Mid-distance Track & Field

Training
A Model for Developing 800/1600m Runners in our High
School Programs
My History at DCHS
My History at DCHS

● Working with different head coaches

● Advocating for new runners to join our group
● Cross country dominant event group (pros/cons)
● Drake Relays and State Co-Ed Track Meet
● Striking gold in Jason Thomas, Ryan Schweizer, Matt Fraizer

Our model for 800/1600m runners at Dowling Catholic High School

involves recruiting strong athletes, developing from XC, and
comprehensive in-season training
Challenges of High School Coaching
Social aspects and kids joining the
team for other reasons than running
Young athletes
Ignorant, indifferent, misguided or
unsupportive parents
Multi-sport athletes
Wide range of abilities
Early self-selected trajectory as one
type of athlete, which is sometimes
difficult to change despite the saying,
“If it looks like a duck, swims like a
duck, and quacks like a duck, then it
probably is a duck”
Identifying 800/1600-meter Runners

Cross country runners the easiest place to start Buy-in and trusting of your coaching

Successful in XC Prior track experience (i.e. middle school)

Tall, lean and fast with good stamina PE mile runs or pacer tests

Competitive and willing to hurt Prior sports experience (soccer, track & field,
basketball, football)
Desirous to work on their craft year-round

Recruiting
Are you actively recruiting
capable runners to join
your event group?
How else can we identify
mid-distance runners and
get them to run for us?
Create feeder programs for XC and track & utilize them if they
already exist!
If you coach the middle distance events you really need to be
coaching XC and vice versa
Cross country is going to be the best place to start recruiting your
middle distance runners
Middle school track -- middle distance runners in MS are the most
likely candidates to continue at HS level
High school track team. Advocate for tall, lean and fast 400 runners
to try the 800. Work with other coaches to find the best events for
your better athletes.
Build a culture where athletes want to join your group. Make the
appeal one of hard work so you attract the athletes you want.
Work at recruiting strong athletes from other sports to run for you.
Pick up the phone!
Training 800/1600m Runners

Develop aerobic system year-round, including cross country season, and maintain in the
spring (ex. daily runs, tempo runs, 3k-5k pace reps)

Develop anaerobic system pre-season, in-season and summer (ex. race pace reps)

Develop sprint mechanics, top-end speed and speed endurance (ex. build-ups/flys,
200-400m pace reps)

Weightlifting for strength, power. Strong posterior chain = speed!

View our 2019 season training plan:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15c_cy9InpId5lOpN_dpe9vTZ2m84UYPsjO1Td-Z2dOg/edit?usp=sharing
 Training 800/1600m Runners
Absence of a comprehensive pre-season training program makes prep for track season more challenging (i.e.
less base)

Remarks about our winter training program

Develop training volumes based on what your runners are capable of handling, not an arbitrary ideal

Acceleration Workout Video -- https://vimeo.com/80654408

100-110-120-130-140-150-160-170-180-200m. Eleven reps progressing in 10m steps between 100m and 200m.
Start at 1600m race pace and end at 400m race pace. Add approximately 1 second to each rep. Total volume at
speed is 1650m.

A 5:00 miler/:60 400 runner will start at 19 seconds and end at 30 seconds
Racing Strategies for the 800
Racing Strategies for the 800

Practice starts for fast reaction time

React to the smoke (eyes up!)

Sprint start for 7 seconds

Straddle the line between lanes 1 & 2 after cutting in

Even paced race (not even effort!) from 200-800 meters, but 2 second difference
from first to last 400

Pace for third 200 normally slows -- Kickers may wait, others will find their way back
into the race, while non-kickers want to maintain their pace and create a gap

Final 100 utilize sprint mechanics; training and competitiveness will win in the end
Racing Strategies for the 800
Racing Strategies for the 1600
Racing Strategies for the 1600

A fast start isn’t as important as a clean start

Even to negative split pacing is ideal

For a 4:30 mile the ideal is even 1:07.5 400m splits -- 1:07.5, 2:15.0, 3:22.5, 4:30.0

Teach your runners to understand that a 1:07.5 (33.75 per 200) opening 400 may not
mean they’re on 4:30 pace. (It may just mean their start was faster than race pace.)
It’s likely their first 200 was 32.75 and their second 200 was 34.75 (4:38 pace). In
this scenario if your athlete feels good about their 400 split they’re going to be
disappointed at 800 when they learn too late that their pace slowed by 2 seconds (1
second per 200 slower than goal pace from 400-800).

Clean up pacing by teaching runners to start conservatively and increase pace with
each lap.
 A Champion’s
Mindset
The highest performing athletes
look inside themselves to
correct mistakes instead of
pointing to external factors to
excuse poor performances
 “Success occurs when preparation
meets opportunity”

By recruiting strong athletes, developing them year-round, and facilitating

comprehensive in-season training programs we are going to have far more
success and enjoyment in coaching the sport of track & field.
Questions?
Coach Tim Ives
West Des Moines, Iowa

timives@bodyprojectiowa.com