is there a difference in the way you would train a male 100m runner vs. female 100m runner? how about a male 400m runner vs. a female 400m runner. Does age make a difference in this equation? I though i read a post in the old archive that said that female 400m runners should train more like short sprinters? Is there any truth to this or am i way off?
Charlie has stated previously that female 100m sprinters may benfit from additional ‘strength’ work (in the 400m sense). Flo Jo and Marion Jones were two examples cited of 100m athletes with excellent 400m times…
As far i’m concerned, i think training shall adapt to athlete’s abilities, and not the opposite.
It’s evident that you can’t train the same way such different sprinters like Thánou and Jones, Freeman and Guevara.
Thánou and Freeman have a “speed” profile for their respective events, while Jones and Guevara have an endurance profile (able to produce fast times at 400m or 800m).
About difference between male and female, statistics show that specific speed endurance is more important for women than for men for sprint events.
Don’t forget also that a women’s 100m is longer than a men’ 100m (11sec vs 10sec), as well as 400m (45sec vs 50sec), etc… This small difference is important!
Would beginners / slower men benefit from more SE ?
How would you fit it into a program ?