I need help with the transition between driving out of the blocks and running upright. I have problems achieving appropriate knee lift and correct posture at around the 40m mark after driving hard out of the blocks. I am able to achieve correct posture out of the blocks and running upright when trained separately, but not when together. What are the cues for training this aspect of the 100m. Thanks.
Bruny Surin one of the best 60m runners ever and a 9.84 100m sais a lot about a “relaxed” pick-up phase from the blocks. It’s not so easy to make a smooth transition when you’re running hard. This is for 2 reasons.
- you have an energy envelope to draw from over the 10 sec + period and if you use to much in the first 4 0r 5 secs u won’t have enough left
for the peak velocity stage, you’ll be struggling to reach it. - If u run hard you become kind of “locked in” to the groove, no good if you are trying to transition from one thing to another.
If u perhaps focus on graduall increase of “step over” once you’re 15-20m or so from the blocks, that may help. As your feet rise up under you they will encourage your body to become more upright without you having to force the lean, visa versa during the very early stages you don’t want your feet to step over at all so it should be graduall. Experiment.
Do a web search on Bruny Surin under Google search and type in words like acceleration or transition etc… see if you come across his version. Or maybe some of the big guns on this web site will chip in.
*) bear in mind you are not alone on this one, any sprinter can jump out of the blocks as if they’re about to go for a new olympic lift pb;
and even Ben Johnson’s fastest ever velocity was probably unmeasured in a 20m fly drill in training (not a complete 100m), and his energy envelope is unsurpassed.
It takes time and even the most elite sprinters often don’t pull of the transition to perfection.