Curve Run (200m/400m)

Strategic placement of cornering lugs

In the 200m and 400m events, the start is curved, which introduces an additional physical challenge: centrifugal force. The first tactical adjustment occurs before the shot, in the placement of the blocks.

Unlike the 100 meters, where they are placed in the center of the lane, in the curve the cleats must be positioned close to the outer edge of the lane and pointing diagonally inward (tangent).

The goal is to draw an imaginary straight line from the outside block to the inside edge of the curve.

This allows the athlete to run in a straight line during the first few acceleration steps, which are the most powerful, before having to start negotiating the turn, thus maximizing the distance traveled in a pure straight line.

Centrifugal force management

Once the athlete enters the full cornering phase, he or she must fight the physical tendency to be ejected towards the outside lane. To counteract this, it is necessary to lean towards the inside of the track.

However, this lean should not be done by bending at the waist or dropping the left shoulder, as this breaks the biomechanical alignment and reduces the efficiency of the stride. The correct inclination is structural: it should be born from the ankle.

The athlete should keep the body stiff as a board and lean full to the left, leaning on the inside leg to create a pivot axis.

This allows the mechanics of square shoulders and aligned hips to be maintained despite running at an angle to the ground.

The corner exit strategy

The transition from the corner to the home straight is a tactical moment where valuable tenths can be gained or lost. There are two schools of thought.

The conservative one suggests sticking to the inside lane to run as little distance as possible.

The more aggressive one, used by many elite sprinters, takes advantage of the accumulated centrifugal force.

When reaching the end of the turn, instead of struggling to stay inside, the athlete allows the force to project him slightly to the outside of the lane (to the right).

This action acts like a "slingshot," converting the lateral tension into additional linear velocity as the athlete enters the straight.

Although a few mo