The mile... what a pain,ehh?

Question

if im running on a 400 meter track at what point do i start sprinting on the last lap...im running the mile and 4x4 monday

Answer 1

I always find it is helpful to kick at some undetermined point.  If you are strictly looking to beat people, the idea is to blow past them.  If you are only going slightly faster than them they will try to hold on and you will have to fight.  If you speed past them and create separation they will let you go.  Too many people decide to kick at 100m to go.  If both competitors kick with 100m to go, they will stick together and it will be a dogfight til the end.  If you blow past them with 140m or 150m to go, you will surprise them, they will be unprepared and they will not challenge you.

If I am feeling strong I usually kick at 220-230m to go.  This creates the separation early.  If I am struggling but have some kick left in me I will start at about 140m to go.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

im a runner too but long distance but i know everything about running. when you start out on the first 200 meters you should be running about 85 percent to 90 percent. then on the last 200 meters go as fast you can go. if your a sprinter you should feel like you cant run another lap like your ready to fall over but if your distance you should be able to run another lap or two.

Answer 3

Depends on your skills vs those of your competitors.  

Strong endurance but no kick: Go out hard and try to hurt everyone bad early

Strong kick: Sit back on the shoulder of the strongest runner, then go sometime on the last backstretch.

Answer 4

It truly depends on your energy left. It's different for everybody and every race. You'll have the instincts to know how much you've got left, and you should listen to them. However, if you don't trust your instincts, try sprinting with 150 meters left if you would've thought it'd be 100 meters. For the 800M (I know you said 1600M), I personally just speed up somewhat on the second and final lap, and then kicking it up another gear at the 200M mark, a little slower than my fastest. When I feel like it, I kick up to the final gears and push all the way. That's a good method too, and it's similar to a good method for the 1600M if you change the idea of the second lap to the fourth.

Answer 5

It depends on the race and at what point your other competitors are running. If you can speed up for the first 200 meters and the next 200 meters go all out. If you are behind and you are capable of it, just try to sprint the entire lap or at least a fairly fast pace. It all depends on how the race unfolds.

Answer 6

i sprint the whole 400

but in the beginning i used to run the curves sprint the straight aways and that always got me ahead of people=for the 400

Answer 7

I run the 4 X 400 every meet, and heres what i do. I sprint at about the last 100-150 meters. Make sure that you give it your all and good luck!

As the person said above me, don't start out hard early, because by the end, you will be exhausted.