Event tips and a little race strategy
After 3 meets, it should be fairly obvious that indoor track meets are both very long and very tiring. You’ve also discovered that there are usually large numbers of athletes in the ‘field’ events. The large numbers of competitors will remain until the Sectional Championships when the field is narrowed down to the top 16 in each event. To ensure you’re one of those top 16, here’s a few tips you might find helpful during your qualifying rounds.
LONG/TRIPLE JUMPERS –> Don’t stand in line. There are usually over 50 long & triple jumpers waiting to take turns. UPON ARRIVAL, get a quick warm-up, then head straight to the jumping pit and get your mark EARLY and tape it down with a unique identifier. Ensure the official has you checked in properly and what board you’re jumping from, then spend your time resting, competing in another event if necessary, etc. When you stand in that line, especially after having been on your feet for several hours, your muscles grow cold and tired. The warm-up you had an hour ago is no longer beneficial. You stand in that line for 15-20 minutes, grow cold, then expect to jump a record attempt. It won’t happen.
INSTEAD – sit, lie down, stretch, relax, meditate….whatever, just get off your feet. Since the pit is an ‘open pit’ format, wait until there’s about 5 jumpers left, then, get up, get active, warm-up, do a few sprints to get those legs nice and hot….then you can step in and jump. You’ll have the added benefit of being able to put your 3-4 jumps together relatively close together instead of 1 every 20 minutes.
HIGH JUMPERS –> Don’t sit around….too long. First, ensure the official knows what ’5 alive’ means and is using that rotation format. Pay attention and know what order in which you will jump. Keep track of who’s in and who just missed and is out. High jumpers have a tendency to sit around until the official calls their name, then they do a quick ‘bridge’ stretch and expect to get vertical to record heights in a matter of seconds. Your legs need to be ‘hot’ if you expect to power over that bar. Get up early, do a quick sprint, stretch, and set those legs on fire before you expect to set a new record; jumping on cold legs won’t be enough.
THROWERS –> Same as above….sorta. Look skyward when you throw; the pecs are much stronger than your shoulders. EXPLODE off the ring. Your legs are just as important in the throw as your arms, get ‘em in sync. Same as for the high jumpers, get the blood flowing, do a quick sprint, drop and do a few push-ups before you throw. Your entire body needs to be warm; legs, glutes, arms, chest, and core. You represent the STRENGTH and POWER of the entire team. Know the throwers in the rotation and who you follow, get up and get ‘hot’ when there are about 5 throwers before you. Step to the circle, and blast that shot into the sky!
RUNNERS –> force outside. Warm up, stretch, bla bla bla; you all understand this part and do it well. However, when approaching the end of the straight-away many runners just don’t understand how to run ‘smart’. Here’s a little tip: FIRST, when approaching the curve, and if you have a runner who is faster or equal to you, GO INSIDE, and force them to run wide. Then, run a ‘wider’ turn in your lane. No, you can’t push them across multiple lanes, but you can start on the inside of the lane and then run slightly wide in that lane to ensure they continue to run farther ‘around’ you. SECOND, when overtaking a slower runner on a straight-away, get around them BEFORE you enter the turn. Speed up if you have to and get around them to ensure you’re not the one being forced outside and running further. If they’re running wide in the lane, and IF THERE’S ROOM, GO INSIDE before the turn and force them outside.
RUNNERS –> Look up! Unfortunately, indoor track doesn’t have barriers to keep other human obstacles, not in the race, off the track. You might just save your self a few steps if you anticipate adjusting your stride and path when you have to go around them. So….look up and watch where you’re going. And, they can be disqualified from the meet for interference if you can identify them later.
That’s it for now. I hope you find these helpful. Enjoy the rest of the season and good luck!
