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WMA 2010 Indoor Championships – Did they Play by the Rules?

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 12:00 PM PST

Disclaimer: I am not in Kamloops, so I am only going on the official results.

A quick look at the results and message boards from the WMA 2010 Indoor Championships in Kamloops showed some potential mistakes from the LOC.

But did they?

Let's take an example.

W45 200 Meter Dash Prelims: 18 athletes declare, with 3 heats of 6 athletes. Some say they should advance to the Finals. Maybe the officials made a mistake and told them otherwise. But a close look at the IAAF Rules (#214 to be exact) showed the officials were correct in the advancement procedures.

Here are the results of the W45 200 Meter Dash Semis and W45 200 Meter Dash Finals.

Yes, it means running a heat just to eliminate 6 runners. This trims the field down to 12 for a 2 heat semi-final. If 13 showed up, you would run the quarter-finals just to eliminate 1 runner!

Note the unusual "3 heat semi-finals" when you have 31-48 runners! I thought "semi" means 2?

Another strange occurrence happened in the M50 200 Meter Dash Prelims (26 declared athletes using 5 heats, which is correct). The M50 200 Meter Dash Semis showed 3 heats instead of 2, giving 18 runners a chance to run instead of 12. Here is the final result: M50 200 Meter Dash Finals.

So this is one case where the rules were slightly bent.

Exception to the Rule?

This is where some exceptions could occur. The rulebook also states:

In indoor competitions, the following tables shall, in the absence of extraordinary circumstances, be used to determine the number of rounds and the number of heats in each round to be held and the qualification procedure for each round of track events:

So, what would SpeedEndurance do?

The biggest complaint at any unbanked indoor track is the tight curves in Lane 1, no doubt.

I suggest never use Lane 1 on an indoor sprint oval event until you have one qualifying round preceding it. Since you advance on Place, and draw lanes based on Time, the slowest runner will draw lane 1. The order of preference for lane draws would be 6-5-4-3-2-1. Or 5-6-4-3-2-1 (who likes to run scared?). Or draw random sticks for 5/6, 3/4, and 1/2, just like outdoor track (3-4-5-6 and 1-2-7-8)

This way, nobody will run their first race in Lane 1, especially on an unbanked 200m oval! This way, you go hard or go home!

But the LOC at Kamloops used all 6 lanes in the heats. By the book.

If you have the time to spare on the schedule, the you can vacate both lanes 1 and 2 and only use 4 lanes (until the next round). This would be an ideal situation and we've seen this at elite meets.

And you wonder why the IAAF indoor World Champs don't contest the 200m indoors anymore? Because the real race was the semi finals where they fought for lane draws.

And please, no more 2 section 400 meter finals! The runner crossing the line first is declared the winner! (** cough cough Allyson Felix 400m USATF Nationals cough cough **)

Tags: Coaching, Track and Field

400 Meter Training: Greater Strength = Faster Times (Part 1)

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 09:00 AM PST

This article is guest blogged by Jim Hiserman, author of the books Program Design Method for Sprints & Hurdle Training and Strength and Power for Maximum Speed

GREATER STRENGTH = FASTER TIMES

Development of mechanically sound sprint technique and the improvement of Strength and Power are of equal importance in the quest to develop faster sprinters at all sprint distances. Sprinting at the highest level possible, for anyone, is all about the direction and magnitude of force application into the track.

Proven strength programs, that provide the optimum mix of Maximum Strength, Explosive Strength and Elastic Strength Training, form an equal partnership with mechanically sound sprint training techniques in the improvement of maximum sprint speed by improving the magnitude of these force applications.

Sprint race distances of 100, 200 and 400 meters all require attention to the development of sound sprint mechanics along with the elevation of strength and power levels required for increased mechanical efficiency at all distances.

Although all sprinters require consistent work on sprint mechanics, the demands of sprinting over distances ranging from 100 to 400 meters requires sprint training plans that work on a variety of different energy systems. These energy system specific workouts must be blended into the overall training plan according to the specific energy system demands of each sprinter's primary race distance. It would be a mistake to neglect any of the energy systems in the planning of a 400 runner, while training for the 100 "could" allow for avoidance of the Special Endurance II work beyond 300 meters.

Sprinting at all distances also requires consistent work on the continual development of strength and power levels in order to allow for the optimum mechanical efficiency of each individual. Mechanical efficiency is of primary importance in all phases of each sprint race distance, but absolutely critical in the final phase of each sprint. The ability to battle deceleration in the closing meters of sprint races is dependent on the mechanical efficiency of each sprinter. This efficiency is acquired through a highly planned training program integrating sound sprint mechanics, proper strength and power training and energy system training that is consistent with the race distance.

Two studies demonstrating the importance of strength and power development in the training of sprinters are of particular interest to 400 meter runners. One study used World Class, National Class and Regional Class 400 meter runners. The other used 400 meter runners split into two groups; sub 50 second performers and those over 50 seconds.

In VELOCITY AND STRIDE PARAMETERS IN THE 400 METERS, (Gajer, B., Hannan, C. and Thepaut-Mathieu, NSA by IAAF, Vol. 22, #3, 2007) the authors found that the notable differences between the peak and final stride length during the 400 was significantly greater for the World Class runners than for the National or Regional Class runners. Stride frequency did not provide any significant differences between the groups but the stride length was significantly greater for the World Class groups (Men & Women) with resultant lower stride numbers (185, 193, 198) for female World, National and Regional groups and 172, 179 and 182 for the respective male groups. Since the body-type characteristics of the runners were similar, the results seem to indicate greater maximal strength levels differentiated the World Class groups from the other two groups.

This seems to be consistent with the findings in Speed Strength Endurance and 400 Meter Performance (Paixao-Miguel, P. and Machado-Reis, V., NSA by IAAF, Vol. 19, #4, 2004).

In this study the authors found that Explosive Strength and Explosive Strength Endurance seem to be associated with higher levels of performance at 400 meters. In studying two groups of 400 meter runners (sub 50 group and 50+ group) the authors tested Explosive Strength, Explosive Strength Endurance and Reactive (or Elastic) Strength of the individuals. Of these parameters, significant associations between the better 400 meter performance times and height of Counter Movement Jump (Explosive Strength) and height of Counter Movement Jumps for 30 seconds (Explosive Strength Endurance) were found. Their conclusion was that Explosive Strength and Explosive Strength Endurance seem to be important strength components to consider when designing training programs for 400 runners.

There is no miracle training drill or overall method that will improve every athlete's maximum speed. The improvement of speed is a process that requires proven training methods (energy system training, sprint mechanics training, proper race phase modeling, strength and power training, etc.) and exercises that are woven into sound Cycle-Length Plans with frequent testing to ensure timely and important training adjustments.

Neglecting the development of Explosive, Elastic and Maximum Strength components would be paramount to taking 50% of the speed equation from the training formula. Integrating these components into the yearly sprint training program may be the missing piece of the puzzle to those who rely only on general strength training methods.

Part 2 and 3 to be continued…

About the Author

Jim Hiserman is the author of the books Program Design Method for Sprints & Hurdle Training and Strength and Power for Maximum Speed. Other published articles on this site include:

Tags: 400 meters, Coaching, Featured Story, Track and Field, Training

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