TIps for Athletes
The Standing Start
The Crouch Start
- On your marks: Place the power leg directly behind the starting line (your front foot) with the "weaker leg" (your back foot)about 1.5 feet behind it. Feet should be shoulder-width apart. Stand erect and still.
- Set/Get set: Bend at the knees and lower head and shoulders until they are slightly above hip level. Body weight should be on the front foot. The opposite arm is moved forward in a bent position, ready to drive backward at the "Go" command, and the other arm is placed slightly back to balance. Hold the position.
- Go: Step forward first with the back foot, pushing off the front foot while thrusting the opposite arm backward. Drive forward vigorously with arms and legs. Gradually, come to an erect position over about 10 feet distance while running forward. Remind students that standing up too soon will slow them down. (www.nyrr.org)
The Crouch Start
- On your marks: Walk up to the starting line. The power leg's foot should always be close to the starting line. Kneel down so that the back knee is lowered to the ground next to the front foot. Place the hands on the ground, spreading them shoulder-width apart with the thumb and index finger placed behind the starting line and the rest of the fingers bunched in back of the index finger. The fingers and thumb form a supporting bridge. The shoulders are over the starting line, the back knee is on the ground, and the arms are straight. Body weight should be to the rear.
- Set/Get set: Raise the hips slightly above the shoulders as you raise the back knee off the ground. Keep the arms straight. Shift the body weight forward over the hands. Imagine that you are a coiled spring. Hold the position while concentrating on start signal.
- Go: When all runners are still, the starter will give the "Go" command. React as quickly as possible. Uncoil, exploding out of the start by pushing the feet against the ground forcefully to drive out and up. Step forward first with the back foot and push off the front foot. Gradually, come to an erect position over the course of 25 feet while running forward. Remind students that standing up too soon will slow them down. (www.nyrr.org)
- Pace is time divided by distance.
- Goal pace refers to the pace a runner would ultimately like to run for a certain distance by the end of the season.
- A split is the time that it takes to run a specific portion of a race or workout.
- An even split is when a runner consecutively runs equal distances in the same amount of time. Calculate even splits by dividing the race distance by the distance you want splits for. Then take the goal time and divide it by that number to get your even split goal. For example: if you want to run 4 miles in 32 minutes, then to get 1 mile splits you divide 4 by 1 and get 4. Then divide 32 by that 4 to get 8. That means you need to run 8-minute mile splits, or 8 minutes per mile. (www.nyrr.org)