Big Race Flat Speed Workout for the 400 Hurdles

by Steve McGill

This time of year, anyone who is still training is getting ready for some big meets. So, while the shift will focus to off-season training next month, I’ll stick with big meet training for this month. With AAU Youth Nationals in Greensboro, NC this year, and USATF Nationals in California, the two meet venues are far enough apart from each other that a lot of people who qualified will be attending one or the other. I have five who have qualified for one or the other, including a male who is at the bottom of the 15-16 age group. So, in addition to workouts involving hurdling, I like to see where his flat speed is; that way, we have an indication of what kind of time he should be able to run if all goes well with the hurdling part and the stride pattern.

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So, the workout is pretty simple. It consists of the following:

• 1×500
• 10-minute rest
• 1×150

The 500 is to be done all-out, from a standing start, in spikes. I prefer to do it with the athlete starting at the 100 meter start line, running the full lap, and finishing at the finish line for all events. With my long hurdlers, I usually have them doing 500’s all year long. So, by this time of year, we’ve chiseled it down to just one rep, full speed, let’s see what you got. It wouldn’t be unfair to call it a time trial, really, which is why it would be best to do this workout at the beginning of the week of a major competition. Any time trial involving hurdles (200 over the first five or 300 over the first seven) should be done two days prior to the first day of competition.

A coach should give commands (take your mark, go), and start the watch on the “go.” The watch stops, of course, when the athlete crosses the finish line for the 500. I like to also have another coach who times the athlete at the 400 mark, and who shouts out the 400 time as the athlete is running past.

The ten-minute rest should be an activerest. The athlete should not be allowed to sit for more than a minute or two. The bulk of the rest period should be spent hydrating, walking, lightly stretching, and maybe doing some light sprint drills toward the end as a way of getting the muscles ready to fire again.

The 150 starts at the top of the curve. If you have a measuring wheel, measure the distance (starting at the finish line and working your way back) to make sure the distance is accurate. The purpose of the 150 after the 500 is to give the athlete a chance to focus just on the last part of the race, and to get in the mindset of finishing strong. This rep should also be from a standing start, or a 3-point start. Watch starts on the “go” and stops when the athlete’s torso crosses the line.

If the temperatures are extremely high, it’s best to do this workout in the morning before 10 am, or in the evening after 7 pm.

The athletes should do a full pre-race warmup prior to beginning the workout, the same as they would do on the day of a race.

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