Steve Robbins summarizes 50-plus years of sprinting lessons

Last year, just before Olathe nationals, I visited my alma mater KU and stopped by Watson Library. I went up to a random librarian and said: “I have to apologize for tearing out a piece of Life magazine in the mid-70s.” I ripped out a quote: “Hurdling is good training for a writer.” The counter guy just looked at me like: Whatever. Now I think writing is good training for a sprinter. Hall of Famer Steve Robbins, the world champ and WR man, has shared a wonderful 3,400-word treatise he wrote three years ago. (He shared it with me after reading Wayne Bennett’s sprint advice.) Too much to summarize in Steve’s version, but I really like his truth-telling: “The ‘magic’ bullets, if you can call them that, are having the right parents and hard training. When a world-class masters athlete tells you he or she takes some supplement and how terrific it is, the fact is that they’d probably be just as good without the supplement. There are, unfortunately, no shortcuts to top performances.” Steve should write a book on masters speed, adding to his collection of biz manuals.

Steve (center) beat Aussie Peter Crombie and Kenton Brown at 2011 Sacramento worlds 100.



WHAT I LEARNED FROM 50+ YEARS OF SPRINTING

By Stephen P. Robbins

Let me begin by stating that I have no formal qualifications for offering advice on sprinting. I have never had a course in physiology or kinesiology. I’ve never even taken a class in track and field. And I have never been a track coach. What I DO have is a lot of experience. As best as I can figure, I’ve spent more than 20,000 hours training on a track or in a gym preparing for sprint competitions. Yogi Berra once said, “you can learn a lot just by watching.” Well, I’ve been watching for 50-plus years and I think I’ve learned a lot.

If it’s true that you learn more when you lose than when you win, I also gained the equivalent of a Ph.D. in sprinting during my undergraduate college days. I ran fast times in unimportant races but I seemed to always underperform (or “choke”) in the big races. It started in high school. In my senior year, my times ranked me in the top-5 in the state but I didn’t get out of the heats at the state championship. In college, I ran fast times and pulled out victories in small dual meets but never won a conference title and never made it out of the trials in the NCAAs.

Fast-forward 25 years. Something happened in my late-40s. What it was, I’m not sure. Suddenly I was not only winning local meets but I was medaling in national meets. And starting at age 50, I began winning gold medals at national and world meets. I was even breaking world age-group records at 100, 200, and 400 meters. I might attribute my new-found success to maturing late but I don’t think that would fly. I think what happened was that I learned how to train and how to race. I guess I was just a slow learner. But I did learn and what follows is a summary of that education.

KEEP A JOURNAL OF WORKOUTS

You want to have a record of your workouts. So create a journal and include every workout in it.

I’ve kept a journal since 1988. I’ve found it to be useful on many occasions. For instance, it’s a great reference for analyzing what I did or didn’t do before either an exceptionally good or bad performance. It also provided me with the information I needed to identify what actions preceded injuries. More recently, because I now have such extensive data, I can accurately predict what times I’ll run in a race based on times I ran in practice the week before.

THE BAD NEWS: SPEED IS LARGELY INHERITED

About 70 percent of speed is genetically determined. Every bit of advice or coaching you get is directed at that other 30%. With proper training, a 50-year old who is running 12.8 for 100m can improve to the low-12s. But he’s unlikely to get down to the low-11s. Track workouts, weight lifting, plyometrics, vitamin supplements, and the like can help make you stronger and faster but they are not going to turn someone who ran a 12.5 100m at 18 into an 11-flat 100m sprinter at 45.

The reality is that most of the superstar sprinters in masters track were outstanding sprinters in their youth. For instance, Bill Collins and Bobby Whilden — both record setters in their respective age groups—were world-class sprinters in their college days. All things being equal, the faster you were in your youth, the faster you’ll be as a masters’ athlete.

IF YOU’RE JUSTING STARTING, HAVE PATIENCE
If you haven’t competed in decades, you need to initiate your comeback slowly. The evidence indicates that it takes about three years for our bodies to reprogram and for you to reach 100% of your potential.

I’ve observed that this advice is hardest to follow for those who were good sprinters in their youth. They forget that they’re not 19 anymore. And like the thoroughbreds they were, they find it hard to hold back. The result is that many of these athletes end up quitting, frustrated by recurring injuries.

Injuries, as we’ll elaborate upon, are part of sprinting. But reprogramming muscles that have been dormant for decades takes time. New or returning sprinters can be competitive in 6 months of training but it will take several years to reach your full potential.
The good news is that this transition period is the rare instance when you can actually run faster from one year to the next. Our adult bodies are in constant decline. But during that initial period when you begin to seriously train for sprint competitions, you should find your times dropping. After about three years, the learning curve flattens and most of us can only aspire to decline at a slower rate than our competitors.

WHY SPEED DECLINES

The general view of why speed declines over the years is that our leg turnover decreases. Actually, decline is largely due to shortening of stride length.

An elite sprinter will typically take about 45 strides during a 100m race. If a masters’ sprinter maintained that same leg turnover and took strides that were a foot shorter (say 7 feet instead of 8), the masters athlete would be 15 yards behind when the elite finished. A top 60-year old masters’ athlete is more likely to have a stride length of 6 feet or less, which means giving up 30 yards to that elite. And that assumes no loss in stride frequency!

I don’t know of any research on techniques for lengthening normal stride length. Overstriding, which some athletes work on, will only result in reduced stride frequency. I think stretching is about the only thing that helps—especially focusing on the groin and hip flexors.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

It took me nearly 40 years to learn to listen to my body. If you’re goal-oriented and competitive, you tend to set specific goals for a workout and then push yourself to achieve them. But when you feel a pain or ache beyond what you should be experiencing in the workout, heed what your body is telling you. It’s OK to pack it in and go home. You might not have met your workout goal but you might have avoided an injury that sets you back weeks or even months.

REST IS NECESSARY

Limit your track workouts to three-times a week and give yourself plenty of rest prior to a competition.

College and elite sprinters can do six workouts a week on the track. Many can even do two-a-days. The bodies of athletes over 50 can’t take that kind of wear-and-tear. They break down. So almost all masters’ sprinters reduce their track workouts to three-times-a-week. They often supplement those track workouts with resistance training on the other days.

THE GENERAL LAW OF TRAINING

Train slow and you’ll race slow! So substitute quality over quantity as you prepare to peak.

With due respect to those coaches who advocate lots of slow intervals for sprinters, every sprinter (even those with world-class credentials) needs to do quality speed work in the weeks before a major competition. If you’ve been doing speed drills on a regular basis, your body should make this adjustment quickly.

SPRINTING IS STRENGTH

Sprinting is a strength and power event. You need lower-body strength to push off the blocks and for your drive phase. You need upper body strength to power your way to the finish line.

It’s not by chance that today’s elite sprinters look a lot like body builders. They need that muscle to power themselves to sub-10-flat 100m times.

Many masters athletes in their 40s still have the muscle configurations of elite athletes. But starting in your 50s, you will begin to lose muscle mass at an increasing rate. The research indicates that, past 75, testosterone levels are quite low and building muscle is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, regardless of age, you need to include regular resistance-training in your program.

THIN IS IN

Horse racing handicaps horses by adding pounds to “equalize” the competition. They add 5 to 10 pounds to an 1100 pound horse to slow him down. If this small amount of additional weight can slow down an 1100 pound horse, imagine what it does to a 175 pound human!

Carrying an extra 10 or 20 pounds is going to add tenths of a second to your sprint times. If you go to a masters’ world championship and look over the line-up at the finals of the 100 meters, you’ll see very few overweight competitors.

There are always some exceptions (e.g., Marty Krulee is one of the fastest men in his age group and a good 30 pounds overweight but he was ranked among the top-10 sprinters in the world when he was in his late-20s!]. To paraphrase Damon Runyon, the race doesn’t always go to the thin and fit but that’s the way to bet.

SPEED COMES FROM RELAXATION

Ever seen a race walk event? Competitors walk as fast as they can without running. Bob Costas, the sports broadcaster, once described it as the equivalent of seeing who could whisper the loudest. A similar dilemma confronts sprinters. You have to try to run as fast as you can but as relaxed as you can. It seems like a contradiction. How do you relax when you’re pushing as hard as you can? It’s not easy but it’s a skill that differentiates the winners and losers in sprinting.

When you watch the great sprinters, they make it look easy. When they run their fastest times, observers will say “you looked like you weren’t trying” or “if you had pushed a bit harder, you could have run faster.” The truth is that you attain your top speed when you relax and let that speed come out. When you reach that point, pushing harder only slows you up. So you need to practice the art of running as fast as you can while, at the same time, relaxing.

STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE COMPETITION

Isn’t it obvious that you can’t control what your competition does? (Tripping isn’t allowed!) Yet many masters athletes obsess on who is in their race. It’s a classic mistake and can only lessen your performance.

The race is between you and the clock. When you worry or focus on your competition, they gain the upper hand. You often end up running their race rather than your own.

If there is any one single difference between me at 20 and 60, it has been learning to tune out the competition and focus on what I have to do to run my best. At 68 I can honestly admit that if a competitor runs a 12-flat 100m against me, I’m going to lose. There is nothing I can do about it. But if he runs 12.8, I might be able to beat him—as long as I run my race, not his.

PAST 50, THERE IS NO OFF-SEASON

We often hear about elite athletes taking a couple of months off after a long season. While I am a strong believer in rest, I don’t think that rest should imply long periods off. Rest needs to be a few days here and there, not months at a time.

Since masters’ bodies are in a constant state of decline (I don’t like that phrase anymore than you do but it’s an accurate statement), any significant layoff is only likely to hasten that decline. And while the elite athlete can return from a lengthy layoff and quickly return to his or her previous level of conditioning, that doesn’t apply to masters’ athletes. In most cases, losses are permanent.

As a result, try to avoid any lengthy layoffs. And recognize that one of the negative side effects of a major injury is not only that you lose competitive opportunities but you lose conditioning and muscle-mass that you spent months or years building.

FOCUS YOUR TRAINING ON YOUR WEAKNESS, NOT YOUR STRENGTH

This advice seems obvious but it’s often ignored. If you’re blessed with natural speed, emphasize strength-building in your training. Conversely, if your gift is cardio strength, put your focus on sharpening your speed.

In systems theory, there is the law of equifinality. It says that you can reach a given end state by many potential means. I think this law applies to masters’ sprinting. There is no “one best way” to excel on the track. While we all have a tendency to want to mimic the workouts of the “stars,” that’s probably not the best way to go.

For instance, compare the reported workouts of superstars Bill Collins and Stephen Peters. Both are world champs and world-record holders at distances from 60m to 400m. Collins advocates strength-building workouts by doing lots of repeat 400s at a relatively modest pace. He proposes that masters’ sprinters not exceed 90% speed in workouts. In contrast, Peters reportedly “warms up” by doing four or five 100’s at a progressively faster pace, with the last being at near 100%. Then he runs 2×300 all out with a full recovery.

The fact that both Collins and Peters have had phenomenal success by doing almost exactly opposite workouts merely confirms the law of equifinality. I’d postulate that Collins’ training works because he is blessed with incredible natural speed. He doesn’t have to do much speed work to run fast times. Peters, on the other hand, has natural strength and can run fast races up to 400m by running fast 300s in practice.

WORKOUT VARIABLES OFFER LOTS OF OPTIONS

What’s a good track workout? 4×150? 5×200? A ladder of 200-300-400-300-200? 10×100? 3×300?

The answer is: All of the above. Your track workout options are only limited by your creativity. You’ve essentially got four variables that you can modify to fit your needs—distance, speed, number of intervals, and recovery time. For instance, in the winter I’ve done 4×150 at 80% speed with a two-minute recovery. In the late spring, I’ve done that same number of 150s at 95% with a 10-minute recovery. Both met my objective at the time.

In recent winters, I’ve had to train on a flat, 200m indoor track. My feet can no longer take the stress of running those tight turns so I’ve created more than a dozen workouts all based on repeat 50s. Sometimes I do 20; sometimes I do 5. Some workouts include rests of only 20 seconds; others with 3 minutes. My point is that, consistent with that law of equifinality, there are many roads to the top step on the medal platform.

THERE ARE NO MAGIC BULLETS

Contrary to popular beliefs, there are no workouts, vitamin supplements, track shoes, or the like that will lead to a major breakthrough.

My wife often comments that masters’ athletes are always looking for some secret potion that will give their performances a big boost. She says that people think there is some secret which others have and which, if they could just get it, would allow them to break records.

The reality is that there are no secrets. The “magic” bullets, if you can call them that, are having the right parents and hard training. When a world-class masters’ athlete tells you he or she takes some supplement and how terrific it is, the fact is that they’d probably be just as good without the supplement. There are, unfortunately, no shortcuts to top performances.

FIRE THE PISTONS

When it comes to fast-twitch fibers, you have to use them or lose them. Young sprinters can avoid speed work for months at a time, come back, and lose nothing. I don’t find that to be true with masters. Our bodies are losing testosterone and, hence, muscle. In contrast to our youthful contemporaries, we need to regularly fire our fast-twitch fibers.

What this means is that all of us, regardless of how much fast-twitch fiber we have, need to do speed work even in the off-season. One workout every two weeks should be adequate. This will do two things: (1) you’ll keep your fast-twitch fibers firing and (2) you reduce the chance for injuries when you move from strength workouts to speed drills.

THE 200 IS AN ALL-OUT RACE

I keep hearing people describe their strategies for running a 200 race. I understand strategy for a 400 but the 200 is an all-out sprint. Just like a 100, there is no “strategy.”
You are capable of running at 100% speed for approximately 40 seconds. That means your body, when it’s in shape, can run a 200 at full speed for the entire distance. The key is relaxing. Once you’ve learned to run full speed and be relaxed, you can run a 200 all out from start to finish.

MINIMIZE WEARING SPIKES

Spikes have a place. You need to wear them to practice starts and to simulate race speed by getting up on your toes. Almost all of us run differently in sprint spikes than we do in flats. So you need to wear spikes to prepare your body for competitions. But spikes offer little support and minimal cushioning. That puts stress on your feet and ankles. The older you get, the more you need to rely on quality flats for workouts. There are now a number of excellent racing flats available that combine light weight with decent support.

CHANGE FLATS REGULARLY

Shoes break down over time. I suggest you change your training flats every 3-4 months so they keep their cushion and reduce injuries.

None of us like to waste money. And throwing out a pair of running flats that you’ve worn for only a few months may seem wasteful. It’s not. While they may look fine, running flats break down rather quickly. When they do, they don’t provide you with the foot and ankle protection that you need. I buy my training shoes in batches of 3 or 4 at a time. And though they are definitely “low mileage,” I throw away shoes every quarter.

MASSAGE IS A NECESSARY LUXURY

You should make deep-tissue massage a basic part of your training. Most elite sprinters get a 60- to 90-minute deep-tissue massage after every track workout. It helps muscles recover, reduces injuries, and allows you to maintain hard workouts. In addition, a 15-20 minute “flushing” massage after a competitive race will rid your system of lactic acid and allow you to recover more quickly.

When I’m injured, I’ve found Active Release Technique (ART) to be very effective for getting me back on the track. If you’re not familiar with ART, it’s basically very aggressive and resistance-related massage.

You can find an ART person near you at: www.activerelease.com/providerSearch.asp

IT’S ALL ABOUT INJURY-MANAGEMENT

The longer I’ve been competing in masters’ competitions the more I’ve become aware that success is all about injury-management.

I often joke that if you meet someone new at a track meet and want to bond with them, just say, “So, tell me about your injuries.” I’ve never yet had anyone say, “Oh, I haven’t had any!”

Injuries are part and parcel of masters’ track. Sprinters are particularly vulnerable because we’re doing explosive activities—starts, all-out sprints, plyometrics. But how you handle those injuries will make the difference between making it to the starting line or staying home with an ice-pack on your leg.

What are the most common sprinter injuries? Hamstring strains and pulls; achilles tendonitis; plantar fasciitis; groin strains; and calf cramps.

I include the following as part of my injury-management program: listening to my body, rest, massage, stretching, and having a good orthopedic on speed-dial.

LOOK FOR PRECURSORS TO INJURIES

Use your journal to identify what you did before you got injured. I did this recently and learned there were definite precursors to my injuries. They included stretching before doing speed work or a competitive race, wearing spikes too often, running on flat indoor turns, weight-lifting on my legs the day before a speed workout on the track, not allowing enough recovery between hard speed intervals, not flushing out the lactic acid after a race, doing speed drills when I was tired, and not giving myself enough rest or recovery days.

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August 21, 2014

22 Responses

  1. Ed Dunaye - August 21, 2014

    This is a great article ! Steve Robbins and Wayne Bennett are both great runners. Have you noticed that Steve “looks to the sky” and Wayne “looks to the land”.

  2. Roger Pierce - August 21, 2014

    Steve,
    Steve, you nailed it completely with your excellent observations and insights drawn from your own experience over a lifetime of sprint training and competition.This should be the “Bible” for all aspiring sprinters, and should enable them to draw a clear, common sense understanding of how to improve what they were born with. Thank you for your thoughts into what makes a great sprinter…I heartily agree with almost everything you have written.
    You have been one of the most consistent and successful masters sprinters of all time and I applaud you for all your accomplishments. You are knowledgeable and open to different methods and ideas and always willing to share your thoughts with others over the course of your sprint career.
    I first met you in Madison, Wisconsin at my first Masters Indoor National Championship in 1990 when I was 45 years old.I believe you were 47 at the time. I had been training my ass off for 5 years, attempting to compete successfully on the National level.We ran against each other in the 60m final along with World 100m Champion Thad Bell and everything came together for me as I won the race in a US Record of 7.40 ( the WR was 7.33 at the time) On the bus ride back to our hotel after the meet, we spoke of our training and you asked me how I trained in New England during the winter, and I told you, “I shovel the snow off the track,”and that is exactly what I had to do to train.You looked at me, smiled and said, ” I live in San Diego….I have no excuse!!” We both laughed.
    I assume you went home, hunkered down and found some snow to shovel off the tracks in San Diego, because within a year, you were the dominate sprinter and “the MAN,” in our age group and you have continued to consistently set the standard for all of us over the years.I don’t believe I have ever defeated you since then in a race. You have had an absolutely incredible career in Masters track…Good on ya Steve.

  3. Diane Pomeroy - August 21, 2014

    Steve,
    Great article. I think that you hit all of the important training tips in your article. The train-fast-to-run-fast approach is definitely the idea that Roger and I use in our training. I have only been a sprinter for two years but I love sprint training. It seems that many athletes do too much over distance at too slow a pace and are frustrated with their race performances.

  4. Steven Bowles - August 21, 2014

    Steve ,excellent minithesis . You hit all the bases . As usual , well written . I can only aspire to your skills and abilities ! Stay in touch .

  5. James Snook - August 21, 2014

    Great article. I think that the train-fast-to-run-fast approach is definitely the approach to Sprint training. Very much useful information was provided in the article.

    I also record each training session and each competition. I concentrate on the maximum speed reached in each practice interval or race. I time many of my training intervals to reinforce fast speed.

    Maximum speed reached for each interval can be done easily and accurately by analytical means, primarily using available software.

    This provides the capability to determine projected times and level of effort at other distances for this particular rate. It also provides the extent to which a particular energy system has been trained.

    Theoretically, anaerobic and aerobic systems should
    be trained, especially for 200 Meter and 400 Meter races.

    I have also noticed that stride length apparently does increase from early season to late season due to training. Probably because the training type and intensity has increased.

    For sprint training, I follow the USATF Coaches recommendations such as the total sprint distance run for each training session. However, I pay attention to my body and my energy level as the session proceeds.

    I really appreciate Steve’s article and would like to see more articles like this in the future.

  6. Doug Spencer - August 21, 2014

    Thanks Steve, good info for all, I am recovering from hamstring surgery(tore from bone 16 weeks ago) and will be at least 3 more months before I can even jog, I

  7. Doug Spencer - August 21, 2014

    I would add a good Physical Therapist to the list of what every master runner needs !

  8. wayne bennett - August 21, 2014

    A great article and should be read by all masters sprinters. I have been telling people all these things for years, but never thought about putting it in writing. Thank you Steve. It has been great knowing you for all these years. Roger, you are as great with words as you are on the track.

  9. Stephen Robbins - August 22, 2014

    Thank you all for the kind comments. And thank you, Wayne, for initiating the discussion. It would be interesting to see more people share their experience and insights re: training. I know there are a number of masters’ athletes who are a lot more qualified than I am to share what they’ve learned. I’d especially love to hear from coaches and those in sports medicine.

  10. James Snook - August 22, 2014

    I would like to see responses from coaches at various levels and experience.

    Personally, in addition to being a Masters Athlete, I am also a USATF certified coach Level 1. Also, National certified USATF official.

  11. Amanda Coombe - August 22, 2014

    Great summary Steve. We have posted the article on our SprintForce Facebook page here in AU. Thanks for sharing your pearls of wisdom.

  12. Bill, Kaspari - August 22, 2014

    Steve,

    Your article is one of the most complete, and yet concise articles I have seen on masters sprinting.

    Great job!

    Bill Kaspari

  13. Byrke Beller - August 25, 2014

    Great advice!!

  14. Ken stone - August 27, 2014

    How can masters sprinters apply this new understanding of speed mechanics:
    http://phys.org/news/2014-08-world-class-sprinters-ground-maximize-impact.html

  15. wayne bennett - August 28, 2014

    You have to train the brain to make the body do what you want it to. Once the brain is trained, then the body reacts correctly without conscious thought. As Bill Collins once said “you have to run faster than the speed of thought”.

  16. Rodriguez De Caravalho - November 16, 2014

    Great article Steve. Look forward to seeing you in August in France

  17. MacDaddy - July 5, 2015

    Awesome article. I will be running in my first 100 meter dash at the NJ Senior Olympics in September. I am a powerlifting world record holder in the WNPF. The power certainly helps me maintain my speed. Everything else needs work. Thanks for sharing.

  18. Don Bosseau - July 21, 2016

    Stephen
    How did I miss our KU connection during our days at San Diego State University.?

  19. Syb - January 21, 2017

    I’m grateful for Steve’s article and others comments. It’s confirmation of what I’ve learned being determined for years in my 50’s to become a great sprinter. It amazes me that in a school of hard knocks alone in a small field in Florida would result in nearly an identical common learning experience.

  20. William Dunning - March 7, 2018

    I’m almost 69. A year ago I was overweight and warned to lose weight. I lost 57 lbs. in five months. I unload truck during the day. Black pipe and hot water eaters. I lift like a warrior in the gym. I’m 5’ 9”. Weigh 191lbs. Ive had triple by pass surgery years ago. Doctor has told me that I can run as much as I want. Ive incorporated stretching in my work out. My strength is good in the gym. Leg press 640, dead lift lifts with 225lbs. I do not have access to a track in the winter. I do wind sprints in waste deep water. I was a good sprinter in school, but I never trained for it. I’m afraid to run on land now and unsure how to train for a track meet I’m sure I’m fast, but afraid. I was in a war and wasn’t too afraid, but I’m afraid now.

  21. Brian Farrell - March 10, 2018

    Very helpful!! I’m 61 and spent most of my training life running 2 or 3 mile workouts at high speed. Pulse was 186 at the end of today’s workout. Right after the run I ran 3X60m full-out sprints. Felt great, and no pains!! I’m a new empty-nester as our last child left for college in September. Been dreaming of getting back on the track since I last raced at age 45. Came home after my run and said “I got to get started!” and went online to find out what to do. What a great find! Thank you, Steve!

  22. Tom Bowden - July 16, 2018

    Steve loved ur article on masters sprinting.I hope this find u on mend with ur health issues.I was sidelined with a grade 2 hamstring strain (an old injury)so I didn’t get race any latter part of May & all of June.However ,I was able to get ranked number one both in 200/400….30.44/1:08.12.I have a faster 200 but hand timed of 28.8.Couple races they missed placed my time .Said I ran 34 … 200 after running the 68 …400 !! I was right behind younger guys running in 27.Same with 400 couldn’t find my time so gave me the slower time . That’s life on the track .I do have a meet this Sunday 22nd in Nashville,Tn.I feel ready .Take care .Tom Bowden

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