other harness i have used - tend to want to convert the males to females!! lol. A gym belt is thick, solid and very controlling of the sled.
Or just use a hill
Easier to find, costs less and form is closer to reality.
Different usage for different results.
up to what distance would you use a sled? 30, 60m? longer?
Charlie?
i can give an example of an international athlete in terms of distances and resistance, but i am just curious to see what you think! as always…
thanks!
Bump that. 5m? 10m?
lol, was just being crazy. And hey, maybe somebody might pull over and give you a hand to push it???
i was also thinking along the acceleration zone -for the athlete- but a friend of mine is using it for 60 and even 100m! his resistance is ok (5kg) as the reduction in time is ~8%, but 100m?
i wonder how this helps him!
Charlie, any comments on this?
PS i wouldn’t argue with his times (10:17/20:49? a couple of seasons ago; 20:60 in Athens)
i was training for the 400m and needed extra strength to last the distance. I was incorperating 200m at 15kg pulls. Now that kills. but each wk, i was able to go further and further before i would slow dramaticaly. The pure running strength i got from that was amazing. Made running a normal 200m feal so easy. So, 100m sled pull when training for a 200m, i would for sure use it myself purelly for the extra strength it gives you to last the 200m. But as for acceleration or top speed, i would do something different than that for sure.
interesting, thanks!
i was just thinking of technique issues here, or specifically for this athlete, despite his level and times; i am not saying it can’t be done, if progressed correctly -no deterioration in both technique and times more than the benchmark of 10%- but i was a bit surprised, i have to say…
PS how did you manage 200m? it must have been a looong track… 
I worked up from, 80m - 120m - 140m - 180m - 200m. I still was dieing in the last 20m when i started the 200m but was able to get that down to around 7-5m before i died. You have to be very carefull, very strong and fit. Last time i did it, i got dehydrated and almost passed out. That was more of a lack of water thing than a sled thing. Its all progressive. technique was pretty good up untill the last 5-20m during the 200 when fatigue set heavily in. Actually the hardese thing was technique. untill you practive over short distances with perfect technique, you will find that you can go faster with poor technique!!! Keep the knees up, keep tripple extending and keep the posture upright so the feet land under cetre of gravity. Its harder untill you get strong enough then it becomes easier then you handle longer and longer distances. But, that was 400m training, would be good 800m training too. I would if training for a 100m, keep distances down to possably 20m as it becomes more of an accelleration issue i believe.