Does employing a race strategy to increase running speeds in 200–300 m of the 400-m race improve personal best among male long sprinters and hurdlers?

Abstract

There is no research that has improved the record in the 400m race by changing the pace distribution. This study aimed to determine whether 400-m male sprinters and hurdlers could improve their personal best after the sprint training designed to modify their race strategy. Methods: Sixteen 400-m male sprinters and hurdlers (20.5 ± 1.5 years, 173.6 ± 6.2 cm, 65.7 ± 6.5 kg) participated in a 4-week sprint training program designed to change their race strategy, focusing on increasing their running speed over the 200–300-m segment with less speed gain in the first 200 m of the 400 m. Pacing development was based on the percentage of each 100-m split time to 400-m time of a world champion sprinter. After the 4-week sprint training, the personal best times of all participants shortened from 49.61 ± 2.35 s to 48.92 ± 1.97 s (−0.69 s) for 400-m sprinters and from 51.82 ± 1.03 s to 51.41 ± 1.01 s (−0.41 s) for 400-m hurdlers in official races. The findings indicate that for 400-m sprinters and hurdlers, a 4-week sprint training designed to modify their race strategy, that is, running at optimal running speed until 200 m and then accelerating from 200 to 300 m, may be effective in updating personal best time.