• 100 Meter Dash

Training for the 100-meter dash focuses on building strength, speed and technique. There's no need for aerobic exercise, since your body only uses anaerobic energy to run the race. Instead, you'll want to spend your time in the weight room and on the track building the power you need to reach your highest speeds.

1. Get into shape before training for the 100-meter dash. You'll need to be fit before undertaking event-specific training, so allow a month or two before starting to increase your strength, flexibility and general health.

2. Divide your training season into different four-week training periods to optimize muscle building, muscle recovery and peak phases.

3. Warm up before and cool down after every workout using light jogging, dynamic stretching and stretches that target every muscle group.

4. Incorporate drills of 20 meters and 30 meters, as well as speed drills at alternating percentages of power to control your muscular output.

5. Learn proper running technique to avoid injury and maximize performance. Never practice without using proper technique, and record yourself on video periodically in your training to check technique from another perspective.

6. Spend your first training phase (four weeks or so) developing technique and strength. During this period, conduct balanced weight training three days a week, anaerobic exercise one day per week (for example, doing repetitions of the 50 meter) and endurance training one day per week.

7. Advance your fitness and technique in the next phase of your training. Phase intensive weight training into your existing weight training routine one day per week. Begin to weight train for muscle groups specific to the 100 meter. Add one day per week practicing streamlining your high-speed technique.

8. Spend the next phase practicing more competition style races, doing multiple repetitions of the 100-meter dash at 100 percent capacity on your endurance days and practicing starting from the block to replicate competition atmosphere.

9. Regularly measure your performance, and conduct tests of fitness and readiness for competition. Spend one phase adjusting your routine to address areas that need more improvement.

10. Spend one phase recovering from training and planning for your next set of training phases.

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The 200 meter dash is a classic sprinting event that combines speed, strategy and technique into one exciting race. It draws sprinters from both the 100-meter and 400-meter dashes, so the competition tends to be diverse. Like the 100 meters, you'll have a chance to run at your top speed. Unlike the 100 meters, however, you'll need to reserve this speed for a specific portion of the race.

1. Keep your head down out of the blocks as you drive through your start. Build speed, but stay relaxed.

2.Run the first quarter of the race at about 80 percent of your maximum effort. Pushing too hard will leave you without enough energy to finish strong, but you still need to get up to your maximum speed in a relatively short period of time.

3.Pull your head up and slowly come out of your drive phase around the 30 meter mark.

4.Turn your right shoulder across your body as you run through the turn and onto the final straight.

5.Run at full speed from the 50 meter mark to the 150 meter mark. If you fatigue before the finish line, then you'll only have to hold onto your position for the last 50 meters.(Top)

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The 400 meter dash marks the boundary between the sprints and the middle-distance running events. You need to be fast in order to win, but you also need enough endurance to get you to the finish line, which is easier said than done. Strategy is also an important part of the 400 meter, since the race lasts considerably longer and has more turns than the other sprints.

1.Break your training season up into distinct phases in which you actively build endurance and strength, compete and recover.

2.Warm up before and cool down after every training session with light jogging and dynamic stretching of all muscle groups for at least 10 minutes.

3.Incorporate both speed endurance training (1000 meters broken up into repetitions of smaller distances resting 10 minutes in between) and tempo endurance or interval training (1000 meters broken up into repetitions of smaller distances alternating between different percentage power output and resting two to three minutes in between).

4.Do strength endurance training in which you run multiple repetitions up a long hill, up stadium steps or doing resistance running. Regularly alter these exercises to focus on shorter distances and faster speeds for more power output.

5.Do regular endurance training. Run for a set amount of time at a steady pace.

6.Focus on endurance and strength building in the initial phases of your training period. Gradually phase in power and speed workouts. Add a training element where you run the race and simulate the competition environment for the event. Time yourself and measure progress on the race.

7. Use maximum speed drills to determine and increase the maximum speed at which you can run the 400-meter dash. Don't overuse this technique because you won't actually run at maximum speed all of the time.

8. Incorporate regular weight lifting and flexibility exercises into your training routine. Don't lift too hard or stretch too far to avoid minor incidental injury.

9.Have at least one phase of recovery built into your training season where you focus on primarily low-intensity activities like long-distance running and flexibility. You can also plan out your next training routine while recovering for a few weeks. (Top)

The hurdles rely on the same principles as sprinting events, with the added complexity of periodic leaps. It relies on rhythm and leg strength, but otherwise you train for them just as you would train for a short-distance run.

1. Work on your running techniques. Emphasize a relaxed yet driven action and steadily increasing stride lengths. You can do this by placing markers along the running track at ever-increasing lengths: .60 meters, 1.35 meters, 2.25 meters, 3.30 meters, 4.50 meters, 5.85 meters, 7.35 meters, 9.00 meters, 10.80 meters, 12.75 meters, 14.85 meters and 17.10 meters.

2. Learn how to move out of the block as quickly as possible and count how far it takes to get to the first hurdle. If it takes an odd number of steps, then you want to have your lead leg (the part of your body which leaps over the hurdles first) in the front block. If it takes an even number of steps, put your lead leg in the back block. From there, work on accelerating into your pace and reaching the highest speed possible before you hit the first hurdle.

3. Develop a proper stride rhythm. The typical pattern for a hurdler is seven or eight strides to the first hurdle and three steps between each hurdle to the end of the race. Put up small blocks at each point on the track where the hurdles will go. They should be just high enough to cause a stumble if you step on them. Run the race distance, gradually raising the height of the hurdles. You should be able to clear the hurdle by at least 1 foot every time.

4. Develop the lift on your lead leg. You must keep the knee vertical with the body, then force it quickly down to the track. Stress your leg's flexibility and work on lifting it as high off the ground as possible. "High knee" marching steps like a drum major in a band can help tone the lead leg as well.

5. Watch the trailing leg, which is intended to drive you towards and over the hurdle as you approach it. You want it to sweep wide over the hurdle as you pass, turning the ankle to the side to avoid striking the top.(Top)

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Advocates of the long jump believe it is the single greatest demonstration of athletic ability in track and field, combining the speed of short distance running with the finesse and accuracy of pinpoint motor control. When you train for the long jump, you focus on five key segments of the process: the approach, the final three steps, the takeoff, the flight and the landing.

1. Develop the proper stance for maximum acceleration during the approach. Stand against a wall with your feet on the ground, bending at the ankles so that your body is at a perfect 45-degree angle. Walk forward three to five steps while staying lined up in that position. Repeat the process while moving gradually faster, emphasizing a push-off from the ankle.

2. Hop up a flight of stairs or over a series of cones while standing on one leg. Then repeat the process using the other leg. As your legs strengthen, add a "butt kick" to the approach, pulling your heel in as close as possible to the rest of your body when you hop. Then try it while lifting your knee as high as possible with each hop (you want your upper leg parallel to the ground). Finally, perform the hopping exercise while combining the knee lift with the butt kick.

3. Set up a run space to work on your acceleration. It should be at least 60 feet long. Place a maker in the middle, at least five strides from your takeoff point. This will help you gauge your pacing during the approach. Focus on running this length, with an emphasis on even acceleration, rhythm and proper posture. Practice landing as close to the takeoff point as possible with your jumping leg rather then your off-leg.

4. Practice a standing long jump: take one step and jump as far as you can while landing upright. See how far you can go from a standing start. Repeat the process as you train. As you become more skilled, try the jump while landing in a squat, folding your knees to help cushion the impact. Then repeat the process by adding a leg kick on the takeoff.

5. Work on your takeoff by conducting skipping drills across an area of at least 60 feet. Stress skipping on your takeoff leg and move by thrusting forward on your ankle. Stress powering forward rather than upward, since horizontal distance is the focus of the long jump.

6. Practice short approach jumps of six to 12 steps, working on position and takeoff technique. Extend your approach as you continue to train. Practice from a walk and then from a steady march before you run: it will help you perfect your timing.(Top)

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Like the long jump, the triple jump involves a quick sprint, a hop, a step and 1 giant leap. The event occurs on a paved path that leads to a large sand pit. Learning how to triple jump can take a long time of dedicated training. An athlete should have agility, strength and excellent coordination in order to become a triple jumper.

1.Go to a local track, like a high school or college, and find the long jump/triple jump pit. Some may be marked with a board(s) on the runway or just a painted line(s).

2.If the the runway isn't properly marked for the triple jump, set out a piece to tape and estimate what you could reasonably do to safely land in the sandpit.

3.Get a good running start where you can be at or near your top speed.

4.Jump off one leg (preferably your stronger leg) and land on that same leg. Try not to jump too high in the air, but rather visualize how a stone skips across water. This is known as the "hop phase." Use your arms to help generate momentum. Throw them upward and forward while jumping.

5.Now jump off that same leg one more time (kind of like skipping) and this time land on your opposite leg. This is called the "step phase."

6.Now you will jump off that leg for the last jump and into the sandpit. This is the "jump phase." You just did a triple jump.(Top)

When you break the 800 meters down into its split times, the pace is close to that of the 400 meters, which itself is nearly a dead sprint. This combination of distance and speed makes the 800 meters a particularly painful event to run. You'll run most of the race in a pack instead of in your particular lane, strategy is also very important to success.

1. The first step in your training for the 800-meter run is to know what kind of runner you are. Sprinters have incredible speed, but have a tendency to burn out before the end of the race. Endurance runners can go the distance, but do not always have enough speed to keep up with the pack. There are also “All Purpose” runners, who can handle just about anything you throw at them. It is important to know what type of runner you are so that you can modify your training routine in a way that plays up your strengths and works on improving your weaknesses.

2. Understand that training is specific to the runner. There are, of course, general training elements and routines that can be used by all runners. However, each runner is different, and each will react differently to the 800-meter run. Therefore, it is important for each runner to create a training routine that is specific to his or her needs. Understand that any training routine you read about is simply a guide–if it taxes your body too much, then ease back on the training, or if you find it too simple, then intensify your training. Work it around your own strengths and weaknesses and turn it into a routine that can improve your running abilities.

3. Use the anaerobic training system as part of your training for the 800-meter run. This system uses several repetitions of 40 to 90 seconds. Each repetition is a high-intensity run, and teaches your body to turn on the speed and sprint, even though your body may be getting less oxygen than it wants. Ask a coach or trainer to use a stopwatch to time your sprint until you have sprinted for 40-90 seconds, then take a 90- to 180-=second break, then sprint again.

4. Use the aerobic training system as part of your training for the 800-meter run. The aerobic system uses repetitions lasting 3-5 minutes. Each repetition is a controlled run at the runners maximum oxygen uptake. The maximum oxygen uptake is normally defined as being the maximum pace that a runner can sustain for a 12-minute run. So, it may not be the fastest that someone can run, but the fastest that can be sustained over time. Take this pace and repeatedly run it for 5-minute repetitions, with a short break between each repetition.

5. Schedule a workout routine. Once you have come up with a number of aerobic and anaerobic workout runs, schedule a routine for an intensive workout. You should go through your intensive workout 3 days a week. If you begin to feel you can complete the routine more easily than you could before, step up either the number of repetitions or the pace/time of the repetitions to make it more challenging.

6.Try to jog at least twice a week. Ideally, go in between the days of your intensive workout. For example, you could do your intensive workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then do your jogging on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You may opt to wear ankle weights to help strengthen your leg muscles, but this is largely a matter of personal preference. You should attempt to jog 1,600 to 2,400 meters to build endurance for the fast-paced 800-meter run you are training for.(Top)

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