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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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

43.18- It was 10 Years Ago Today - August 26, 1999

If the number forty-three-point-one-eight (43.18) doesn’t mean anything to you, then you aren’t a real Quarter-miler.  One day, that number (or lower) will be the 100 meter freestyle swim record.
It was ten years ago today, Michael Johnson set the Men’s 400-meter world record in Seville.
Michael Johnson should have demolished the 400 World Record in Zurich […]

LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner 400m - Battle of Nike and Adidas

LaShawn Merrit and Jeremy Wariner in the 400m – The Battle of Nike and Adidas
Next to the Usain Bolt – Tyson Gay anticipated match up, the LaShawn Merritt Jeremy Wariner head-to-head match up comes next.
These two have been avoiding each other all year, and the meeting in Herculis Greece never materialized where LaShawn ran 44.73.
Head-to-head […]

400 meter Sprinting vs. 100 meter Freestyle Swim

I am currently in Rome where the 2009 FINA World Championships are held.  There’s quite a buzz in the city with the electric atmosphere of a Championship meet.
Plus, it’s over 35C or over 90F during the day with humidity.  And those temperatures are in the shade!
Between 1968 and 2004, only 7 men have run under […]

LaShawn Merritt 44.73 Herculis Monaco Video

LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner continue to avoid each other as the match up to Berlin comes to a climax.
This video is a textbook 400 meter sprinting at its finest.  The HQ quality shows good form and rhythm from most of the athletes, including the winner LaShawn Merritt.
Ever notice the 400 meter winner smiles for […]

400 Meters – Speed is the Key

Gone are the days where the 400 meters was an event for 800 meter runners who moved down in distance.
Today, I am convinced the short sprinters have an advantage over the “strength” sprinters like Lee Evans and Butch Reynolds.  I am referring to the successes of Quincy Watts and Michael Johnson.  In MJ’s case, my […]

IAAF 4×400 Meter Relay Split Times from Beijing 2008

The IAAF article can be found here. Click here to download the PDF file.

How were these splits recorded?

Transponder antennas were laid under the track at the 0m, 100m, 200m and 300m. Athletes wore chips on the inside of their front bib numbers, so when they crossed the transponder threshold, a time was registered.

This sound […]

NIKEPLUS - Why Nike is Winning the Shoe War

Why is Nike winning the Shoe War?

Let’s recap 2008.

Over $18 Billion dollars in sales in the fiscal 2008. Just as a perspective, Apple topped $10 billion in quarterly sales this year. And according to reports, Nike accounted for almost 50% of ALL running shoe sales in the USA.

That’s a lot of shoes, and […]

What is Speed Reserve? Part 2 - Training Methods

Click here for What is Speed Reserve? Part 1 - 400 meter Sprinter types

The news of Usain Bolt going after the 400 WR in 2010 inspired me to write this article.

What is Speed Reserve?

Speed Reserve, or Anaerobic Speed Reserve (ASR), is simply the difference between your maximum speed and your maximum aerobic speed.

The concept is […]

What is Speed Reserve? Part 1 - 400 meter Sprinter types

Before I discuss the topic of speed reserve, I want to talk about the different types of 400 meter sprinters.

Types of 400 meter runners

100/200 sprinters moving up to the 400m: In the past, short sprinters moving up the distance were rare. Remember Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire? Today, we’ve […]

Comparing 100 meter Freestyle and 400 meter Sprinting

The 100 meter freestyle in swimming resembles the 400 sprint in running.

Their Elite times are in the mid 40’s second range and both events have similar energy systems: Alactic anerobic and Lactic anerobic.

Between 1968 and 2004, only 7 men has run under the magic 44 seconds barrier for the 400 meters (and two of them […]

Last Ten 400 meters Dash Olympic Champions

I was going to post the last ten 400 meters dash Olympic Champions, but decided to post the last 16 Olympic medalists since the post WWII “modern era”.

To read more about these athletes, click on the link under their name. Some names require no introductions.

This list is a classic, but it leaves me with […]

LaShawn Merritt - Jeremy Wariner Photo Finish

When David Neville dove for the finish line at the 400 meters finals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he broke up the pre-race favorite prediction of LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and Christopher Brown of Bahamas. With an American sweep, no one won the 400 meter Olympic prediction contest, as the most common entries were […]

Video of LaShawn Merritt Beijing Olympic 400 meter 43.75

In stunning fashion, LaShawn Merritt upset Jeremy Wariner to win the Olympic Gold medal in 43.75.
LaShawn Merritt appeared to be left in the blocks with a 0.318 reaction time. But in a 400 meters, the reaction time is not as critical as your first 40-60 meters which sets you up for the entire race. […]

David Neville - Anyone Who’s Run the 400 Knows How I Felt

Lost in the action on Thursday’s USA 400 meter Olympic Trials final with LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner was David Neville’s Lane 8 “running scared and hanging on” 3rd place finish.

Anyone who’s run the 400 meters in Lane 8 will know what I’m talking about.

David Neville didn’t take the “victory lap” traditionally taken by the […]

Jeremy Wariner New Adidas Track Spikes

I’ve been waiting for this article to come out.

There was a lot of news with Michael Johnson’s Golden Track spikes back in 1996.

And we are still waiting for the Asafa Powell spikes expected to make an appearance at Beijing. We’ll see if he wins a gold after Usain Bolts 9.72 World Record and Tyson […]

Danny Everett - Roberto Hernandez 300m World Record

Remember that tie at the 1982 Commonwealth Games 200m where it was virtually impossible to separate 1st and 2nd?

In 1990, both Danny Everett and Roberto Hernandez were credited with a time of 31.48 in the rarely contested outdoor 300m. Danny was declared the winner with the new world record breaking the previous mark of […]

Jeremy Wariner, LaShawn Merritt and… Xavier Carter

These are 3 good picks for the 2008 USA Olympic Team. Many people think Angelo Taylor with be the third and final spot behind Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merrit. But trying to double in the 400 meter hurdles and the 400 meters, plus possibly 2 rounds in the 4×400m relay… that’s a lot […]

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