Coach ,

Track and field coaches are well aware that creating effective 400-meter training programs for runners presents unique challenges that test both physical and mental endurance. 

A few effective tips from trusted track and field trainers can go a long way toward curating a safe and effective training program for 400m runners. 

This is why we’ve pulled three training tips from coaches whose decades of experience show they know what they’re talking about and included them below for your use. 

Hasani Roseby - Training Schedule

Hasani Roseby - Training Schedule

Hasani Roseby is entering her 15th season as an assistant head coach (and fifth as the team's associate head coach) at Tulane University. During her time with the Green Wave, Roseby has coached five All-Americans.

In her ‘Hasani Roseby - 400m Training and Race Strategy’ clinic, Coach Roseby details what her team’s typical training schedule looks like. 

On Mondays, her focus is speed endurance along with weights. On Tuesdays, Coach Roseby asserts that she prefers to focus on lactic acid tolerance. These are typically longer, more intense workouts that actually occur on the track. 

The reason for this is that these workouts require longer recovery times — which leads to Wednesdays, which are rest and treatment days for Coach Roseby’s teams.

Wednesday is often used to work on small mechanical things during the season. There will be some drills that address these mechanical alterations, but these will be low-intensity and ideally brief. 

Thursdays are focused on either speed or speed endurance, depending on the time of the year. And Fridays will be a tempo workout (along with lifting weights). 

Then in the offseason, Saturdays and Sundays are off while those days are meant for competing during the season.

For Coach Roseby, rest is just as important as training, so she wants to give them ample time to recover in the offseason.

Deino Scott - Training Ideas

Deino Scott - Training Ideas

Deino Scott is the head track & field coach at Seattle Preparatory School, a position he has held since 2003. He has coached over a dozen athletes who have won state championships, including two who set state of Washington records in track & field.

Coach Scott’s ‘The 400 Meters for Beginners’ clinic contains several valuable training ideas. 

One rule is that his athletes never run a full-speed, full-intensity 400 during practice. This is because he feels that doing so creates fear for runners, as they’ll be stressing too much about their time when that should never be the main focus during practice. 

In addition, he asserts the crucial aspect to nail down in training is pace, which they can lean on when it’s time to compete. 

Tony Holler - Speed vs. Endurance in the 400

Tony Holler - Speed vs. Endurance in the 400

Tony Holler is the track coach at Plainfield North High School and has 43 years of coaching experience (football, basketball, and track). 

In his ‘Tony Holler - Sprint The 400’ clinic, Coach Holler discusses how it’s for coaches to understand that volume in 400m training does not equate to better speed. Because speed is so hard to create, some coaches will overwork their runners because they think that will make them faster. 

But in reality, typically it’s the opposite that occurs, with their runners getting burnt out due to overuse and more exposed to injuries. 

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