CoachesEducation.com

I am under a new coach and school where the head coach feels the 400 meter runners can switch off with the 800 runners in workouts. I believe that an 800 person can come down to the sprints to work on some mechanics and speed training. However, I protest sending my 400 runners to heel-toe country.

Two years ago there was a 400 runner who did distance workouts from 400 up to two miles. He never ran under 50 seconds. Last year I took over sprints and he never ran over 600 meters in a workout but did lactic acid tolerance workouts along with speed training. He placed second in the state convincingly over third. He ran a personal best of 48.5 fully automatic. He could also run a 10.8 and 22.4 hand times. My two hundred meter runner never ran over 400 meters at a time. I believe if you train them like a distance runner they will run like one.

I do not want my 400 meter sprinters meddled with by 800 mechanics. There is so much to consider about how their race is run and how speed plays a strong role in the float phase and transition phases of the race.

There are sprint coaches that train only 400-meter runners and down and require the 400-meter runners to run the 800 meters in competition. This way the distance coach is off their back. When there is not much competition, sprint coaches will put their sprinters in the 800-meter race to give their athletes more opportunity and experience. The 800-meter runners should be trained with the sprint coach. This would eliminate conflict.

If the sprinter runs a good 800 time, the distance coach will say the sprinter can run the 800 meters. The decision will come down to whether or not the athlete wants to run the 800. If he wants to run the 800, you will still be coaching this athlete. It's all about opportunities for the athlete, not about control.

The sprint coaches I have talked to agreed the athlete could run the 800 meters. In high school it is almost necessary in order to find out the area of expertise and in which event the athlete will excel. It could take four years of high school for an athlete to discover their event, and it could take until they are in college. Sometimes high school is the training ground and college is where decisions are made.

Coach Payan
www.CoachesEducation.com