1. Middle Distance Events
Coaching and Training the High School
Middle Distance Athlete
By: Nick Stenuf
Assistant Coach at Ottawa University

2. Experience 3 x US Nationals Qualifier (800i/1600i/1500o)
Florida State University Graduate Assistant
University of Connecticut Assistant Coach
Women’s Program
Duke University Volunteer Assistant
Men’s Program
Ottawa University Assistant Coach
NIKE Stotan Racing Athlete-Coach

3. Content How to figure out which type of runner you have
Training Rule of Thumb
Anaerobic vs. Aerobic distribution in the 800/1600
Coaching Men vs. Women in the middle distance events
Preparation for College/Personal Preference (if we have time)

4. Types of Middle Distance Runners
200/400 moving up
800/1500(1600) coming down
400/800 moving up
1500(1600)/3k-5k moving down

5. Men’s 800 and 1600
800
1600
Bigger emphasis on speed end and development if they are 200/400 moving up (sub 50-51)
*high school runners only
Main focus is anaerobic threshold with strong aerobic development

6. Women’s 800 and 1600
800
1600
Bigger emphasis on the aerobic development while capitalizing on their ability to run a fast 200/400 (unless they are sub 57-58)
*if sub same focus as men’s 800
Main focus is anaerobic threshold with strong aerobic development

7. My Training Terms Anaerobic Development Anaerobic Threshold
Fast reps with long recovery (ex 40s to 400s)
Anaerobic Threshold
Fast reps with short recovery (ex 100s to 400s)
Aerobic Development
Longer intervals with at least 1:1 recovery (ex 800s-2ks)
Aerobic Threshold
Longer intervals with shorter recovery (ex 600s – 1ks)

8. Rule of Thumb 800m Training
Men
Women
It is more important to train 2 events lower and 1 event higher (sub 50-51)
*high school
Otherwise even split 1 above and 1 below for event training
It is more important to train 1 event lower and 2 events higher (unless sub 57-58) then use the same focus as the Men

9. Rule of Thumb 1600m Training
Men
Women
It is more important to train 1 event lower and 1 event higher (unless sub 16:00)
Then train 2 events higher and 1 event lower
It is more important to train 2 events higher and 1 event lower

10. Training Zones (Quality > Quantity)
1:45-2:15 over their mile PR – Steady State
(Daniel’s Marathon)
2:15-2:45 over their mile PR – Easy Run
(Daniel’s Easy)
2:45-3:15 over their mile PR – Recovery Run
(Daniel’s Recovery)
*can be slower given the condition of the recovery purpose

11. Why Quality > Quantity
Not a lot of room for growth at the collegiate level
Muscle development is still crucial in the earlier years of development
Maximize on their potential at the high school level and they are more versatile for multiple events
*while this method is better to maximize their best potential over multiple events, it will hamper slightly their ability to compete in multiple events in the dual meet setting

12. Anaerobic vs. Aerobic Distribution
Department of Human Movement and Sport Sciences in Victoria, Australia
“The crossover for predominantly aerobic energy system supply occurred between 15 and 30 seconds for the 400-, 800-, and 1500-m events.”
What the study proposes is that accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) happens far earlier into the events than previously thought. (40-45 seconds)
*study was made up of twenty highly trained athletes with an average VO2 of 65

13. VO2 Max
VO2 max is the maximal oxygen consumption measured during incremental exercise (exercise of increasing intensity)
VO2 Max for top males is typically >60 and for females typically >56 for ages 18-25

14. Anaerobic vs. Aerobic Distribution
School of Human Movement and Exercise Science in Crawley, Australia 800m Males are 60/40% for aerobic to anaerobic involvement Females are 70/30% for aerobic to anaerobic involvement

15. Anaerobic vs. Aerobic Distribution
Department of Kinesiology in Denton, Texas “For the women, the anaerobic energy contributions for the 400m, 800m, and 1500m averaged 62%, 33% and 17%, respectively. For the men, the anaerobic contributions averaged 63%, 39% and 20%, respectively.”

16. Anaerobic vs. Aerobic Distribution
The Long Sprint – Reclassifying the 800m by Mike Cox

17. Anaerobic vs. Aerobic Distribution
The Long Sprint – Reclassifying the 800m by Mike Cox
What he found was the average crossover point occurred between seconds depending on the velocity for events 800m- 5k. In the 400 it was seen between seconds.

18. The Long Sprint – Reclassifying the 800m by Mike Cox
“The fastest runners in the event have demonstrated this trend. Wilson Kipketer's fastest 800m was run with a 5% positive differential (1: /51.8), Joaquim Cruz a 4% differential (1: & 52.0), and Seb Coe also ran a 4% differential (1: /52) (11). David Rudisha's sub 1:41 WR 200m splits in 2012 exhibited a 10% velocity decrement”

19. Books
The Science of Running by Steve Magness Daniels’ Running Formula by Jack Daniels Better Training for Distance Runners by David Martin and Peter Coe

20. Preparation for College
0 men from the top 40 NCAA list in the 800 last year were All-Americans in Cross Country
7 men from the top 40 in the 1500 NCAA list were All-Americans in Cross Country (5 chose the 5k at NCAAs)
7/37 – 18.9% ran fast enough
2/37 – 5.4% ran the 1500
13 did not compete in Outdoor Track

21. Preparation for College
4 women from the top 40 NCAA list in the 800 last year were All-Americans in Cross Country (2 picked the at NCAAs)
4/30 – 13.3%
11 women from the top 40 in the 1500 NCAA list were All-Americans in Cross Country (4 were same as 800 and 3 picked the 5k at NCAAs)
11/30 – 36.6%
4/30 – 13.3% ran the 1500
10 did not compete in Outdoor Track

22. Questions? Nick Stenuf Ottawa University nick.stenuf@ottawa.edu
Questions?