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This is a follow up to the relay article Baton Exchanges: How to Run the 4×200m & 4×400m.
If you are a new coach to a large group of kids, one of the best ways to determine the different levels of speed or SE is running relays in a Time Trial setting.
This post will also remind us how to take proper splits in an indoor 4×200 and 4x400m relay:
- Start your stopwatch at the smoke, not the sound of the gun
- The first split (or 2nd runner) is taken at the staggered 400m start line, not the exchange!
- Splits are taken when the BATON crosses the line, not when the handoff is taking place
- 3rd and 4th runners splits are taken at the finish line.
Running times from a 4x400m race or time trial may look like this (tenths of a second are truncated for simplicity):
- 0:50
- 1:41
- 2:31
- 3:19
Then you’ll have to subtract the times from the previous time to get proper splits.
A good stopwatch will give you splits automatically. They have gone down in price substantially over the past few decades (we paid hundreds of dollars back in our days). Having a stopwatch with memory functions help store the data until you get home (or on the bus) and write them down. Some even have a paper printout like old fashion accounting calculators. Thus, you will see an output like this:
- 0:50
- 0:51
- 0:50
- 0:48
For the indoor 4x400m, a good stopwatch can give you 200m splits as well.
Let the indoor games begin!
If you need a stopwatch, here is good one:
- Ultrak 499 2000 Lap Memory Multi-Function Ultrak Stopwatch
- Ultrak 499 Stopwatch & Printer (EA)
- Windows Computer Iinterface-DOS Driver for Ultrak 499 Stopwatch
. .
Jimson Lee
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