Galen Rupp unleashes a strong finishing kick in the U.S. Olympic trials 5,000m to beat rival Bernard Lagat.
Galen Rupp relied on endurance to keep himself in contention running at Beijing, but it was his newly refined ability to finish with power that saw him winning an Olympic medal four years later in London. His surge past two Africans in the closing meters was a powerful display of why distance runners need finishing speed -- and have to train for it.
Years prior, Alberto Salazar made a bold statement to Lance Walker, director of performance at the Michael Johnson Performance Center, regarding the East African champions dominating world track. "These guys are elite sprinters having to hold that speed for longer," Salazar said to him. "Let's teach [Rupp] some of the things that make sprinters fast and work that into his training." These words spurred a shift in how Walker, previously renowned for his work with sprinters, thought of distance running. They got to work.
Now, Walker says, when Rupp goes into the final stretch, he has more metabolism supporting the kick because he has learned to be more efficient over the span of the entire race. "His body understands how to kick," Walker says. "He's got good speed-endurance now, and then he's got more top-end stuff."
IT'S NOT ALL GENETICS
Many runners fall under the misconception that you're either born a kicker or not. But don't sell yourself short just yet. "People think they are limited by their genetics, but that stuff can be manipulated to a degree," says Steve Magness, track coach at the University of Houston and coach of elite runners like Sara Hall. "Yes, you are never going to be a sprinter, but you can subtly shift fiber types."
Morgan Gonzales, a member of the Saucony Hurricane Team, recently started focusing on her kick. In her 2013 season-opener 1500m race, she slashed 9 seconds off her PR, bringing it down to 4:38. "Improving my speed and power felt like unlocking something that I already had inside of me; I just had not trained or learned to use those skills before," Gonzales says. After a year of working this new skill set, Gonzales has seen a 5-second improvement in her last 200m in workouts and races. "Knowing that I have the speed for a good start and a strong kick has completely changed my race plan."
An athlete's finishing power ultimately decides between a win or a loss. Having the ability to make a move late in the race creates the separation between athletes that often can't be overcome, says Sean Coster, head coach for the Nike employees in Portland and the coaching service Complete Running. Coster has experience with athletes at every level, including high school, masters, recreational runners and elites like 8:00 3,000m runner Michael Nicks.
Periodized Training Can Help You Hit Your Goals
Coster says speed is different from finishing power. True top speed can only be sustained for 60m–80m by most runners, he says. Unless you're racing the 100m, a much more viable asset is the ability to close hard on already tired legs. This finishing power also takes a unique kind of development.
Magness agrees. "If we took Usain Bolt and Kenenisa Bekele and had them jog 75-second laps for a mile and then kick an all-out 400, Bekele would win," he says. "Even though Bolt would have way more speed and 75-second pace is 'slow,' he's dipping into that speed and activating muscle fibers and using those resources to stay at that pace."
Distance runners need to improve their base speed enough to make the pace of longer races feel somewhat easier, but then be able to dip into that speed reserve when it comes time to power home.
Running in the Cold
Developing that second reserve takes a two-pronged attack: First, training the body to recruit as many fibers as possible, then learning to utilize that recruitment when fatigued.
Building muscle recruitment, and thus pure speed, starts with power-based workouts and explosive moves like all-out sprints of 20m–100m, hill blasts (short, steep hills approximately 25m long), and plyometrics. This kind of work is taxing muscularly and neuromuscularly -- it needs to be done in a refreshed state at the beginning of the workout and with full recoveries between each repeat. This isn't aerobic conditioning; you shouldn't be breathing hard before starting another sprint. Aim for one day a week dedicated solely to speed development.
A plyometric routine can be done two or three times a week, after one of your hard workouts but not on your recovery day. You want to keep everything hard on one day so you can have true recovery days. Two of Walker's top picks for runners are single-leg hops and the split-squat jump. He's also a fan of what he calls "reactive-response plyometrics," aimed at reducing the foot's contact time with the ground; examples are dynamic A-skips and pogo jumps (see below).
Another exercise in the Nike Oregon Project athletes' routine is footwork ladders, which help condition their feet to fire at a more rapid rate. Employing the same philosophy as the reactive-response plyometrics, athletes move through an 11-rung ladder that is lying flat on the ground, to practice getting their feet tapping the ground and firing back off as fast as possible. Walker first has athletes run through the ladder landing one foot per box, then landing both feet in each box.
After pure speed is developed through these methods, then it's time to implement the strength, power and neuro-response times into workouts with the goal of mixing speed with fatigue-inducing elements.
"Muscle fiber recruitment drops as we get fatigued and then, at kick time, you pull upon all your reserves and increase fiber recruitment a bit," Magness says.
Running in the Cold:
Quarters and Hills: Three sets of 4 × 400m at 3K pace with 3 × 80m hill sprints between sets
500We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back: Repeat 500s with first 200m at 800m pace, straight to 100m of bounding -- exaggerated long strides, driving off the back leg and lifting the front knee as high as you can -- then 200m kick finish. "The bounding increases force requirement and thus fiber recruitment, and then you've got to use that during the final kick in," Magness says.
Coster's workouts focus on developing a gear faster than race pace. Athletes perform race-pace workouts for distances one or two events shorter than their goal race (e.g., marathoners aim for 10K race pace during 800m to 1-mile repeats). Similarly, spending a training season aimed at a race a step faster than your usual goal will improve your finishing kick. Coster's 5,000m runners focus on 1500m training for a period of time, either a full season or as a tuneup race before their primary goal 5,000m competition.
Shoes & Gear plyometrics with running in a circuit-style workout. Run 100m strides between sets of squats and lunges, for example. "Doing the strength exercises forces muscle recruitment, and then you learn to use it when running," Magness says.
Magness uses these workouts to develop speed while inducing fatigue
Experts like Magness agree that while the physiology of a fast finish is important, the psychology is equally criticial.
Athletes wanting to run faster toward the end of a race can make the mistake of trying to force a kick. This causes runners to tense up, change their gait and slow themselves down.
In order to run faster, try to relax. "Shake it out," says Magness. "One of the best things you can do is to just drop the arms, open up the hands, and shake them out for a second." The neck, shoulders and jaw are areas liable to harbor tension; take a deep, yawning breath with your mouth wide open and make sure your neck isn't craning forward. Keep your breathing controlled, don't let yourself overstride, and aim for faster turnover.
Instead of obsessing over times and splits, move your focus to sustaining the effort, remaining calm and controlled, and envisioning your legs pushing off the ground and exploding with each stride. Staying relaxed when fatigued is a skill that, just like any other, needs to be practiced. "The key is to get it so ingrained that you don't press when it's time to go," Magness says.
Many athletes find that after putting all the ingredients together, the kick comes naturally when the time comes to use it.
Rupp's Plyometrics
Here is a sample of the plyometric exercises that Lance Walker recommended for Galen Rupp to improve his kick. These should be done two or three times per week on a workout day. Start with one set and gradually build to two or three sets with full recovery between each. More isn't always better; emphasize good form. For most runners, two sets is enough.
Balance on your right leg and jump for distance while raising your left calf as close to your hamstring as possible. Think of it as an explosive butt-kicker combined with propelling yourself across as much distance as possible. Do one set of 10 hops for each leg.
Stand tall with feet together; jump up and bring your left leg forward and right leg back, landing with your feet split front and back. Lower into a deep squat, keeping your center of gravity in the torso, between your extended legs. Explode off the ground and switch leg positions midair so the squat is now led by the right leg. Repeat 10 times, alternating lead legs.
In a continuous motion, drive your right leg up so the thigh is parallel with the ground while quickly bouncing on your left foot twice; this is done rhythmically and with the foot only clearing the ground a few inches. Bring the right leg down and drive the left leg up, bouncing twice on the right foot just as you did with the left and to the same rhythm. Repeat for 30 yards.
With legs together and knees bent slightly, explode off the ground as high as you can, driving your lower legs and feet upward. Lift your arms overhead as you clear the ground. Lower your knees to a 90-degree bend as you hit, then spring back up into the next jump. Repeat 10 times.
Move through an 11-rung ladder laid on the ground, tapping one foot per square. Alternate the lead starting leg and repeat. After two sets, repeat while tapping down both feet in each square. Alternate lead leg and repeat two more sets.
