Fun Workout #1 – The N x 200m Relay

I get tired of writing serious and technical stuff sometimes, so now it’s time for some fun stuff. 

After all, “Fun” is my name.  Really, it is.

This is a great workout when the weather is crap, and you just want the kids to have fun to keep their mind off the elements!

Divide your group into smaller 3 or 5 person teams.

For a 3 person team, you do a 24 x 200m relay, and for 5 person team, you do 40 x 200m relay (assuming everyone runs 8 segments, but you can let them run 6 segments too.. see pace chart info below). 

We do these in training flats… no spikes!

Workout Benefits and Pacing

I like this workout because it trains the 4x400m visual pass technique.  The incoming runner is tiring and not as fast a 4x100m relay.  Think spring training in baseball.  It’s all about fundamentals!

For the full article, see Baton Exchanges: How to Run the 4x200m & 4x400m.   For 4×100 Relay, see  Baton Passing – Upsweep, Downsweep or Push Pass?

On a 3 person team, you get double the recovery per run.

For pacing, use the Clyde Hart 200m Pace chart of 28 sec –> 8 reps, 26 –> 6 reps. Women add 3 seconds.  More info on this article.

On a 5 person team, you get four times the recovery per run.

For pacing, use the “2nd half 400m pace”.   For example, a  23s PB for 200m results in a potential of 50 seconds for 400m, using 24 and 26 for splits.  Thus, run the relay in 26 seconds.

Give it a try, and comment below.