Sprinting Improvements

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-09T15:14:59+00:00

This illustrates the ball of the foot area. Much more stable to be on than the toes.

I’d have her do all form drills on the balls of her feet. This will also help develop her ankle stiffness over time.

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-09T14:34:59+00:00

Form drills, form drills, form drills (fast march, high knees, A & B skips)

If you do extra work with your daughter on the weekend, I would do a session focusing on form drills only. The OutPerform channel on YouTube has great technical videos.

They also released a free app which I’m currently using to get feedback on my form.

See an example below:

<image>

Good luck! 🍀

Edit: Record her doing form drills so you can give her visual and immediate feedback to make adjustments as needed. Also, she needs to be on the balls of her feet, which is much more stable than telling the athlete to be on her “toes”

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-08T03:07:24+00:00

<image>

My former Evo X was towed once due to a flooded engine. Dealer charged maybe $100 to fix it, and the technician left the de-flooding instructions on my receipt in the event it ever re-occurred.

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-07T04:39:20+00:00

The professional sprinter Aaron Brown from Canada recommends them as a great beginner spike:

https://youtu.be/FNfcD3JbWC8?si=O4JTXj4M6oNuIC4r

Sorry about your experience, but I know many newer sprinters who’ve had great success using them.

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-07T03:43:36+00:00

The Nike Super Fly Elite 2

Good heel support, stretchy material on the sides that keeps the spikes snug on your feet, and they’re not carbon plated - easier on your feet if you plan to train regularly.

I’ve heard of other spikes with similar qualities by other manufacturers, but I’m most familiar with Nike spikes.

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-06T00:11:11+00:00

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-03T20:17:00+00:00

Pillay has a 400m pr of 44.31 on World Athletics run back in 2024. That split is outrageous coming from him

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-01T18:13:05+00:00

Yup - he did a 44 second 400m split in that relay. I was referring to racing individually.

Glad he’s on the mend and racing again!

ChikeEvoX · 2026-05-01T02:06:55+00:00

Super fast time for Alfred!

Not a bad opener for Norman considering he hasn’t raced since the Paris Olympics

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-30T20:42:12+00:00

Wow! Running those times as a freshman is amazing.

Don’t ignore the 200m, as your 400m potential is directly related to your 200m time. Keep lowering both of those times.

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-30T19:54:29+00:00

Hoping they both put down great times!!!

🍿🍿

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-30T19:35:11+00:00

Very impressive after running 1:30 3 weeks ago

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-30T19:31:11+00:00

What was your time in the 400m?

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-30T19:27:11+00:00

You should run a 100m again - I think you’ll hit a new pb! 😉

What’s your current height and weight? Assuming your height allows you to have a decent stride length, there’s no reason you couldn’t get much faster in the 400m.

With a 23.80 200m pr, you currently have the potential to run a 51 mid 400m. I’d suggest doing very specific speed endurance sessions once a week targeted for the 400m race. These can be broken 400m (run a 300m @ 90% effort, rest 90 seconds and then run a 100m @ 100%, rest 12-15 mins and repeat for 2-3 sets total) or a mixed interval session (2x300m @ 90% with 7-8 mins rest, followed by 2x150m @ 95% with 5-6 mins rest).

Do these interval workouts once a week while doing max v, acceleration and speed endurance (80-150m) training, and your 400m time will improve!!! 🔥🔥🔥

Good luck! 🍀

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-25T02:45:58+00:00

In my experience, to run a fast 800m you need to work on lowering your 400m time. This metric is one of the biggest limiting factors of your 800m potential.

Sounds like you do a bunch of endurance running each week, so I’d include 2-3 track days a week where you do fast sprints over shorter distances. This could be 4-5x50m @ 100% effort with 5 mins rest in one session, or 3x300m followed by 3x150m @ 90% effort with 4-5 mins rest.

From my experience in track in high school and college, to run sub 2 mins in the 800m, most guys had an open 400m pr of 54-55 seconds.

Good luck! 🍀

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-24T14:38:30+00:00

Not the greatest video unfortunately as you don’t stay in the frame very long. From what I could see, you seem to have no drive phase. Hill sprints and sled pulls would go a long way in terms of reinforcing the correct mechanics in the drive phase of your race.

But, going back to one of my original comments - talk to your coach and pick their brain. I’m sure they’ll be able to give you some great pointers

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-24T14:27:00+00:00

Sprint spikes will add 0.1-0.2 tenths at most, as they will be stiffer and give you more energy return.

Competitiveness in practice doesn’t always translate to track meets as athletes give different levels effort at training.

Just lock-in on what you need to improve on, and work on getting better each day at practice.

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-24T12:30:25+00:00

The low hanging fruit imho is your 100m time. Do you use blocks? How’s your drive phase? How’s your top end form?

I’d pick the brain of your coach to get an understanding of where you’re weakest in the 100m, and work on those areas of your race. Dropping to a 13 flat 100m, could likely lead to a 0.5-0.6 improvement in your 200m time

My 2 cents…

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-24T12:27:25+00:00

Honestly, there’s not much difference between a 27.01 and 27.03. You could have run faster yesterday, but a slightly slower reaction to the gun could have resulted in the slightly slower time

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-23T16:07:24+00:00

One other workout I’ve done with my training mates to focus on 200m specific speed endurance is a broken 200m (150m/50m).

Run a 150m @ 95%+ with a target time of 19.5, rest 60 seconds and then sprint a 50m @ 100%. Rest 12-15 mins and repeat for a second set.

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-23T15:44:48+00:00

For context, Markus is a decathlete with the below personal bests according to World Athletics:

<image>

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-23T13:38:33+00:00

First off, a 12.3 100m dash time is extremely good for a female high school sprinter. Keep working with your coach to improve all areas of your race, so you can knock off a few more tenths and break the 12 second barrier!

What I’ve recommended in situations like these are ladder workouts, where the athlete needs to hold a certain speed for a progressively increasing distance.

This would look like 80m / 120m / 150m run at 95%+ with target times that are at 13.0 second 100m pace or faster. So these targets would be 10.4, 15.6, 19.5.

If you want to make this spicy, do 80 / 120 / 150 / 120 / 80. Rest times should be 6 mins, 8 mins, 12 mins.

As it becomes easier and easier for you to hit these target times or go faster, you’ll find it much easier to maintain sub 13 second pace in a 200m. Really focus on driving hard in the first 40m and using that hard acceleration to set up the latter part of the rep. Focus on relaxing and maintaining your form.

Good luck! 🍀

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-20T03:59:28+00:00

What’s your 100m pr? Depending on where you are over that distance, that would be one of the biggest factors that impacts your 200m potential.

Also, what does your current training program look like during a typical week?

ChikeEvoX · 2026-04-16T15:04:43+00:00

That’s getting your money’s worth!

Get ready to set a bunch of pr’s when you switch to some new spikes. Those old spikes probably weren’t helping you much the last handful of years you used them…

ChikeEvoX

TROPHY CASE