[thechosen1]

thechosen1 on March 13, 2005 at 7:23 am #10554

I was wondering if shorter people have an advantage on the curves with better coordination, while a taller person wouldn’t have as good balance.

thanks

[quartermiler]

quartermiler on March 13, 2005 at 8:50 am #42978

I heard the same thing as well, i wonder if its really true

[flight05]

flight05 on March 13, 2005 at 9:53 am #42979

i heard that hurdlers are really good on curves too because of the rhythm involved can someone explain this for me

[lnkprksoldier]

lnkprksoldier on March 13, 2005 at 10:29 am #42980

wheres mike… well today during the race i tried to run on the very inside of the lane as usual but for some reason i was swaying left and right going like an inch into the other persons lane… any way to practice this?

[dma1973]

dma1973 on March 13, 2005 at 12:41 pm #42981

I would of thought it have more to do with leg length. I was watching a video of a coach in Aus tell the athletes that there stride has to be shorter on the bend.

Generally if you are swaying, and I’m not Mike or anybody else who’s experienced, it would boil down to a technical issue or core strength issue.

[offtheblocks]

offtheblocks on March 15, 2005 at 5:46 am #42982

Wasnt Xvier Carter disqualified from the 200i final because he had stepped all over the line, then they said it was because he got an inside lane and his height turned against him

[big10champ]

big10champ on March 15, 2005 at 6:05 am #42983

I believe it has more to do with natural average strength levels.

I’m guessing on average that a 5’8 sprinter has a bit more usual power than a 6’2 sprinter.

Notice on relays many times a shorter person of the 4 running the first leg. I believe this has a lot to do with power.

Although Shawn Crawford is 6’1, he was put on the first leg of the 4×1 in Athens for a reason; he has alot of power. The same thing goes on the 3rd leg as well – this is a definate Power position too, where a Justin Gatlin – type sprinter (the taller, more graceful), is less effective. However, put someone like a Coby Miller in there and he could run it better than anyone else Ever could – as long as the handoff is ok. :flaming:

That’s just how it is.

– Athens –
Crawford – power – first curve
Gatlin – Gazelle type – back straightaway
Miller – Thee power sprinter – 2nd curve
Greene – Experienced, fastest anchor in the race – homestretch

I personally would have switched Coby and Shawn around, seeing as shawn is sporatic in his blockwork and would be more effective on the third leg where no blocks are involved.

[800prince]

800prince on March 15, 2005 at 11:50 pm #42984

Speaking from experience at 6’4 I find it nearly impossible to run well on the inside lanes indoors. It puts too much stress on my left leg. Big10, I think you have the right idea somewhat but height alone, without regards to power is a major factor. Imagine if the inside an indoor track was nothing but more lanes going almost to the very center. A small child regardless of speed would be able to run on one of these inside lanes because there limbs are short. This is just theoretical but imagine a line extending out from the center thatwas equal in height to the longest limb length possible to run optimally in that lane. I believe it would be a line that is not at all steep but raises consistently as it progresses to the outside the lanes. By this you can infer that there is a lane where you will not be able to run the curve optimally. For shorter folks it maybe on of the imaginary lanes inside of lane 1 for taller people it may extend well onto the track.

[ws100]

ws100 on March 16, 2005 at 5:03 am #42985

I agere with 800prince. I too am 6’4″ and find it hard to sprint around the indoor curves. I can’t fit in a normal stride lenght without going into the next lane around the curves. I think that stride lenght has a major role in being able to sprint around the curves at near to top speed.

[markk]

markk on March 16, 2005 at 7:04 am #42986

i would agree, i am only 6 feet half an inch but on the weekend i was put in lane one and it sucked, worst ive ran in years, my ankle hurt hoible after and i couldnt generta any speed through the corners, i ran good straits but when ever i got ne thing going i lost it

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on March 18, 2005 at 8:23 pm #42987

In my experience, shorter people do tend to have an easier time running the curves. I can only think of one reason why this might be the case. Naturally shorter stride lengths regardless of body size would make it easier to run the curve. The longer the stride length the greater the distance of each flight phase; and because one can’t “round off” the flight phase to match the radius of the curve, the greater the flight distance has to be tangent to the curve. In essence, the person would be running a slightly longer distance AND having to get change their direction more at each ground contact. Hopefulyl that’s all clear, if not let me know and I’ll try to clarify.

ELITETRACK Founder