Literally watching this right right before my 400m race...

50m: Sprint 200: Stride 150: Reaccelerate and keep form Don’t try to sprint the 400, you’ll die at 175

My heart started pumping fast watching this.

"you don't coach the last 100 hundred" ironically so true

Me: *passes someone in race* (they don’t know) Crowd: SHES PASSING YOU! The Person: *speeds up and beats me*

"you dont believe in god, make something up" 😂😂😂😂

I ran an all out 400 and won solely due to the fact that the guy in first tripped over his own legs.

Secret to running a fast 400m? Conditioning, Conditioning, *CONDITIONING!* And just when u thought u did enough conditioning, go back & do some more because trust me u didnt.

Upside down smile face on the wall top left

100 stride 200 slowly speed up 300 sprint 400 run like there’s a hot girl in front of you Finish line pass out

How to run the 400m 50-100m sprint 100-200m sprint with a bit more oof 200-300m sprint with big oof 300-400m KICK AND CHUNGUS OOF

This video may be years old but after watching it last night I figured I would give it a shot. INSTANTLY I ran 6 seconds faster on my 400 meter dash. Im so hyped. Thank you so much for the tips

400 times BEFORE:54.8 NOW:51.32 thank you so much because that's over 3 seconds

thanks my coach has never mentioned a plan for 400m, i feel a lot better about my upcoming race now

1:49 is where he starts. You're welcome.

Best 400m race plan ever! I just prd from a 53.5 to a 52.6! God bless this dude!

As a college and high school coach for many years and a former 45-second 400 runner myself, I couldn't possibly agree more with what was presented in this video. This is right on the money from start to finish, and is the same strategy I ran and the same strategy I coach. Excellent, accurate, and entertaining, thanks for putting this out there!!!

I don't exist and I improved by 10 seconds

I'm 16 and I'm a freaken thrower. I did throwing, because I have extremely bad anxiety in running in front of people. My coach made us run 400m, because we did bad our last meet and I was hitting 68's and 69's and freaken he put me in a 4x4 and I'm just like, "TF IM A THROWER!"

Just watching this is giving me extreme anxiety from running track last semester

You don't coach the last 100. Best line of the video!

I ran the 400 for 14 years, i had amazing coaches that taught me to attack! attack the curves and stride that back stretch attack the curve and accelerate out of the last curve and you should have a coach at the 200 m mark giving you time or a shout or mark of your 200 time. that last hundred is all conditioning, drive and heart! we ran so many 600's. made me want to hurt people i was so angry. the best I ran was 48.3. 28 years ago. good luck to all of you ATTACKING THAT 400

Im a 4 year old girl and before I watched this video I ran a 85.5 and after this video I ran a 31.3

I'm still in the womb and my mom runs a 10.38 100m

Before I knew how to run the 400, I was running 61-62 pretty consistently, but I finally learned how to do it and I won a state championship with a 56.15. Awesome advice!!

As an atheist, I swear I start praying to the all the water I'm gonna drink after the final 100m meters😂😂

This is a great video, but I think there was too little emphasis on the float phase. As I've gotten better at the 400, I've realized the importance of the float. This coach mentioned it as running " Just on the brink of insanity" which for me translates to around 90-95% effort on the back stretch, but it's important to know that you aren't actively trying to accelerate here. Instead, you are maintaining the speed you'd worked so hard to create in the first place! Just trying to clear something up and pass on some information that has helped me, good luck!

Cheers for this, went from a 1:20 to a 1.04. This plan worked to perfection, went out hard and that immediately put me in front of 6 out of the other 7 runners, I made a mistake in slowing down too much down the straight, so another runner took advantage of this and I was placed second, so I'd strongly advise you to remember not too decrease your pace too much. Then around the turn,I reaccelerated like Latif suggests, and I made up a 10m gap by the time I was coming down the stretch. Kill the turn, attack that as hard as you can. Last 80-100is all mental. If you want it bad enough, if u can withstand the pain, you will win.

I'm glad you didn't make it boring like all the other 400m videos this actually kept me watching till the end

Thanks this helped a lot I went from a 56.6 sec 400 to a 51.4 sec 400

I am still a sperm and use to run a 400 58 seconds now I run it 50

My Coach is always at the 200 too and that's when he yells "NOW" so I can accelerate

Just jumped from a 53.18 to a 52.25 in one race with this strategy! Thanks so much!

I hated the 400 til I got good at it... lol

Fr I told my friend who runs 400s this and he tried it and dropped his time by 2 seconds

That 200m part is so crucial. One time when I was at a track meet I was doing a 400m, I was in third and the guy in second just stopped to catch his breath at 300m.

From my experience in hs track, warming up your legs when your on the starting line was MAJOR in getting a good opening. Most people tend to stand and do nothing when waiting on the line and you can use that to your advantage. Just simply shaking your legs around and having blood pumping makes your body prepared and that adrenaline starting to flow early on.

Or you just be Wayde van Niekerk and sprint the entire 400 XD

The last 100 is the most painful thing in the world😭😂

I’m running a 4x400 tomorrow for the first time ever and I’m super nervous! I also have to run another 400, a 200, and 100m🥴

I watched this video repeatedly 3 years ago my senior year of HS in study hall everytime. Managed to make states for the 400 because of this. I’ve now finished my adult education and I come back to this, reminiscent of the best year of my life. Thank you for this video.

this video was VERY helpful. Thank you so much, but can you please do one on the 800m?

I just wanted to sincerely thank you for this video! I know a lot of the comments here are fake (and funny), but your race strategy really did help me. I'm a female HS distance runner (probably upper JV), and my previous 400 PR was 74 something. When I recently found out we had an upcoming 400 time trial, I panicked and searched KZfaq for help and found your video. I found it incredibly helpful, and I told all my distance friends about your strategy (they thought your advice for the last 100 was hilarious). After watching your video, I was able to drop 3 seconds at the time trial! Thank you so so much!!

I applied this and went from running a 57 to a 54

When you've never done a 400 in a meet and you search up how to do it and he says to just pray at the end... (help me)

I wish I had a coach that actually gave instruction like this. We don’t even have a true sprinters coach so we just wing it.

Thanks to this, I came 7th out of 40 girls and 22nd out of 80 boys and girls today during my cross country Last year I literally came last and it was embarrassing, so this is EXTREMELY HELPFUL EVERYONE!!! I didn't know it would make THAAATTT much of a difference. THANK YOU SO MUCH AUMING FOR NO.1 NEXT YEAR!! My mum was so HAPPY This is really helpful even in long distance 😁👍🇰🇪 thank you 🤗

My daughter is a 5th grader that runs against 6th graders. She made it to the district championship with a 1.14. The 6th graders were running 1.09. I told we need to watch a view on how to run the 400. Your view came up. We watched it and studied it. At the championship meet she ran 1.09 and recieved 3rd place. Also she set a school record for 5th graders. Thank you!

oh my god i went from a 1:05 to a 1:02 using this video and got 1st! it helped me so much thank you!

You're the most informative but funny teacher-coach re the 400M on KZfaq right now!

Wow! This helped a lot! I went from a 54.3 to a 50.01! This is really amazing

back in 2015 i used his race plan and won a gold medal in this event in my college. Many thanks coach!

my first 400 was awesome i tried sprinting the whole thing at the end i crossed the line and my legs stopped working fell on my face didnt catch my self at all got a 57.2 then went "that's nice i dont know what that means this is my first year doing a sport joiner" (coach) and threw up and slept the rest of the meet hahahaha

Been training specifically for 400m and 400mh since January this year after moving from shorter sprints, my first flat 4 was 65.6s without really knowing what I was doing (but I'm defo that person who "doesn't go out very hard because they want to conserve energy and not die at the end") so I want to try this race plan - my coach says I can go 60s which would be a dream! Thanks for this

Great, helpful information. It's always easy to pick out those runners who haven't been trained to run a 400m. They don't pace well and die on the last turn. My son is a 400m runner and loves the race. Will definitely pass this video on to him.

Hey Coach, am 18 years from Kenya And I really loved your coaching. I've always being coming up slow on the first 50m and then rely on ridiculous pushing and top speed to outrun my mates. But you just gave me a new perspective today and I have been preparing with that for my final 400m race tomorrow. Thank you for this piece of info

Thank you coach this will help me tomorrow in my championship track meet. I Ran a 1'02 400 but my coach wants me to break 1 minute for mvp

Thank you soo much im an 8th grade girl and this actually really helped me in my district meet. I got 2nd but I originally kept on running a 63 but after this vid I ran it in a 60 flat , set my new pr and broke the school.

I run half marathons. Before watching this, my time was 1:37:22. Now I can eat a pizza in 8 slices.

Best advice on how to run a 400 meter dash. Thank You!! You are a true life saver!!!

World Record: 43.03 People in the comments: I ran 35.89 when I was just 7 years old.

6 years later but I have a meet on Saturday and this helped a lot, I'm going rewatched this video till my mind automatically knows what to do!! if what everyone says and how it helped so much I hope to God, I can break a minute! thank you for explaining it so in depth. Edit: your plan worked so well I was running a 101.58 today I just ran a 59.73 thank you so much!

It's my first year in track as a middle schooler 7th grade and my 400 m time went from a 1:27 down to a 1:23 because of this thank you so much.

Thank you very much for helping me understand the 400m better! I have a huge track meet in 2 days and this helped me like I said!

I ran the 400 m last year, and I'm doing it again this year, when I saw how fast those other guys were going boosted my adrenaline, and I ran the fastest time I had ever run that race. I finished second place

I ran my first 400m (not competition just at practice) and it was horrible 😣 but now i have a better understanding of what to do😊👍🏽

Haha "if you don't believe in god make something up" 😂

Awesome advice :). My 400m time improved by almost 6 seconds after watching this!

I'm 55 years old I ran a 50. After I watched this I ran a 40 flat

Great tips- thanks - just PR'd in the 400m - shaved a full second off my time using this strategy.

I have a track meet on Monday and I'm running the 400m and I'm freaking out.

Thank you for telling me this. I’ve been doing the 400 and I’ve always ran without a plan. I was doing a 400 last night for my track meet and I was in 1st place for the majority of the time but sold it and came in 3rd place in 2nd heat. This is what I was missing the entire time and will help me out for sure. Everyone was complimenting on how good I did in the 400 today at school (the next day after my track meet if you are reading this at a different day) I always pray before my track meet.

Tomorrow is my FIRST EVER TRACK MEET and I came to this video so I wouldn't fail my team. I feel this will help me at least get top 5

This actually really opened my eyes to the 400 race. This made me think about how to run my 400

Thanks u so much, I have been running 400 for a year now, and still had no idea on how to run it, now that i saw this video I can challenge my self to do everything u said from the arm expanding toward the end, too the mental part that takes place in the 200-300. Keep making these videos there amazing and very helpful, and wish me luck for my meat tomorrow.

This is both hilarious and very useful. Much appreciated.

A well-explained video. Much respect. When I coached summer track, my strategy for running the 400m wasn't too far off. I always trained my kids to get out of the first turn at near top speed. Two reasons: #1 - races can be lost at the first 50m. #2: it's easier to set ourselves up on the back stretch at near top speed than to play catch up. During practice, we would train at a reasonably high paces so that the kids have a good idea of what to expect physically. Then, I emphasize that when they hit the 200m mark, just take off, before fatigue kicks in and your body begins to crash, concentrating on the form (in particular the knee) as much as possible. I'm happy to say I saw a lot of success given that that game plan. We ran a lot of 600m and 800m during practice. The kids had the energy to have been able to pull off a quality 400m. Worth pointing out, I once watched a video where Colin Jackson (UK) gave a strategy for running the 400m: run the first 200m @ 98% of maximum, and try to hold on for the remainder of the race. I believe the idea behind the explanation was to, again, try to maintain an even pace around the track. I had a college track coach who was more direct, in that the key to running the open 400m was to maintain an even pace around the track. No specifics were mentioned. It was up to me to figure that out. Again, good video!

This had helped me sooo much! My first ever race is a week from now and I am so scared. If I can’t beet the fastest people on my team, I am just imagining how fast these other people are gonna be in my meets. But this has helped me a lot. I used to just go full on sprinting the whole way through and manage to keep the same paste.

best 400m explanation I've ever heard. Bravo!

I listen to you often, and when I do I drop time. Thank you!

That tip about running all out your first couple of steps is a good tip by doing that I drop my time by 4 seconds 😂👍🏼

very helpful video. I really learned something from it. and I recognized many parts of my races so far. my death point is usually at 250m. in my next race i will use your strategy, thanks!

i ran my first 400 at time trials yesterday and my coach said my time was a little over a minute and then i watched this and i just cut my time down a LOT. thank you omg this video helped me keep my spot on my varsity track team. Aahhhhh

Helpful Tips! Less stress and less butterflies for my first 400m race event! Thanks!

Been running track for 15 years and still watching this before my last NCAA’s regionals race today lol

Great video! I am one of those people who get really sick after the 400, yet not any other race since it is one of the longest sprints. This video really helped visualise what the whole race will be like, so I can now have a proper plan. Thank you

Wow a whole 18 minutes to explain a race that's about a minute! This 18 minutes of explaining will help me a lot! Thank you so much!😎🤙🔥

Thank you for the great explanation of your race strategy. I am looking forward to incorporating it into my next runs.

This vid helped me freshman year come first in the 400. I even beat a senior. Thank you!

Awesome video, I'm a sophomore , and last year as a freshman I ran a 54.9 at a big invite, but this year it's still early I know but I'm running 57"s . And like today i had an invite , i got put in the boss heat I ran against kids running 51"s and 52"s , and it felt like the best race I ever ran but it was a 57 . My plan is senior year I want a 49.9 .

Thank you your good info. Very very useful. I'm was a sprinter myself but probably burned too much in the curve, probably ran 70-80 meters hard rather that the 50 meters. I shared this info with my 13 year old son and he did an amazing job in a meet this past Saturday. He took 3rd place in his first event of the year against competition that may have been training for 1-2 months more. So thanks again.

Thank you, this is the most helpful video for the 400 meter that I have seen. I’m pretty fit but my 400 meter time is slow, I didn’t have a plan so that is probably partly why, I’m going to try this as soon as possible, I hope it helps

Wow people are doing under a minute and I'm like- Da fuq?!

I tried this and I went from 52.3 to 96.7

I completely agree with you! This is how I used to run the 4x4. This diagram is great and I am going to use it for my kids!

I had to fill in for a team mate on my last meet for a 4x400m. Now tomorrow I have to run a 400m (second time for meet) so this video is helping me a lot, Thank you!

Night before my race and I can't sleep ;-;

Seems like times have not changed much since I was in high school in 1966. On a gravel track with long spike track shoes (the kind at the time) I ran my fastest time of 50.8...which was a NY State high school record. I did it because the guy I was chasing the whole race had monster thighs and was about 6'2"...I was just 6' but was able to beat him out the last 60 yds. It was called the 440 back then...my time was not beaten until 1981 when the new "soft and bouncy" tracks became the standard.

Thanks Coach for this very informative video. I am a 49 year old Masters competitor( former soccer player) and have taken a fondness(or craziness) for running the 400. I run a 58 and change and am hoping to break 56 before I turn 50 (August). I really like the breakdown you present, and look forward to implementing it into my training. Thanks again for the serious, yet comical approach. Cheers.

Thank you, I’m on the track and field team and I’m usually the best at the sprinting events, and now I know the stages on what to do on each section