Speedendurance.com

Posted: 02 May 2010 09:00 AM PDT

How should you run your 400m?

Even splits?

If your opening 200m is within 1 second of your best 200m, with the 2nd half about 2 seconds slower than the first, then the simple formula to determine your 400m time potential is doubled your best 200 plus 4 seconds

i.e. best 200 = 21, so split 22 + 24 = 46

For the 400m specialist with the proper speed and special endurance background and training, then we use the traditional "doubled 200m plus 3.5 seconds" formula to give:

i.e. best 200 = 21, so split 22 + 23.5 = 45.5

Thus, is a differential of 1.5 to 2 seconds between the first 200 and second 200 the norm?

Yeah right.

Berlin 2009: IAAF Biomechanical Analysis

Take a look at the IAAF Biomechanical Analysis from Berlin 2009. Renny Quow from Trinidad is the only sprinter in the group with near even splits. Otherwise, a differential between 1 and 3 seconds is the norm.

Only 29% of the sprinters had a differential of between 1.5 and 2 seconds.

Of course, some of the stats are skewed from the heats if they are leading and simply trying to conserve energy for the next round by "jogging" the last 100m.

Athlete	Round	400m	1st 200	2nd 200	DIFF
Erison Hurtault	Semi	45.59	NA	NA	NA
Renny Quow	Semi	44.53	NA	NA	NA
Renny Quow	Final	45.02	22.43	22.59	+0.16
Renny Quow	Heats	45.21	22.30	22.91	+0.61
Kevin Borlee	Semi	45.28	22.28	23.00	+0.72
Ramon Miller	Semi	44.99	21.99	23.00	+1.01
Michael Bingham	Semi	44.74	21.84	22.90	+1.06
Leslie Djhone	Semi	44.80	21.87	22.93	+1.06
LaShawn Merritt	Final	44.06	21.49	22.57	+1.08
Ricardo Chambers	Semi	45.13	22.00	23.13	+1.13
Tabarie Henry	Semi	44.97	21.91	23.06	+1.15
Matteo Galvan	Heats	45.86	22.31	23.55	+1.24
Maksim Dyldin	Heats	45.91	22.33	23.58	+1.25
David Gillick	Semi	44.88	21.80	23.08	+1.28
LaShawn Merritt	Semi	44.37	21.51	22.86	+1.35
Jeremy Wariner	Semi	44.69	21.63	23.06	+1.43
Leslie Djhone	Heats	45.20	21.86	23.34	+1.48
Chris Brown	Semi	44.95	21.72	23.23	+1.51
Martyn Rooney	Heats	45.45	21.94	23.51	+1.57
Ramon Miller	Heats	45.00	21.70	23.30	+1.60
Michael Bingham	Heats	45.54	21.90	23.64	+1.74
Tabarie Henry	Final	45.42	21.83	23.59	+1.76
Jeremy Wariner	Final	44.60	21.41	23.19	+1.78
Tabarie Henry	Heats	45.14	21.67	23.47	+1.80
Marcin Marciniszyn	Heats	45.77	21.98	23.79	+1.81
William Collazo	Semi	44.93	21.56	23.37	+1.81
Leslie Djhone	Final	45.90	22.04	23.86	+1.82
David Gillick	Final	45.53	21.83	23.70	+1.87
Michael Bingham	Final	45.56	21.84	23.72	+1.88
LaShawn Merritt	Heats	45.23	21.66	23.57	+1.91
Erison Hurtault	Heats	45.55	21.82	23.73	+1.91
Chris Brown	Heats	45.53	21.78	23.75	+1.97
John Steffensen	Semi	45.50	21.74	23.76	+2.02
Rabah Yousif	Semi	45.63	21.80	23.83	+2.03
Joel Milburn	Heats	45.56	21.74	23.82	+2.08
Young Talkmore Nyongani	Heats	45.92	21.89	24.03	+2.14
Sean Wroe	Heats	45.31	21.57	23.74	+2.17
William Collazo	Heats	45.52	21.66	23.86	+2.20
David Gillick	Heats	45.54	21.67	23.87	+2.20
Kevin Borlee	Heats	45.61	21.70	23.91	+2.21
Rabah Yousif	Heats	45.55	21.66	23.89	+2.23
Sean Wroe	Semi	45.32	21.52	23.80	+2.28
Mohamed Ashour Khouaja	Heats	45.56	21.63	23.93	+2.30
Ricardo Chambers	Heats	45.57	21.62	23.95	+2.33
John Steffensen	Heats	45.37	21.51	23.86	+2.35
Robert Tobin	Heats	45.50	21.55	23.95	+2.40
Lionel Larry	Heats	45.64	21.49	24.15	+2.66
Johan Wissman	Heats	45.83	21.50	24.33	+2.83
Chris Brown	Final	45.47	21.31	24.16	+2.85
Teddy Venel	Heats	46.16	21.64	24.52	+2.88
Jeremy Wariner	Heats	45.54	21.30	24.24	+2.94
Cedric van Brateghem	Heats	45.94	21.46	24.48	+3.02