1/31/2017
Moving to the 800 ‐ Using Long Sprinters to Find Hidden Gems
GlenGardiner
Tosa EastHeadGirlsXC&Trackcoach
[email protected]
Hart Park Track Wauwatosa, WI
Track/CoachingResume
HighSchool:NorthBend,OR(‘89)
College:MarquetteUniversity‐ XCandTrack(‘94)
1996‐1997HeadGirlsTrackCoachMilwaukeeVincent
1998‐2011HeadBoysTrackCoachMilwaukeeVincent
2012‐2013Asst.GirlsCoachTosa East(Distance)
2014‐PresentHeadGirlsCoachTosa East
Alongsprinterthat
isusedtorunning
the400mis
already½way
there
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AlbertoJuantorena
1976MontrealOlympics
GoldMedal400mand800m
1977IAAFWorldCup
GoldMedal400mand800m
Originallya400mrunner
“Hiscoach,hadinitiallytrickedhiminto
tryingan800racebyconvincinghimthe
otherrunnersneededapacemaker.”
M.Sanrock
PR’s
400m44.26(LowaltitudeWRatthetime)
800m1:43.44(WRatthetime)
The800misgreat&WhymoreLongSprintersshouldtryit
 Aracethatrewardshardworkingathletesthatarenotseeingresultsinthesprintraces.
 Youdon’thavetobeadistancerunnertobegoodatit. Trainingdoesn'trequireyourunalot
ofmileage.
 The800misaracethatrequiresacombinationofspeedandendurance.
 Don’thavetobesuperfast.
 Itopensupanumberofeventpossibilitiesandcanrevealuntappedpotential.
 Theycanincorporatewhattheyalreadyknowaboutsprintingintothe800m
 Athletesthatcanaddthe800mtotheirlistofeventsgenerallyhaveabetterchanceat
success/PR’s/moreinvolvementontheteamthanathleteswithanarrowrangeofeventsthey
arecomfortablewith.
The800misaviableoptionforLongSprinters
 The800mreallyisasprint.
 Usethisinformationtoyour
advantagewhentalkingtoathletes.
 UseALOTofpositivereinforcement
whenpreparinganathletefora
moveuptothe800m.
 Manyathletesarenotusedto
gettingoutoftheireventcomfort
zones,especiallyiftheyarenew.
Talkupallthepositivesthatcome
withamoveuptothe800m.
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MikeCox”TheLongSprint‐Reclassifyingthe800m”
“Therunningcommunitygenerallyregardsthe800m,along
withthemile,astrack'smid‐distanceevents.This
perspectiveinfluencesboththeapproachtotrainingand
racingaswellashowtalentisfunneledforlongterm
development.”
“Recentresearchonmetabolicdistributionandpacing
strategieschallengesthisclassification.The800misan
extendedsprintsimilartothe400m,necessitatingarevision
ofracingandtrainingrecommendations…
TheLongSprintContinued…
…newerfindingsalsoillustratethatthecurrentclassification
systemofraceeventsassprint(100mto400m),mid‐distance
(800mto1600m/3k),anddistance(3k/5ktoMarathon)is
outdated.Ultimately,whenexpressedinrelativeterms,the
evidenceofstudies,utilizingAOD(accumulatedoxygen
deficit)inactualracescenarios,showthatthe800mraceis
nottrulyamiddle‐distanceevent;ratheritisanextended
sprint…researchofaerobicenergyreleaseinthe400mshows
itismuchmorecloselyrelatedtothe800mthanpreviously
acceptedwithinthecoachingcommunity”
Requirementsfor400/800arequitesimilar
RobDuffield , BrianDawson & CarmelGoodmanintheirarticle“Energysystem
contributionto400‐metreand800‐metretrackrunning”
“Theaerobic/anaerobicenergysystemcontribution(AODmethod)tothe400‐m
eventwascalculatedas41/59%(male)and45/55%(female).Forthe800‐mevent,
anincreasedaerobicinvolvementwasnotedwitha60/40%(male)and70/30%
(female)respectivecontribution.”
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Speed/Distance800mComparison
Jearl MilesClark800‐metersPR1:56.40.Clarkwasa400/800
specialist.She’sfollowedcloselyintherecordbooksbyMarySlaney,
an800/1500specialist,PR1:56.90.
PhoebeWright–lowmileage800mrunner‐ 1:58.22800mPR“There
aretwowaystothinkaboutthe800:botharecrazy.Youcan
brainwashyourselfintothinkingyou’renothurting,oryoucannotbe
delusional.Youcanacknowledgeyou’rehurtingbuttellyourselfyou
likeit.”
LongSprinterscanhavealotofsuccessinthe800m
CoachKenJakalski /LisleHS,Illinois
CoachingtheTwixter(800m)
 Recallingarivalcoach:“Therewasoneexception.Hetooksprintersnotfastenoughfor
his4×100andputtheminthe4×800and800.Iwassurprisedwiththeeffectivenessof
his4×800teamswithsprintersrunningthatevent.”
 AformerathleteofcoachJakalski’s:“Thisathletehadamazingversatilityandtalent.He
hadbeenaHersheyNationalYouthChampioninthe200.Asafreshman,hefinished18th
atthestatecrosscountrychampionships,clocking15:37forthreemiles.Thatspringhe
anchoredourstatechampionship4×400afterwinningthe400in49.15.Asasophomore,
hefinishedeighthinthestatecrosscountrychampionshipsin15:26.”
 Athleteasasophomorewonstatein400mand800m,wonstate4yearsinarowinthe400m.
 Timesatstatesophomoreyear:
800mPR1:56.79
400mPR48.38
Getallthecoachesonboard
• Gettinglongsprinterstotrythe800mwillonly
workifyouhaveeverycoachonboardastowhy
theyshouldtryitinthefirstplace.
• Ithelpstheteam!
• Ifmoreathleteshaveanichewheretheycan
succeedandhelptheteamithelpswithteam
moraleandchemistry
• Moreavenuesforscoringpoints.
• Bybringinglongsprintersupto800m,the
4x8and800mdon’thavetobeonlydistance
runnereventswhichallowsformoreflexibility
withdistancerunnerstoo.
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ReadytoMoveup?
400misagatewayevent
The400misameanstoanend
Allsprintersonmyteamwillruna4x4earlyintheyear,this
willgiveyoualotofinformationabouttheirpotentialasa
sprinterthatmightbeacandidatetomoveup.
It’sarelay,aloteasiertogetagrouptoruntogether
thanoneindividualplacedinthe400m
It’sattheendofthemeet(canbesoldasa“workout”)
Makeitanexpectationthateveryonewillcompetein
it.Eventheshortsprinters.
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HowtoIdentify800mrunners
Typesof800mRunners
 Sprinters‐Sometimesatoughsell,butcan
workifapproachedintherightway
 Maybes?‐ Newathlete,olderathletelooking
foraplacetofitin,areopentotryingnew
things,includingthe800m.
 Distance‐ Alreadyinthe“fold”‐Preachingto
theChoir.
The“Sprinter”
Inmyexperiencemanynewtrackathleteswilldescribe
themselvesasa“sprinter”,eveniftheydon'tknowwhatthat
actuallymeans.
Sprinter=Lessrunning(that’swhymanywanttodoit)
True,butnotreallyany“easier”ifdoneright
Thisisabigshocktosomenewrunners.
Ifapproachedaboutrunningthe800m,maysay
“it’stoohard”or“theywillnotbegoodatit”
The“Sprinter”Cont.
Youmayneedtowaituntiltheygetafewmeetsundertheir
beltbeforeyoucanhaveaninformeddiscussionwiththem
aboutwheretheirstrengthsmaylie.
Onceyouareafewmeetsintotheseasonlookfor
characteristicsthatwouldpairwellwiththerequirements
ofthe800m.
Newathletescomingfromasprintmentalitymighttake
someconvincingtogetoutoftheircomfortzoneandtrythe
800m.
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800m/LongSprintercandidatecharacteristics
 FAST&ATHLETIC
 4x4fast,butperhapsnot4x1fast?
 Youwillneedtodeterminewhatconstitutesas“fast”foryourteam.
 TeamRanks
 Isupforachallenge.Lookforhardworkersinthesprintgroup.
 Excelintempo/specialenduranceworkoutswithsprinters;especiallyattheendoflongerrepsor
sessions
 But,maynotenjoy:
 Longerrepsover400m
 Warmups/CoolDownslongerthan2laps
 Willneedtolearnpacing.Ittakestimeforanew800mrunnertounderstandinghowtoproperlyrunit.
 Usepacinginpracticeandmeetsplitstohelpathletesunderstandhowitworkstotheiradvantage.
TeamRankinSprintingEvents
Lookatyourathletesteamrankinthe55m,
100m,200m,and400m(relaysplitsincluded)
Identifyathletesthatarerankedhigherforthe
400m,thantheshortersprints.
Usuallyaeasiertoconvinceanathletewith
experiencerunningthe400m.
Timetofly.
That’swhytherearewingsontheshoes
Whenyouhavedecidedonathletesyouwould
liketohavetrythe800m,usethe4x800mas
awaytodoit.
Havesomeoldersprintersruna4x800mat
anearlymeetasawaytoshowyoungeronesit
isn’tsobad.
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TheMaybe’s
Startdiscussionswiththisgroupearlyinthe
seasonfornewathletes.
Returningathletescanbetalkedtopriortothe
startoftheseason.
Ifinterested,havethemadd20‐30minruns
3xaweekinadditiontotheirotheroffseason
trainingtohelpthempreparefor800m.
BeTrackTalkMultilingual
AccordingtoRonGrigg ofJacksonvilleUniversity,Beableto
speaktoathletesinanumberofways.
Speaklikea“sprintcoach”
Speaklikea“distancecoach”
Speakinwayswhichincorporateaspectsofboththesprint
anddistancecoachapproaches.
TrackTalk#2
Whentalkingtoasprinteror“maybe”athleteyouareconsidering
formovementuptothe800m,beabletodiscusssimilaritiesto
whattheyarealreadydoing.
Thiswouldincludehow“sprint‐like”workoutsareincorporated
into400/800mtraining.
EmphasizeyouareNOTmakingthemadistancerunner.
Althoughtheymayenduplikingthelongerracelater,don’t
makeitseemlikethishastobeapermanentthing.
400/800mtrainingdoesnot=distancerunner
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Soyougotthemontheline…
 Oncehooked,constantlyreinforce
thenew800mrunnersby
acknowledgingPR’s,howtheyare
helpingtheteam,etc…
 Manynew800mrunnerswillfind
theyhavetalentinaneventthey
wouldhaveneverconsidereduntil
giventheopportunity(andaslight
nudge).
Knowwhentofold‘em or… youcanleadarunnertothe
startingline,butyoucan’tmakethemdothe800m
Ifyouhavespentafewweekstryingtogetanathletetotrythe400m
 800manditdoesnotseemasiftheyarereadyforit,thenletthem
staywheretheyfeelcomfortable.
Youdon’twantathletestofeeloverlypressuredtomoveup.Wordof
thatwillgetpassedalongandyoumightgetlessbuyinlaterinthe
seasonorduringthenexttrackseason.
Thereisalwaysnextyear.Someathletesneedafullseasontogetthat
experienceofknowingwheretheyareontheteamandbeingopento
tryingnewthings.
400/800mWorkouts
 Showsimilaritiestosprinterworkouts.Addyourownwarm‐up/cooldownroutine.
 4x300mwith4minrest
 6x300w/2minrest@800m
 2sets(5x200)w/90sec&5minrestin‐betweensets@800paceandfaster(cutdown),“lastone
fastone”
 500w/4minrest,400w/3minrest,300w/2minrest200w/1minrest,100@800pace
 IuseMcMillanRunningWebsiteformanyofmypacecalculations,butthereareotherpace
calculatorsoutthere(Daniels,etc…).Youcanputina400mtimeandgetan800mpacefor
workouts.
 Italsohasapredictorwhichwouldallowyoutoshowarunnerifhe/sherunsa______400mtime,what
his/hertimemightbeforan800m.
 McMillanRunning
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“BlenderWorkout”– RonGrigg
5x30mfromstandingstartw/90secrest– simulatesstart
position&start
– Worksacceleration,topspeed.
5x150w/90secrest.1st100@800p,last50faster
Engrains800racepace– Works“changinggears”
8minrest;then1x300MAXEFFORT
Mentallysimulatesfinish
Trainsspecialendurance
Improvementshereshowoverall“fitness”gains
ThereismuchmoreinformationaboutthistopicthenI
couldpossiblysharetoday,checkouttheseresources.
• SarahBarker
• WhyThe800ComesDownToHuntersAndTheHunted
• MikeCox
• “TheLongSprint‐Reclassifyingthe800m”
• RobDuffield , BrianDawson & CarmelGoodman
• “Energysystemcontributionto400‐metreand800‐metretrackrunning”
• SteveGardiner
• “The800m”
• RonGrigg
• “Keystodevelopingthecombo400/800mrunner”
• KenJakalski
• CoachingtheTwixter:Howthe800BecameaSprintEvent
HappyHunting
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