440 yard dash (400 meters)

[Meyers20]

I run sprints, 100m and 200m.

but, my varsity event is on saturday and i'll be gone, so i'm running in the JV.

i get the awesome luck to run the 40 yard dash and the 440 yard dash, which pretty much sums up to 400 meters.

4 1/2 laps around the track.

how do i run it? i have never been timed in it, but i can almost guarantee i'm under a minute.

please help!

[mccoy19]

Start out fast for the first 50 meters.... cruise at a fast pace for 250 meters... and that final stretch is what i like to call hell.... you just give it whatever you have left.

[Diskd]

the 400m is a sprint, go balls to the wall and hopefully you have some great conditioning under your belt to not collapse in the last 50m

seriously though, great 400m runners maintain almost their 200m speed for the entire thing....their speed barely changes

400m is a sprint....not a distance event!

[Diskd]

if this is your first one just stay behind the lead pack for the first 1/4th of the race and see if you can maintain with them...since your a 100m runner as well see if you can blow past them for a final burst

this isnt a traditional way of running this race...might be a concept for you though since you dont have a feel for it yet

[flipnch1nese7]

the 400m is a sprint, go balls to the wall and hopefully you have some great conditioning under your belt to not collapse in the last 50m

seriously though, great 400m runners maintain almost their 200m speed for the entire thing....their speed barely changes

400m is a sprint....not a distance event!

That's not true about maintaining their 200m speed - even the most elite 400m runners will often positive split by about 2 seconds per 200.

The most anyone can physiologically sprint all-out for, non-stop, is right around 300m.

As for race strategy, you should go out fairly hard for the first 50-100m, what happens is your body has a little bit of free energy sitting around that gets used up in quick time no matter what, so just use it. Don't slow down much through the 200m, but you should be cruising - keeping good form and not exerting yourself to the wall. Don't let yourself fall behind your other competitors here either, though, unless they're on a different level or are racing stupid. 200-300 think about bringing up the sprint and preparing for the final dash, and the last 100 is all you've got left. No matter what the last 100m is all about guts.

Where are you living that runs the 40 in a track meet? Haven't seen 440y races in a while, either!

[Baccaga]

When I was in HS, I did track my senior year in the Spring as something to do (I was All-America in soccer so it's not like I didn't have an athletic background but had never really run competitively before). The first time I ran the 400m I was around 56 seconds... had no idea how to run it and started way too slow (I was 3 seconds faster in the last 200 m with respect to the first 200)... by the end of the track season, which was less than 3 months later, I believe I had my best time under 50 seconds. No Jeremy Wariner, but I guess I could have been pretty decent at this event but didn't run it again after HS; I went to college on a soccer scholarship.

Anyway, enough of the background... what I wanted to ultimately get at above is that the 400 - in my opinion - is not only the most difficult of all track competitions, but requires the most knowledge to run it correctly. It's not like I got significantly faster in 3 months but I did manage to drop my time by 6 seconds. Yes, the event is a sprint, but not an all-out sprint. If you go too hard in the first 200, you're going to lose double that amount in the last 200. My strategy was to do the first 200 at 90-95%, and then bust out with everything once hitting the curve for the last 200, making sure to use your arms to pump your body through. I remember a couple of times trying to go all out at the beginning and my first 200 splits were always fast, but I never had anything for the final push.

Again, it's been more than 10 years since I ran this event but hopefully it can be of some insight to you. Good luck...

[jscottdavis]

Meyers, for the 440, my best times have come by going "hardcore all out" right from the start and gritting my teeth for a final sprint to the finish. Good luck!

[.J.]

i ran the 400m in high school, and managed to win the state championship, heres how I ran it. the first 100m run about 95% then the next 100m you want to get a good cruising speed with long strides at about 90%. Once I hit the final 200m mark go balls to the wall to the end. Grab a good lane if you can, and make sure to use biiiiiiig strides. my best time was 49.7 with laser timing.

[aLLsKiLLz20]

I sprint the first 200, about 90% pace till about the 280 mark,m then balls to the wall.

[j2thecup]

J you must live in a very unathletic state to win state with a 49.7 or must be really old...

[maverick000]

J you must live in a very unathletic state to win state with a 49.7 or must be really old...

dude there are a lot of estat folks on this board, he is being straight up about his time and that is actually good enough to get into the state finals in california which is like hte most competitive track state, so uh don't talk down to the guy, anyone running under 50 is good enough to run in college. everyone just bashes people on here, its sad.

[Diskd]

i was a distance runner in HS and my best 400 was 53 (pretty bad)...so my advice came from a guy whos sprint was his 400 speed for the entire thing (lol)

im gonna disagree with Baccaga and say the 800m was the hardest race to run though!

[flipnch1nese7]

dude there are a lot of estat folks on this board, he is being straight up about his time and that is actually good enough to get into the state finals in california which is like hte most competitive track state, so uh don't talk down to the guy, anyone running under 50 is good enough to run in college. everyone just bashes people on here, its sad.

Running sub-50 is extremely respectable, and good enough to run many places, but it is not enough to get into the state finals in California.

Only nine qualify to state finals, out of all divisions (in 2008):
1 Hughes, Joey 12 Poly (Lb)/Ss 46.28 10
2 Dillihunt, Leon 10 Dominguez/ss 46.60 8
3 Walker, Duane 12 Compton /ss 47.05 6
4 Reaves, Nico 12 Lincoln/sd 47.20 4
5 Winfield, Josh 12 Deer Vlly/nc 47.76 2
6 Dawson, Brandon 12 Fairfield/sj 47.94 1
7 Watley, Mark 12 Crespi/ss 48.03
8 Hester, Aaron 12 Dominguez/ss 48.13
9 Stoner, Zach 12 Yreka/no 48.35

Furthermore, all but one of the last three had dipped into the 47's before, but racing through the state meet requires a series of races with little rest - state prelims is the day before. To just get out of the Southern Section (toughest and largest in the state, especially for sprints) took something in the 48's.

It's very respectable and might get to state finals in a random division and a smaller state.

i was a distance runner in HS and my best 400 was 53 (pretty bad)...so my advice came from a guy whos sprint was his 400 speed for the entire thing (lol)

im gonna disagree with Baccaga and say the 800m was the hardest race to run though!

haha yeah I was a distance runner, too! Ran the 400/800/1600 but I did our 4x400's, but got my speed from mileage/intervals.

[Baccaga]

i was a distance runner in HS and my best 400 was 53 (pretty bad)...so my advice came from a guy whos sprint was his 400 speed for the entire thing (lol)

im gonna disagree with Baccaga and say the 800m was the hardest race to run though!

In my opinion the 800m comes in a close second. I ran the 200 (as in the 4x200 relay though...), the 400, and the 800. The question between whether the 400 or the 800 is more difficult is a matter of what type of pain you prefer, I guess. It's analogous to asking whether benching 400 pounds or squatting 600 is more difficult; some people will respond the former while others the latter. Either way, you're going to suffer.

[Meyers20]

hey guys, thanks for all your knowledge, i'll rep as much as i can.

I'm a sophomore and was running against seniors, it was hell.
but i got ninth in the 40, second from my school, first in my heat.
and i got ninth in the 440, third from my school (1:04)
fastest was 00:59 and he was a beast, the timings were quite off if you ask me though.

and the fastest in the 40 was a 4.8 by a kid who ran a 4.4 in football season.
i got a 5.09 and i ran a 4.8 in football, so the times were fluxuating a bit.

but, holy balls, i was seeing stars after i got done running the 440. i sprinted the first lap around the track, than dropped from 100% to 85% and tried keeping that pace for the rest.. but on the last corner and the last stretch, i couldn't feel my legs or my hips, it was kinda hilarious cause i felt like i was completely wasted or something.
i took second in my heat against the guy who won it.

[flipnch1nese7]

In my opinion the 800m comes in a close second. I ran the 200 (as in the 4x200 relay though...), the 400, and the 800. The question between whether the 400 or the 800 is more difficult is a matter of what type of pain you prefer, I guess. It's analogous to asking whether benching 400 pounds or squatting 600 is more difficult; some people will respond the former while others the latter. Either way, you're going to suffer.

Yeah, most definitely! The 800's its own monster, because if you run it right no matter what you'll have serious lactic acid buildup going into the second lap (into the third if indoor). It's all about gutting it out and getting into position.

Both of them are incredibly tough events.

hey guys, thanks for all your knowledge, i'll rep as much as i can.

I'm a sophomore and was running against seniors, it was hell.
but i got ninth in the 40, second from my school, first in my heat.
and i got ninth in the 440, third from my school (1:04)
fastest was 00:59 and he was a beast, the timings were quite off if you ask me though.

and the fastest in the 40 was a 4.8 by a kid who ran a 4.4 in football season.
i got a 5.09 and i ran a 4.8 in football, so the times were fluxuating a bit.

but, holy balls, i was seeing stars after i got done running the 440. i sprinted the first lap around the track, than dropped from 100% to 85% and tried keeping that pace for the rest.. but on the last corner and the last stretch, i couldn't feel my legs or my hips, it was kinda hilarious cause i felt like i was completely wasted or something.
i took second in my heat against the guy who won it.

hey don't worry about it! you run it a few more times and your times will drop naturally from the race experience. probably wasn't a great idea to drop the effort into the second lap, you shouldn't be sprinting all out the first (key word cruising), but glad you ran it.

You'll definitely be feeling wasted a little bit more haha! Trust me we all know what that feels like!

[Meyers20]

[QUOTE=

hey don't worry about it! you run it a few more times and your times will drop naturally from the race experience. probably wasn't a great idea to drop the effort into the second lap, you shouldn't be sprinting all out the first (key word cruising), but glad you ran it.

You'll definitely be feeling wasted a little bit more haha! Trust me we all know what that feels like![/QUOTE]


haha yeah, i know. my coach said it was just for endurance timing to see what we're made of.

but i'll be sprinting from now on, thank god!

[rock201]

400 and 800 are definitely two tough events. I'd say the latter is the tougher one, though, just because of the mental aspect.

Would you guys lift after practice? By the time I finish track workouts, my weight room is always closed. Also, should repeats be done with full rest? My coaches are always limiting our rest times to build up resistance to lactic acid, but I don't find it makes me any faster.

[maverick000]

400 and 800 are definitely two tough events. I'd say the latter is the tougher one, though, just because of the mental aspect.

Would you guys lift after practice? By the time I finish track workouts, my weight room is always closed. Also, should repeats be done with full rest? My coaches are always limiting our rest times to build up resistance to lactic acid, but I don't find it makes me any faster.

Yes you should lift after your track practice. to answer the other question, there are speed workouts that work on max speed all out intensity with full recovery, and there are endurance speed sessions that limit rest and you still have to go hard but its more a battle of endurance and lactic acid build up. If you are only doing the latter thats not good, you should do both, especially as a 400 runner

[fstgsr]

I am kind of interested why you are asking us how to run a 400. What advice/guidance did your coach give you?
You mentioned that you are a Soph. Your times aren't terrible, just as long as your continue to improve.
As you can see there are many different ways to run a 400. But most of that comes from the individuals experience level. Basically as you improve you'll be able to judge when to make your moves in your race. Going out for the first 200 balls to walls at your experience most likely wasn't the best choice. Next time try a little different plan.

And everyone who thinks the 400 and/or the 800 is hard. Run around the track at nearly full speed going over 10 hurdles. That is harder than any 400 or 800 I have ever ran.

[flybytrade]

The 440 yard dash or 400 meter events are sprints and to really compete you must run at full speed the whole time 50 years ago I was averaging 56.0 with a best time of 52.3, the later time was excellent at the time but 56 was pretty average for a person running the event. I was primarily a miler and ran a 4:17.3 in my senior year and was averaging 4:20, well above an average time. I was competing against Jim Ryun in the mile, he set a national HS record of 3:57.3 in the state meet that year (1965), he had also made the US Olympic team and went to Tokyo but did not make the finals. Best advice is run repeat timed sprints working up to 440 each day. Then run some repeat 440s, set time goals above what you are currently running. You might also run in a swimming pool shallow in all of these will build stamina and muscle tone which are essential to become competitive. Good luck.