USA Black History Month – Stan Wright, Track Coach

February is Black History Month in the USA.
In the world of coaching and African Americans, I will honor this post to the memory of Stan Wright.  I was 9 years old when I watched the Munich Olympics in 1972.  I had no idea what was going on in terms of the hostage taking, but I [...]

Oldest Siblings have less Chance in Setting World Records?

Has it occurred to you that none of the recent 100m WR for men were the first born sibling?
From the book The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How, pages 115 and 116:

Usain Bolt is the 2nd of 3 children
Asafa Powell: 6th of 6
Justin Gatlin: 4th of 4
Maurice Green: 4th [...]

John Smith’s 400 Meters Rhythm Workout

Watch any elite 400m race, and there’s one thing noticeable:
They all have rhythm for the first 250 or 300 meters.  These guys are smooth!
Thus, a good sense of pace and rhythm is therefore crucial.
If a 50 second 400 meter runner with a 23 second PB is asked to go out in 24 (followed by a [...]

Glen Mills on the Different Phases of the 100 meter Sprint

Every 100 meter sprinter is different.  But when you have a 6 foot 5 inch sprinter on your roster, who happens to be fast and comes from a 200/400 background, well… good things happen.
Tom Tellez broke down what he thought were the 5 phases of a 100 meter sprint:

Reaction Time
Block Clearance
Speed of Efficient [...]

How Fast can Usain Bolt run 100 Yards?

This article is aimed for readers born before 1960 when running 100 yards was the norm, especially in the USA.
There has been a lot of buzz on how fast Usain Bolt could run a 40 yard dash, which were fuelled by the Chris Johnson’s recent 40 yard challenge to determine the World’s Fastest Man.  (Shades [...]

San Jose State University – Saving Winter Field

This is part 2 of 2 from my recent visit to the Bay Area, California
After viewing the Tommie Smith – John Carlos 23 foot statute at San José State University, the next item on my agenda was to drive down S 10th street towards Spartan Stadium and visit Winter Field.
This was the same track where [...]

San Jose State University – The Tommie Smith John Carlos Statue

This is part 1 of 2 from my recent visit to the Bay Area, California
A trip to Silicon Valley wouldn’t be complete without a visit to San José State University. 
I had two things on my agenda.  Visit the Tommie Smith – John Carlos 23 foot statute, and visit the old Track and Field facility, [...]

Building a Better Runner DVD Giveaway

Last year, I reviewed the DVD Building a Better Runner by RunningDVDs.com. This training DVD was produced by Coach Jay Johnson, the middle distance coach at the University of Colorado, and Mike Smith, the head cross country coach and middle distance coach at Kansas State University.
This is a great product as it doesn’t focus [...]

USATF Podium Education Project, December 2009 in Orlando, FL

INDIANAPOLIS – Some of the world’s most respected coaches and scientists are among the scheduled presenters for USATF’s Podium Education Project, Dec. 10-13 and Dec. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.
The featured speaker for both sessions will be German biomechanist Dr. Klaus Bartonietz. The author of countless articles on biomechanics and technique for throwing events, weightlifting and [...]

Tom Tellez’ 5 Phases of the 100m Sprint

I mentioned the previous USATF SuperClinic in the article on Dwayne Miller, LaShawn Merrit’s coach.
Among the wealth of information provided at this clinic was a lecture and handout from Tom Tellez. 
Tom Tellez requires no introduction… you can read the article Sprinting: A Biomechanical Approach Part 1 (Part 2 is here) for a detailed look [...]

Another 1968 Olympic Book by Richard Hoffer, Journalist

When you think of the Political Olympics, you immediately think of 1936 & 1972.  Some may include 1968 “up there” in the ranks.  While you`re at it, add 1980 and 1984.  Heck, add Montreal 1976 with the African boycott and the whole Taiwan mess.
That is why Ben Johnson’s 1988 Seoul race was so special.  For [...]

Italian Sprint Heroes – Livio Berruti 200m Rome 1960

During my prime running years, Pietro Mennea’s 200m WR was the holy grail.  19.72 was the 200m WR standard for 17 years.
In fact, Pietro Mennea won the 200m 1980 Olympics in the Moscow Boycotted Olympics.  He also won the Bronze medal at 1972 Munich Olympics at the same distance.  Mennea competed in 4 5 Olympics [...]

400 Meter Training Tips from Bill Bowerman

Bill Bowerman is more famous for co-founding NIKE and coaching long distance runners, but he did coach sprinters and field events.  I covered Harry Jerome and Otis Davis in previous articles.
From his book Bill Bowerman’s High-Performance Training for Track and Field (Third Edition) he compares the training patterns of Stan Wright, Jim Bush, and John [...]

Motivation for Blanka Vlasic – Kostadinova 2.09m WR High Jump

Being in the Rome Olympic Stadium sure brings back a lot memories.
In 1987, it was the prelude to Seoul when Ben Johnson beat Carl Lewis in 9.83 breaking the old record of Calvin Smith’s 9.93.  BJ’s 9.83 was later wiped from his admittance to steroid use, despite testing negative at the competition.  Carl’s 2nd place [...]

Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate – Hope or Hype?

Let me go on record with this fact:
Once injury or osteoarthritis has occurred on a soft tissue such as your shoulders, knees, elbows or Achilles, there is NO magic pill to fix the athletic injury.  Lower back pain also fall in this same category.
That pain and damage you feel is from weeks or months or [...]

400 meters – The Numbers Game

Ever notice airline magazines and USA Today have those short articles with interesting stats and numbers?
I thought to give it a try with the 400 meters. 
Here goes…
The 400 meters
5800 – Number of subscribers to SpeedEndurance.com
3635 – Age of the current world record (in days)
2010 -  ? Year of the first sub 43 by Usain [...]

49er Josh Morgan’s Track Workouts for Football

There are a lot of coaching experts out there who deal with sports specify.
And they all charge big bucks.
I simply look at any given sport and break it down to the fundamentals of training principles and sports physiology.
For example, I’d rather focus on the short speed of a Soccer player than to advise a 10km [...]

Rome Golden Gala – Behind the Scenes

Here are some of the behind the scenes look at the 2009 Rome IAAF Golden Gala Meet
Men’s 400 meters
When you have 6 guys at 300 meters with 100 to go, anything goes.  The one who wants it the most usually wins.  Or the athlete that is better prepared.  Without the top 2 names in 400 [...]

100-200-400 Sprint Doubles and Triples

When Michael Johnson became the first man to win the 200-400 double at the same Olympics, a lot of people didn’t know that feat was accomplished TWICE by a female athlete.  USA’s Valerie Brisco-Hooks did it in the Eastern Boycott Olympic Games of Los Angeles in 1984.  Then Marie-Jose Perec of France did it hours [...]

The “Speed City” Documentary – We Need your Help

Bud Winter coached at San Jose State University from 1944 – 1974 and was responsible for the legendary “Speed City” in the mid 1960’s.
In total, he produced 1 NCAA Championship, 49 NCAA records, and 27 Olympians including including Tommie Smith, Lee Evans, John Carlos, and Ronnie Ray Smith, just to name a few. He also [...]

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