Male or female? (I'm guessing male, as if you were female you would probably be almost professional by now).
And what age? And what country?
In the Netherlands, 50.93 would be a reasonable/pretty good amateur 400m tijd for men. It depends what you think of as "good" - winning National championships? Winning international medals? Or winning races at regional level, or scoring good points for your team in the league?
And a quick comparison in the Dutch senior (19+) competition/league points system suggests that the equivalent of 50.93 at 400m in 200m would be 22.76. I'm not an expert, but that could either mean your 400m is stronger, or that you can improve your 200m by a few tenths. It's not that big a difference though - run a few more 400s and 200s and see how you go.
Some answers from our Facebook page...
Bex says, 'For a girl amazing.....
The killer of all athletic events....but one of the most satisfying in a sadistic kind of way!!'
and Martin adds, 'It's relative. If you're a 400m runner it's good. If you're 800m runner it's very good --- you should be able to run 1:50-55.'
At senior level, I would estimate you need to take 3 or more seconds off your time to reach international level... But what do your coaches say? They should be able to advise you. And what are the kinds of times Guyanese athletes are running, nationally and internationally? Check out some results at national and international competitions. For example, find some results from Olympic Games. See what kind of times your fellow countrymen have run in recent years. I looked at the Beijing results, and didn't see any Guyanese names. Everyone except one person ran under 50 seconds in the first rounds, the slowest was 53 seconds but I don't know what happened - maybe he got injured. Nearly everyone else ran under 47 seconds [http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2008/results/at/mens-athletics-400m.htm] Compare those times to the international elite (under 46 seconds). You could also compare results to national championship results in other countries, as standards very a lot. For example in the Netherlands, 99% of the athletes at the National Championships are good amateurs. [Heats: http://www.atletiekunie.nl/liveresults/nkatletiek/event112h01.html // Final: http://www.atletiekunie.nl/liveresults/nkatletiek/event223h01.html] BUT:... most of the elite Dutch athletes don't compete at the national championships, so the real top will run faster.
I am so happy to hear your desire for success on the track, but you are far away from competing internationally. I have hope for you though. Comparing the 400m and 200m is like comparing apples and oranges. They are both fruit, but they taste different, they smell different and you eat them differently. The same is true about the 400m and 200m. They are both sprint events, but they are completely different sprint events. You train for them different, the strategy is different and you run them differently.
To give you an idea, a 19 year old just won gold in the 400m at the 2011 World Championships with a time of 44.60 seconds. and Bolt did 200m in 19.40 seconds (WR is 19.19 sec). With that being said and given your times, I would say that currently you are a much stronger 400m sprinter than 200m. Here is the hope. I consider that if you were 10% faster in the 400, you could compete internationally. If you were 12.5% faster, it would be possible for you to medal in the Olympics next year. In the 200m, you would need a 14% improvement to compete, but you would not make it past the semi-final
The first thing I would do is try to find a training partner. A coach is good, but having another person to compete with and work with every time you are training will supercharge your results. Second, I would write out a plan. Mapping out your progress, so you know where you want to go, how you will get there and to track exactly where you are within the plan will improve your ability to succeed. Most importantly, training in the way that will best provide you the means to develop into your full potential as a sprinter. Workouts, progressions, rest time and periods, power and strength training, plyos, running mechanics, mobility and a program that guides you to reach peak performence right at the time of competition.
If you are training incorrectly in one of these areas, you will not reach your full potential. If you are not training correctly in 2 of these areas, you will never compete internationally.
If you have any more specific questions about 100m to 400m training, you can contact me by e-mail;
Male or female? (I'm guessing male, as if you were female you would probably be almost professional by now).
And what age? And what country?
In the Netherlands, 50.93 would be a reasonable/pretty good amateur 400m tijd for men. It depends what you think of as "good" - winning National championships? Winning international medals? Or winning races at regional level, or scoring good points for your team in the league?
And a quick comparison in the Dutch senior (19+) competition/league points system suggests that the equivalent of 50.93 at 400m in 200m would be 22.76. I'm not an expert, but that could either mean your 400m is stronger, or that you can improve your 200m by a few tenths. It's not that big a difference though - run a few more 400s and 200s and see how you go.
Good advice, thanks Carpi.
Some answers from our Facebook page...
Bex says, 'For a girl amazing.....
The killer of all athletic events....but one of the most satisfying in a sadistic kind of way!!'
and Martin adds, 'It's relative. If you're a 400m runner it's good. If you're 800m runner it's very good --- you should be able to run 1:50-55.'
well um im a male,and im talkin about at the international level,im from guyana in the caribbean,
And what age are you, Kaditer?
At senior level, I would estimate you need to take 3 or more seconds off your time to reach international level... But what do your coaches say? They should be able to advise you. And what are the kinds of times Guyanese athletes are running, nationally and internationally? Check out some results at national and international competitions. For example, find some results from Olympic Games. See what kind of times your fellow countrymen have run in recent years. I looked at the Beijing results, and didn't see any Guyanese names. Everyone except one person ran under 50 seconds in the first rounds, the slowest was 53 seconds but I don't know what happened - maybe he got injured. Nearly everyone else ran under 47 seconds [http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2008/results/at/mens-athletics-400m.htm] Compare those times to the international elite (under 46 seconds). You could also compare results to national championship results in other countries, as standards very a lot. For example in the Netherlands, 99% of the athletes at the National Championships are good amateurs. [Heats: http://www.atletiekunie.nl/liveresults/nkatletiek/event112h01.html // Final: http://www.atletiekunie.nl/liveresults/nkatletiek/event223h01.html] BUT:... most of the elite Dutch athletes don't compete at the national championships, so the real top will run faster.
Some Guyanese athletes profiles I found...
http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=174415/index.html
http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=7677/index.html
http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=5896/index.html
http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/letter=0/athcode=219758/index.html
These guys are also all in Wikipedia.
So... find out some more information about your country's top athletes... and keep training :-).
I am so happy to hear your desire for success on the track, but you are far away from competing internationally. I have hope for you though. Comparing the 400m and 200m is like comparing apples and oranges. They are both fruit, but they taste different, they smell different and you eat them differently. The same is true about the 400m and 200m. They are both sprint events, but they are completely different sprint events. You train for them different, the strategy is different and you run them differently.
To give you an idea, a 19 year old just won gold in the 400m at the 2011 World Championships with a time of 44.60 seconds. and Bolt did 200m in 19.40 seconds (WR is 19.19 sec). With that being said and given your times, I would say that currently you are a much stronger 400m sprinter than 200m. Here is the hope. I consider that if you were 10% faster in the 400, you could compete internationally. If you were 12.5% faster, it would be possible for you to medal in the Olympics next year. In the 200m, you would need a 14% improvement to compete, but you would not make it past the semi-final
The first thing I would do is try to find a training partner. A coach is good, but having another person to compete with and work with every time you are training will supercharge your results. Second, I would write out a plan. Mapping out your progress, so you know where you want to go, how you will get there and to track exactly where you are within the plan will improve your ability to succeed. Most importantly, training in the way that will best provide you the means to develop into your full potential as a sprinter. Workouts, progressions, rest time and periods, power and strength training, plyos, running mechanics, mobility and a program that guides you to reach peak performence right at the time of competition.
If you are training incorrectly in one of these areas, you will not reach your full potential. If you are not training correctly in 2 of these areas, you will never compete internationally.
If you have any more specific questions about 100m to 400m training, you can contact me by e-mail;