YOU MIGHT FEEL the need for speed watching the amazing Track and Field (or Athletics, if you’re outside the US) athletes zoom around the oval at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Top-line sprinters are among the most iconic athletes in the sports world; just check out Netflix’s recent Sprint docuseries. Seeing the short-distance (400-meter and under) track athletes speed their way across the finish line can be wildly impressive, especially in an event like the 400-meter dash, which is considered by some to be the toughest race in the sport. You might just have the itch to lace up your kicks, hit the track, and see just how fast you can run.
Even if you feel like Ricky Bobby with a need for speed, you might not be prepared to go fast. Everyday runners (and even whose who have a few race medals hanging on their wall) are more likely to be accustomed to the long and slow runs that come with road racing, which typically starts at the 5K distance. If that’s the case, you’re missing out on some serious advantages of sprint training. Thankfully, any runner can learn how to tackle a 400-meter dash like a pro—just as long as you understand how to approach the run.
And who better to help you than one of the most decorated sprinters of all time? We caught up with Michael Johnson, who as a four-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion with a fair claim for 400-meter GOAT status after going seven years undefeated in the event in international competition and holding the world record in the event for 17 years.
Here, he shares his expert insight into not only running a fast 400 meters, but what you need to do to prepare to run an all out sprint the right way. Importantly, every athlete will have slightly different needs, so take his coaching as tips to apply as they work within your training as a starting point.
Why Short, Fast Runs Deserve a Spot In Your Workouts
If you’re a neighborhood or treadmill runner who’s used to clocking some moderate-pace 3-milers, there are many benefits to running sprints that you’ll want to capitalize on.
Sprint Training Makes You Stronger
“The more you sprint and become accustomed to sprinting, your body becomes more powerful and stronger,” says Johnson. “It’s less likely you’d get hurt doing less strenuous runs like 10Ks and 5Ks [when you also sprint].”
Sprint Training Makes Your Other Races Better
If you’ve ever run any longer distance races, you’ve probably realized at some point before the finish line that you need to dig deep to find the energy to pick up the pace to run just a bit faster. Sprint training can help you do that, says Johnson. Training to maximize the duration of your fast run or sprint pace will allow you to better tap into that reserve during all types of runs. “Typically, athletes who spend time sprinting end up with better running form and technique,” adds Johnson. “Better running technique does two things for you: makes you faster because you’re more efficient and minimizes the risk of injury.”
Sprint Training Is Fun
Running fast with nowhere to go brings back memories of recess and after-school practices that make you feel like a kid again. “Sprinting is fun,” says Johnson pointedly. “There’s nothing like the feeling of going fast.”
How to Run a 400-Meter Dash
Ready to run? Don’t just lace up and sprint out the door. In fact, going too hot out of the gate is exactly what you don’t want to do, says Johnson. Here’s how to train for and run your fastest 400 meters (without the wheels coming off).
Ease In, Stay Consistent
Keep the volume of your sprinting (meaning the days you’re training) light to start in order to allow your body to progressively adapt and avoid acute injuries, says Johnson. Proper warm-ups and cool-downs are also “exponentially more important” as you begin sprint training, he adds.
Still, to become a better sprinter, you have to sprint. “You’re at higher risk of injury if you’re not sprinting often enough,” says Johnson. That means sprinkling in a sprint session every couple of weeks isn’t going to cut it. He advises that you try incorporating sprint work into 10 percent or less of your overall training for a given week as a starting point, then work your way up in volume from there.
Don’t think that your longer, slower workouts will do much for your sprint practice, though. These “are almost two completely different sports,” says Johnson. “When I was competing, I never ran farther than 600 meters.”
Make Form a Focus
If you’ve snuck by on leisure runs or during group fitness classes without really critiquing your form, your time is up. “If you go into a sprint session with that same running form … now it’s catastrophic,” says Johnson.
Symmetry is especially important while sprinting—it’s all about “efficiency of movement,” he says. Check out what’s happening on your left side: Arm swing, stride, and overall body positioning. Is it mirroring your right? Adjust accordingly to make sure it is.
Train for Sustained Speed
“The primary thing you’re training for as a 400 meter sprinter is sustaining speed for the longest period that you possibly can,” says Johnson. That pace is the maximum speed you can hold over the duration of the race, not your absolute top speed, which wouldn’t be possible to keep up with for the entire 400 meters. You’ll quickly find it’s a lot longer than you expect if you take a max-out approach.
In practice, this could look like running four rounds of 300 meters at 70 to 80 percent of your max speed with 1-minute rest between rounds. Sounds brutal? It is, says Johnson, but that makes the 400-meter dash much more manageable.
This brings us to these important race day tips…
Conserve Energy
That might sound counterintuitive given that we’re talking about sprints, but the 400-meter run isn’t a length you run at 100 percent for the entire time, says Johnson. “The mistake is thinking, because it’s a sprint, that the average person can just go out there and just run as fast as you can,” he says. “You will pay an absolute price at the end of the race. Even world-class athletes can’t sprint the entire 400 meters at full speed.”
“The critical component to the 400-meter run is understanding that it’s an exercise in managing energy and speed around the entire sprint,” he adds. “You want to use your ability to sprint full speed at some point in the race, but not at others. That’s the difficulty.”
Remain Focused
Running a 400-meter dash is not a “enjoy the scenery” kind of run, says Johnson. That’s why working on your mental mindset during training is so important to running a strong mistake-free race—even if it’s just against yourself. “It’s an absolutely critical component,” he says. “You don’t have the ability to make many adjustments in the race.”
During a short sprint, you’re constantly taking in tons of information, assessing your form, your run strategy, your distance within the race, and the competition (if you’re running with others). “You need to be really good at being highly focused in the moment because you’re having to make real-time decisions in split seconds,” says Johnson. This could mean making small adjustments to your technique to kick at the end of a race, or just shifting in the lane at your local track to avoid a slower-paced runner you need to pass. This focus will come in handy when you need to check your internal clock, as well, he says. “So you know where you’re at what points in the race.”
