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Breaking Down the Wall: Training the High School 400 Meter Runner
The 400 meter dash requires a balance of speed and endurance unlike any other event in track and field. Coaches must develop athletes who can compete to the end after the body’s energy systems hit a wall. No one has overcome this challenge better than Coach Clyde Hart, the greatest 400 meter coach in world history.
Hart coached athletes to 15 Olympic medals, including 11 gold. He coached a gold medalist in either the 400 or 4x400 in 6 straight Olympics (1992-2012). As the longtime coach at Baylor University, Coach Hart had unparalleled success, coaching 6 NCAA individual 400 meter champions and 20 NCAA championships in the 4x400 meter relay. Now, former high school coach Dr. Derek Leininger sits down with Coach Hart to give you a coach-to-coach breakdown of the science behind the wall runners hit in the 400 meter dash.
Leininger takes an in-depth look at the training program Coach Hart developed during his 56 years coaching collegiate and professional runners in Texas. Identifying guiding principles and sharing Hart’s detailed workouts, Leininger provides insightful and practical advice on how to customize Coach Hart’s 400 meter training program for high school runners.
Hart coached athletes to 15 Olympic medals, including 11 gold. He coached a gold medalist in either the 400 or 4x400 in 6 straight Olympics (1992-2012). As the longtime coach at Baylor University, Coach Hart had unparalleled success, coaching 6 NCAA individual 400 meter champions and 20 NCAA championships in the 4x400 meter relay. Now, former high school coach Dr. Derek Leininger sits down with Coach Hart to give you a coach-to-coach breakdown of the science behind the wall runners hit in the 400 meter dash.
Leininger takes an in-depth look at the training program Coach Hart developed during his 56 years coaching collegiate and professional runners in Texas. Identifying guiding principles and sharing Hart’s detailed workouts, Leininger provides insightful and practical advice on how to customize Coach Hart’s 400 meter training program for high school runners.
140 pages, Paperback
Published July 24, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2025
Things I liked:
1. Very concise.
2. Science behind the ‘6 second’ free energy and ‘40 second’ wall
Things I didn’t like:
1. Reasoning for the enormous workload suggested for 400m runners, even at the high school level.
2. No well constructed arguments for opposing viewpoints other than “that’s wrong”.
In my opinion this program works for world class athletes because they’re world class athletes. At the high school level, in order to recruit and train the best 400m runners you need to emphasize speed. While I understand the thought behind the emphasis on aerobic work, I cannot get behind making high school 400m runners run 10+ 200m or 3x350/450. And this book did not change my opinion.
1. Very concise.
2. Science behind the ‘6 second’ free energy and ‘40 second’ wall
Things I didn’t like:
1. Reasoning for the enormous workload suggested for 400m runners, even at the high school level.
2. No well constructed arguments for opposing viewpoints other than “that’s wrong”.
In my opinion this program works for world class athletes because they’re world class athletes. At the high school level, in order to recruit and train the best 400m runners you need to emphasize speed. While I understand the thought behind the emphasis on aerobic work, I cannot get behind making high school 400m runners run 10+ 200m or 3x350/450. And this book did not change my opinion.
February 8, 2024
The best book on running the 400 you will ever read. Leininger and Coach Hart clearly did their homework on this topic and the result is both easy to follow yet technical to a tee. The book gives both detailed research to back it up and specific workout plans to integrate. The 60/40 anaerobic to aerobic breakdown of the 400 leads to a better understanding of the event. By recognizing the science, a superior workout and race plan are established.
February 2, 2025
Phenomenal. The coaching philosophy was pretty on par with mine but the ideas, thoughts, workouts are going to improve my 400 runners so much!!! (It was a little male athlete based but they often gave some female feedback as well)
March 10, 2024
The writing doesn't flow well, but the info is awesome.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews