Run the first 200 at a hard pace, but so you are still holding back a little. Then sprint the second 200 all out. The big mistake is to go crazy on the first half, run out of steam, and stumble to the finish or not even make it to the finish.

There is a saying that we use....SSSS =Sprint Stride Sprint Suck it up.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Sosnoskix4:
There is no pace...all out<HR>

That implies you can sprint all out for 400M. Unless you are Michael Johnson or some superhuman, that's not possible. Lactic acid will hit you (some call it the piano on your back). You do need to hld back from "all out" during the first 200.

if you go, literally, all out, you would be slowing down well before 100m!

also, i'd imagine your 2nd 200 would be over 10 seconds slower than your first.

for me its more like first 200 60-70% then last 200 give it your all....my best time is a 54.8 open and a 54.2 4x4 split....it kinda depends on the situation for me too....if im in a faster heat, i may run it a little harder off the start, it all depends

Ive been waiting to see what people said and this is my opinion. I run the 400 in college and its my favorite event. In high school we used the same system that everyones talking about. Get out, maintain and then pick it up. Thats not the way to do it. You need to get out as hard as you can like running a 300. What you do in a race like the 400 is build latic acid which everyone feels while running this race. It occurs 40-42 seconds into sprinting. Basically what im trying to say is that latic acid is going to get you wether you sprint it all out or sprint, stride, pick up. I get out hard and sprint. Usually by the time latic acid has caught up with me im on the straight away, so it hits me and i dont fight it and i lift my legs and continue with my momentum. These other guys might know what there talking about but we do 350s in practice just to condition ourselves for running the 400.

By the way I ran 47.9 outdoor this year and 48.4 indoor im on the internet.

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