Sprinting

The sprints include the following track events: 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 4 x 100 meter relay and the 4 x 400 metre relay. Although the sprints are events in themselves, the ability to sprint is an important weapon in an athlete's armoury for many track and field events and many sports.

Sprint Technique

Guidance on the sprint technique takes the form of a checklist, for each phase of the sprint, of points for the coach to monitor. The information provided here is for athletes using starting blocks. Pre race start

• Blocks correctly positioned in the lane (200 metres/400 metres at a tangent to the curve)
• Correct distances from the start line to the front and rear blocks
• Foot blocks at the correct angles
• Blocks firmly located in the track
• Athlete relaxed and focused on the race

On your marks

• Feet correctly located in the blocks
• Fingers behind the line
• Fingers form a high bridge
• Hands evenly positioned slightly wider than shoulder width
• Shoulders back and vertically above or slightly forward of the hands
• Arms straight but not locked at the elbows
• Head and neck in line with the spine
• Eyes focused on the track (1 to 2 metres ahead)
• Gentle breathing
• Face and neck muscles relaxed

Set

• Hold the breath
• Hips rise slowly to a position above the shoulders
• Head and neck in line with the spine
• Eyes focused on the track one or two metres ahead
• Shoulders vertically above or slightly forward of the hands
• Front leg knee angle approx. 90 degrees
• Rear leg knee angle approx. 120 degrees
• Feet pushed hard back into the blocks

B of the Bang

• Exhale
• Drive the arms hard
• Extend the whole body so there is a straight line through the head, spine and extended rear leg - body approx. 45 degree angle to the ground
• Eyes Focused on the track 2 to 3 metres
• Run out of the blocks - do not step or jump out of the blocks

Drive Phase (0-30m)

• Drive the back leg forward keeping the heel low until the shin is approx 45° to the ground and then drive the foot down (see picture to the right) hitting the ground just behind the body's centre of mass
• Over the next 7-8 strides (approx. 10 metres) the angle of shin of the front leg, before it is driven down, will increase by 6-7°/stride so that by the 7-8 stride the shin is vertical
• Over the first 7-8 strides the whole body angle will increase from 45° to approx. 30° degrees - approx. 2°/step
• After the first 7-8 strides you will be at approx.70% of your max velocity
• Eyes focused on the track to keep low to allow the build up of speed
• Forward lean of the whole body with a straight line through the head, spine and extended rear leg
• Face and neck muscles relaxed (no tension)
• Shoulders held back and relaxed, square in the lane at all times
• Arms move with a smooth forward backward action - not across the body - drive back with elbows - hands move from approx. shoulder height to hips
• Elbows maintained at 90 degrees (angle between upper and lower arm)
• Hands Relaxed - fingers loosely curled - thumb uppermost
• Legs - fully extended rear leg pushing off the track with the toes - drive the leg forward with a high knee action with the knee pointing forward and with the heel striking under the backside (not the back of the backside as the knee is low and pointing down to the ground) - extend lower leg forward of knee (rear leg drive will propel the foot forward of the knee) with toes turned up - drive the foot down in a claw action with a ball of foot/toe strike on the track vertically below the knee - pull the ground under you into a full rear leg extension - (elbow drive assisting the whole action)
• On the ball of foot/toes at all times - feet pointing forward straight down the lane
• Elbow drive commences just before rear leg drive
• Fast leg action, good stride length allowing continual acceleration
• Appearance of being smooth and relaxed but driving hard with elbows and legs
• The drive is maintained for first 20-30 metres (approx.16-17 strides) at the end of which the body is tall with a slight forward lean
• At the end of this phase you will be at approx. 90% of your max velocity

Stride Phase (30-60m)

• Smooth transitions from drive phase to stride phase
• Eyes focused at the end of the lane - tunnel vision
• Head in line with the spine - held high and square
• Face relaxed - jelly jaw - no tension - mouth relaxed
• Chin down, not out
• Shoulders held down (long neck), back (not hunched), relaxed and square in the lane at all times
• Smooth forward backward action of the arms- not across the body - drive back with elbows - brush vest with elbows - hands move from shoulder height to hips for men and from bust height to hips for the ladies
• Elbows held at 90 degrees at all times (angle between upper arm and lower arm)
• Hands relaxed - fingers loosely curled - thumb uppermost
• Hips tucked under - slight forward rotation of the hip with forward leg drive to help extend the stride
• Legs - fully extended rear leg pushing off the track with the toes - drive the leg forward with a high knee action with the knee pointing forward and with the heel striking under the backside (not the back of the backside as the knee is low and pointing down to the ground) - extend lower leg forward of knee (rear leg drive will propel the foot forward of the knee) with toes turned up, stepping over the knee of the lead leg - drive the foot down in a claw action with a ball of foot/toe strike on the track just behind the body's centre of mass - pull the ground under you into a full rear leg extension - (elbow drive assisting the whole action)
• On the ball of foot/toes with the feet pointing forward straight down the lane
• No signs of straining or tension in the face, neck and shoulders
• Appearance of being Tall, Relaxed and Smooth with maximum Drive
• At or close to the end of this phase you will have reached your max velocity

Lift Phase (60m+)

Around 50-60 metres we will have reached max velocity and now we start to slow down. Technique as the Stride Phase but with emphasis on:

• High knee action (prancing)
• Leg action fast and light as if running on hot surface
• Fast arms - more urgency
• Hands slightly higher at the front

Coaching Notes

As you monitor the athlete's technique look for:

• a Tall action
  • This means erect, running on the ball of foot/toes (not heels) with full extension of the back, hips and legs as opposed to 'sitting down' when running
• a Relaxed action
  • This means move easily, as opposed to tensing and 'working hard' to move. Let the movements of running flow. Keep the hands relaxed, the shoulders low and the arm swing rhythmically by the sides.
• a Smooth action
  • This means float across the top of the ground. All motion should be forward, not up and down. Leg action should be efficient and rhythmic. The legs should move easily under the body like a wheel rolling smoothly along.
• Drive
  • This means push from an extended rear leg, rear elbow drive with a high forward knee drive followed by a strike and claw foot action just behind the body's centre of gravity.

Sprint Starts

Canadian researchers investigated the relationship between sprint start performance and selected conditioning training. When a sprinter leaves the blocks, the drive against the blocks and the first few steps rely on concentric muscular strength. A concentric muscle contraction occurs when a muscle shortens as it contracts. [Eur J Appl Physiol., 2004 Jan; 91(1):46-52]

A squat jump is an example of concentric muscle contraction which simulates the sprint start. 4 sets of 3 repetitions with a loading of 30-70% of 1RM can be used to develop maximal concentric force. Lower into the squat position, hold for 1 to 2 seconds so as switch off the stretch/reflex, stretch/shortening cycle and to allow for a more powerful contraction. Developing concentric muscle contraction will help the athlete's sprint start and acceleration over the first 4 or 5 strides.

Right foot forward or left?

A question often asked with regards starting blocks is "which foot should be in the rear block?" A team of researchers discovered that when the:

• left foot was in the rear block, reaction time was better
• right foot was in the rear block movement and total response time was better - time from stimulus (gun) until the end of the movement

The results suggest that the right foot in the rear block will produce a more powerful drive from the blocks. [Acta Psychol (Amst) 2008, Feb;127(2): 495-500]

Perhaps a way forward would be to evaluate the athlete's times over the first ten metres, for both start positions, to determine which produces the best acceleration phase for the athlete.

Stride Length

The initial foot strike out of the blocks should be around 50-60cm from the start line. The stride length should then progressively increase on each stride by 10-15cm until they reach their optimal stride length of around 2.30 metres.

If the athlete lands at 50cm from the start line and increases their stride length by 10cm/stride then they will reach their optimal stride length around their 19th stride - approx 26m from the start line. If they were able to maintain their 2.30m stride length then they would cross the finish line on their 51st stride.

If the athlete lands at 60cm from the start line and increases their stride length by 15cm/stride then they will reach their optimal stride length around their 13th stride - approx. 20m from the start line. If they were able to maintain their 2.30m stride length then they would cross the finish line on their 49th stride.

Rehearsal of this acceleration phase should be conducted regularly. Markers can be placed at the side of the track to assist the athlete to get the feel of the increasing stride length and acceleration. The marker settings for an athlete who lands at 60cm from the start line and then increases their stride length by 15cm/stride are as follows: 0.60m, 1.35m, 2.25m, 3.30m, 4.50m, 5.85m, 7.35m, 9.00m, 10.80m, 12.75m, 14.85m, 17.10m. [Saunders, R. (2004) "Five components of the 100m sprint", Modern Athlete and Coach (42,4)]

Acceleration Training

Greek researchers looked at weighted sledge training and their effect on sprint acceleration and they concluded that training with a weighted sledge will help improve the athlete's acceleration phase. The session used in the research was 4 x 20m and 4 x 50m maximal effort runs. [J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 2005 Sep;45(3):284-90]

Australian researchers investigated the effects of various loadings and concluded that when using a sledge a light weight of approx. 10-15% of body weight should be used so that the dynamics of the acceleration technique are not negatively effected. [Strength Cond Res., 2003 Nov;17(4):760-7]

Starts over 10-20 metres performed on a slight incline of around five degrees have an important conditioning effect on the calf, thigh and hip muscles (they have to work harder because of the incline to produce movement) that will improve sprint acceleration.

Sprinting Speed

Downhill sprinting is a method of developing sprinting speed following the acceleration phase. A hill with a maximum of a 15° decline is most suitable. Use 40 metres to 60 metres to build up to full speed and then maintain the speed for a further 30 metres. A session could comprise of 2 to 3 sets of 3 to 6 repetitions. The difficulty with this method is to find a suitable hill with a safe surface.

Over speed work could be carried out on the track when there are prevailing strong winds - run with the wind behind you.

It is important that each ground contact (approx. 1/10 of a second) is made as dynamically as possible. Bounding, hopping and depth jumps from low heights (40cm) can play a role in speeding up ground contact times, triggering the appropriate neural pathways and recruiting fast twitch muscle fibres. Example sessions for a mature athlete are:

• 4 x 10 bounds with a 20m run out
• 4 x 10 speed hops
• Depth jumps off 40cm box:

  4 x 4 step off, land and jump for height
  4 x 4 step off, land and jump for distance

Repetitions, sets and recovery should be adjusted so as to focus on the quality of execution not quantity of executions.

Training Programs

A training program has to be developed to meet the individual needs of the athlete and take into consideration many factors: gender, age, strengths, weaknesses, objectives, training facilities etc. As all athletes have different needs, a single program suitable for all athletes is not possible.