Planning Training and Racing for
Quality 400 Meters*
Lee
Evans
There are many ways in which to help your athletes to
train and to run quality 400 meters races. Coaches look for athletes who can
win, become local and national champions, Olympic Champions and World Record
holders. I believe the first important thing to do when working with a young
athlete is to find out what It Is that he wants to accomplish. What are his
goals? Does he want to be the fastest in his town? In his state? In his country?
The fastest in the World? Before I would work seriously with an athlete I must
know what he really wants to do with me helping him. What does he really want to
do with his ability in whatever event he wants to compete in? Once this is
defined, I can then set a course that I feel we can work together to help him
reach his goal. Some athletes like being 3rd or 4th in a race; they do not like
the pressure of winning.
As coaches we need to find the athletes who can accept the pressures of
being a winner, to accept the pressures of being the best In his event and then
to help them to achieve' this. Hopefully everyone wants to be a champion. Many
say that but they are not serious about it. Within the first month of working
with an Individual I will find out how serious the athlete really Is In terms of
whether he wants to do the work which Is required to become a World Champion or
to be just a local competition winner. I will then plan a training schedule
accordingly.
I am talking about the 400 meters because this is where I have had a
great deal of experience and success. Most of you know my background. People ask
me, "How Is It that your World Record has lasted so long-i6 years
now?" At first I shrugged my shoulders; but then as I reflected back I
realized that I really love to run. I will run anything. I was in love with my
coach, Bud Winter of San Jose, who was guiding me in my running career. This
person was like a God to me. Anything he said I would do. I believed in him.
What would I look for in an athlete if he really wants to do well? How
much dedication does he have? How much respect does he have for me personally?
If the athlete says, "I like this guy," I will help him with his
training schedule. How the athlete respects his coach and how well he listens to
what the coach has to say is most Important. I have had coaches for whom I had
very little respect. I was very fortunate to have a college coach whom I was
able to believe in. Somehow he was able to instill in me a strong feeling for
him personally. That made me want to compete harder not only for me but also for
him.
As a coach you might want to find a way to communicate with an athlete so
that he can produce his best. It may be human nature that makes it possible for
an athlete to do better in competition not only for himself but also for someone
else who is very important to him. This relationship with my coach made me work
harder not only to be successful for myself but I also wanted success for him.
So it is important in coaching an athlete that you respect him as an athlete and
that he respects you as a coach, and together you work toward the ultimate,
which is to be a champion to set a World Record.
Right In the beginning I will ask an athlete write down his goals. Then I
would say, "So you want to be a winner.”
Now write down all the reasons why you want to be a winner. "Some
athletes will give as many as 20 reasons. Others might only give 2 reasons. Some
athletes really do not want to win. They might give a reason such as
"it will feel good to win," or "I want to win a
medal." I have had athletes who have indicated only one reason why they
want to win. When coaching I try to give these athletes many reasons why they
might want to win. This is the way I competed. Every day I would give them
different reasons why they should want to be successful. Every day I would invent reasons to keep them
interested. As coaches we need to find as many reasons as we can for athletes to
want to be successful. When I was in Africa it was very easy to find reasons why
the athletes there should want to do well in their events. It might mean
scholarships to America. It meant moving up in their community, country socially
and economically
There are many ways to become a winner.
Some of the goals we set together with athletes might be to go undefeated
during the current season. Each year beginning with 196
I would write in my diary, "I want to go undefeated this year."
As a coach I would try to get athletes to keep a diary in which they can list
their goals and objectives for the season and I would try to I them stick to
them.
I would develop a training program beginning in September
which we would try to stick to so we could develop a solid base from then ….
would begin with long distance runs. This is the time when you need to
work with the athlete’s head to get him psychologically prepared to become a
winner in June or July. I would get
them to believe that it is easy to win because most athletes do not run the
whole race to win.
I
was In Africa for seven years and since I have returned I have not seen a
400-meter runner who runs
the whole race. They might run 395, 396 or 398 meters. When I was running I
would run 402 or more meters. This is how to win the big important races. You must teach your athletes this principle very early.
Sometimes it takes nine months to get them to believe in this.
The things I want them to do in July I have them working on in September.
Sometimes I need to really harass them about the many small things, but this one
is the most Important. Running the entire distance and beyond it will make your
runners winners. I try to teach them that during the last three strides they
must Push! Push! and Dip! They must push hard at the ankles and in the last
stride drop the head and bend at the waist and throw the hands back and to go
past the tape to 401 or more meters. I learned this from my coach. He would
really harass us about this. We would continually rehearse this.
The athlete may have practiced all the many little things
he must learn to be a winner, but he must work on this especially when it is
important at the end of the season in the big races. Everyone is running at
their best and they are all tired. You know they are all tired and the
competition begins to slow down near the end of the race almost to a stop. In
such cases in my experience I would say, "Thank you," because they
made it easy for me to win during the last three strides.
Another
important thing, which helped me win, was Mental Preparation. I was a little
different than most of the others. On the night before the big competitions I
would be in bed by eight o'clock in the evening and I would stay in bed in the
morning after a good night's sleep. In the morning I would sit up in bed, close
my eyes and practice visualization. I would see myself winning the race from
each of the lanes one through eight. I would see myself run every step of the
race. I would see myself have a perfect start. I would see myself run the first
100 meters fast. I would see myself run the second 100 meters with the longest
stride possible, and In the third 100 meters I would feel myself run as fast as
I had ever run In my life. In the last 100 meters I would see myself maintain
the speed, which I had generated during the third 100 meters. I would run this
in my mind over and over again at least fifty times. I would not just visualize
the race; I would begin from when I would leave my room and I would go
downstairs or take the elevator. I would get on the bus. I would go to the warm
up track and I would go through my warm up. I would do four laps of warm up and
I would stretch. I would do 3 x 100 meters and about three-fourths speed. I
would make certain I would not be diverted by anything such as a girl friend or
by buddies who might come over to ask how I was doing. I would always tell them
I would talk to them after the race. My head was on straight and I tried to keep
it that way. By concentrating on what I had to do I knew that I could win and
set a record. I set eight World Records during my racing career and each time I
did I can remember going through this mental practice, spending the whole day In
my room. In fact it became very boring and I did not like it at all and I was
glad when the race was over with. I would just sit or lie there and concentrate
on how I would push hard out of the blocks, I would have a long low lead arm. I
would make up half the stagger- distance on the runner In front of me during the
first 50 meters and then I would catch up with him and on and on and on. I would
think and concentrate all day and when I would actually go to the stadium I
still had this mental set. When the
starter would shoot the gun I felt I was detached and no longer a part of the
race. I would lay off the shoulder of the runner In front of me and try to hold
on to this runner who is running like mad and I was the one who was running like
mad, but I was not there any more. I am in another place observing, the same as
a spectator observing. Perhaps I placed myself in a hypnotic trance (I really
did not know what it was) but I knew I could do that when I could take the time
to do it. I did It out of the competitive desire, I wanted to win very badly
because It was something I had worked very hard to get. I wanted to win the race
and I wanted to set a record so I spent 8 to 10 hours I knew my opponents did
not do to prepare as I did.
So mental preparation is important and I tell athletes this. You just
don't show up for the race and Just say you are going to run as fast as you can.
You can develop a certain magic, perhaps a spiritual oneness of mind-body
coordination. To me, this is what preparation is physically and mentally. This
gave me confidence by having done everything I could have done to be ready for
when the important event came. You have respect for your opponents and for your
coach, and you have the confidence of and from your coach, so that when you step
to the line you are ready to take on anyone. I always believed I could wipe out
all my opponents. I watched most of them in practice and I knew I had done a lot
more than they had to get ready. I practiced doing 30 push-ups and 30 sit-ups
daily before practice. I practiced each section of the race. I practiced the
last few steps and the dip at the tape and beyond it daily.
You just have to get your athletes to believe and to do
more than their opponents so that they feel they have an advantage. This helps
especially during the last 20 meters when their arms get tired but yours don't
get tired. Everyone is training and they are all in great condition but you must
feel you have done more of the many little things and better. All this helps
right through the last dive for the tape. The one who wants it the most is the
one who has worked for it and has this confidence. If one approaches a race with
any doubts, it is all the little things no one else has done that might make the
difference. I knew they would be tired and I would be tired but I had that
little bit extra. This is the psychology of being competitive.
Now
I would like to talk about the value of even pace racing for the 400 meters.
There has been quite a lot of discussion concerning this. I personally feel that
the entire 400-meter race is anaerobic-run in oxygen debt all the way. I have
run the first 100 meters of the race and felt winded, but as I was accustomed to
running in an oxygen debt condition I learned to ignore it. By running 500's at
least once a week you can learn to run a quality race under this condition. You
can still work through the race since you will have trained doing these strong
495's since February. I really did not like doing 500's but when my coach said
do 3 x 500 meters I would go out and do them the best I could. Athletes need to
be reinforced with all these positive things, which will help them so that they
believe in what they can do. I believe there should be only a one second
differential between the first 200 meters and the second 200 meters in a quality
400-meter race. I have experimented with myself and with athletes I have coached
using many variations-running as fast as possible from the beginning hanging on
to the end; and I have experimented with running conservatively for the first
200 meters. For an athlete who's best 200 meters out of blocks is 22.0 I would
convince this runner to run his first 200 at about 23.2 to 23.5; and if he has
been training correctly he can come back with another 23 flat. Even if he comes
in with a 24 it is fine because if we continue to work on his speed to get his
200-meter time down, his 400-meter time will come down also.
In
running the 200 meters under control, the fatigue does not build up as rapidly
in the body. The fatigue is delayed
to where he might feel "the bear" In his muscles coming into the last
50 meters-even when running evenly.
When John Smith ran 44.5 for 440 yards in 1971, he ran
his first 220 yards In 22.2 and the second 220 yards In 22-3. In running that
kind of a race he was in total control of the race at 270 yards. It even looked
as If he was accelerating. He was not accelerating, he was maintaining the same
speed he was running from the start and he kept It all the way through.
As a young runner at 18 years of age, the first time I
ran 46 1 ran 23 flat and 23.1. All of the fast 400 meter races began with Mike
Larabee, gold medallist In 1964, myself In 1968, John Smith, etc.
Anyone can go out to burn the first 300 meters in 32 seconds and then tie
up. I can do that today (maybe
33.5) but fatigue will set in and I will finish slowly.
This
is what many American 400 meter runners have been doing during the past few
years, and I have been telling them if they go out In 21.2 when their best time
is around 45, it is not very smart to come back with 24 seconds. It just sets up
the race perfectly for a competitor to go by you in the last 50 meters. Thus
they can be defeated with a 45.1 or 45.2. If a runner can run 45.4 the smart
thing to do is to go out at about 22.3 or 22.4. In this way he can start racing
at the 200-meter mark. The race starts at the 200-meter mark. Get to the 200
meters in a relatively good position-you should be able to reach out to touch
the leader at 200. Let him have no more than 3 meters but take it back in the
third 100 meters. On the back straightaway you should be either about one step
ahead or one step behind. After running the first 200 meters under-control you
will be able to maintain the speed you build up in the third 100 meters into the
finish. This is what it takes to win the big races. Any good finisher-the one
who can run the last 40 meters well, can Win. The winners look like they are
making a fast move in the last part of the race but they are only maintaining
their speed.
To win the big races it takes a person who can lift
during the last part of the race. It takes a lot of mental preparation to be
able to lift during the last 40 meters of a quality race. My best time for 200
meters before Mexico City was 20.4. 1 ran the first 200 of the 400 meters there
in 21.4 so I was within one second of my best 200-meter time. I came back during
the second 200 meters In 22.4, but to me that 22.4 was agonizing because I was
braking the whole time. I wanted to race, I really wanted to go faster'
This was the Olympic Games and I wanted to run as fast as I could right
away but It took a lot of discipline and a lot of concentration not to go
faster. When I saw the 200-meter mark I knew that was the time to race as fast
as I could. I ran the third 100 meters as fast as I could go. By racing the
third 100 meters the other runners will come back to you if you just do not
panic. The main thing to be thinking about is high knees, for- ward arm drive
toward the finish line, and relaxation. Running the last'100 meters was just
like having a tape recorder in my mind repeating over and over-High Knees!
Forward Arms! Relax! Relax! Relax! This is what Coach Bud Winter coached into
us-Tommy Smith, John Carlos and me. You learn to do this right through the
finish and beyond with practice. I never really liked doing 500's but when
my coach said do 3 x 500 meters I would go out and do it, and In the long run it
certainly worked for me.
* Presented at the IX International Track and Field Coaches’ Congress, Santa Monica, California, July 30, 1984
UW 400 meter training for the year 2001