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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 […]

How NOT to do Sled Training

In the YouTube video below, we have Veronica Campbell-Brown training with Tyson Gay.  Two world class athletes.  Fast forward to the 1:20 mark and you will see VCB doing a variety of 4 drills with a sled or harness.
First, who am I to argue if these drills and exercise are crap, considering the success of […]

Good Luck and Bad Luck Superstitions - the Olympic 1952 110mH

Do you have any Track and Field Superstitions?  Hallowe’en is around the corner!
I used to always wear black and yellow sweat pants and sweatshirts.  Why?  Because they are the colours of a Tiger.  The last time I checked, tigers were fast animals.  (I stole the idea from a Rocky movie)
I also wore a T-shirt of […]

Accidents Happen, Please Carry ID at all Times

I read the news today, oh, boy…
… about a horrible story of a young man who was hit by a car while out for a run.  Alone.
The driver of the car didn’t stop at the scene, and the runner lay unconscious on the ground for several minutes before some passerby attended to him.
The passerby quickly […]

Flying 30 for Sprinters: Achieving Max Velocity and Maintaining it Over the Critical Area of Race

The post was written by Ed Barber, currently the Sprints / Pole Vault / Multis coach at Hartnell College in Salinas, CA.
A Level III certified USATF Coach, Coach Barber took Calvin Harrison (44.78) to the Olympic Trials in Atlanta 1996.   Calvin went on to earn a gold medal in the 4×400m Relay.

Flying 30 for […]

Asafa Powell and Carmelita Jeter - Peak Training Age

Can you imagine having a 17 year old male sprinter on your team who runs 11.45 for 100 meters, then the following year as a Junior he runs 10.50.  10.30 is the IAAF “A” standard so you dare to write him off as “Nah, he’ll never be a world class sprinter” kind of attitude.  Would […]

Happy 99th Birthday John Wooden!

After eight books, A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring is the one closest to John Wooden’s heart: a moving and inspirational guide to the power of mentorship.
On October 14, 2009, John Wooden turns 99 years old.  As active and vocal as ever, Wooden heads into his tenth decade eager to share what […]

Do Curves Matter? Indoor vs. Outdoor World Records

NOTE: Some of my older guest posts on other Websites are now being shut down due to the economic climate. Thus I will present them here.
How much do the tight indoor curves affect your performance?
Even with the banked curves to counteract the centripetal forces, it does affect your stride length and stride frequency, and […]

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 […]

Speed and Strength Training with Resistance Bands

DYNA-BAND 6ft Green Medium Resistance Band
Resistance bands are great.
They can easily be rolled up to take along for travel.
You can tie 2 together and make a large loop.
You can shorten the length for extra resistance.
Resistance bands are available in a range of colours that relate to their stiffness or resistance. Colour-coding varies between the brands […]

60m to 100m Conversion Tables - USELESS!

When Dwain Chambers won the Indoor Euro Championships 60 meters in 6.42 seconds (March 2009), he predicted that time extrapolated to a 9.70. 
I felt based on previous world records, a conversion of 1.53 or 1.54 would give Dwain approximately 9.82 - 9.89 seconds for a 100 meters.  (He ran a 10.00 season best in […]

Other than Bolt, Are We Really Getting Faster?

Ever since Jim Hines ran the first electronic (FAT) sub 10 second 100 meters in 1968, 1983 was the start of the sub 10 explosion (POP QUIZ – who was the lone sub-10 performance in 1977 ?) 
10 seconds for the 100 meters is the holy grail of sprints, just like the 4 minute mile.  4 […]

Dwayne Miller - Coach of LaShawn Merritt

From the mailbag:
Jimson,
You’ve covered a lot of great 400m coaches on your website like Clyde Hart, Bud Winter and Stan Dowell. 
How about LaShawn Merritt’s coach?  What kind of training philosophy does he have?  Long to Short or Short to Long?

First of all, Dwayne Miller is LaShawn Merritt’s coach.
LaShawn’s last 4 years have been impressive […]

Arm Action in Sprinting

Did anyone notice the arm action in Usain Bolt’s 200m on the straightaway?  And how it slightly differed compared to the last 40 meters of his 100 meters?
This brings up the topic of arm action in sprinting.
Famous Canadian Track Coach Geoff Gowan would say, “You run with your arms on your legs”.
To study arm mechanics […]

Wrist Straps and Weight Belts - Good or Bad?

During my weight training days at McGill, I remember a lot of lifters were using wrist straps and weight belts, including myself.
The weight belt was good for the vanity – it tightened your waist and tucked in your beer belly, plus it inflated your chest, hence the inverted triangle appearance.  The 46” chest with 30” […]

400 meter splits - 2009 Berlin World Championships

The official splits from the IAAF can be found here (PDF).  What can we learn from these splits?
Standard Coaching Theory
If your opening 200m is within 1 second of your best 200m, and the differential between the 1st half and 2nd half is about 2 seconds, then simple logic determines your 400m time potential is doubled […]

Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay Broke the 44 Kph Speed Limit

How to Convert 10 meter Splits to Kph or Mph
This article is in response to a LAZY reader who emailed me on how to calculate or convert 10m times to miles per hour.  It is possible the reader is 9 years old and unable to do fractions, too.
In reviewing the splits from the Men’s 100m […]

I Love Track and Field, but This is Ridiculous

Thoughts on the post 2009 World Championships in Berlin
I love Track and Field (Athletics to the rest of the world) primarily for one reason.  With the Track running events, the first person to cross the line is the winner. 
Usually.
In the Winter Olympics, all but one event is either a time-trial or a judging event.  […]

Pole Vault World Records should be Modified

Watching the Men’s Pole vault with an injured Steve Hooker inspired me to write this article.

In the past article on Technological Innovations in Track and Field,  I forgot to mention the Pole vault standards that support the bar were changed from 76mm to 55mm.
We are talking about the days of super dominant Sergey Bubka from […]

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