4x100m Relay Tech & Breakdown
One of the most 🤩exciting🫣 events of the track & field outdoor season is the 4x100m relay! Whether it’s middle school, high school, college, or professional meets it’s fun to be part of a 4x100m relay and it’s fun to watch! Four people MOVING at maximum speed that pass a baton in seconds! Plus, we all know a few inches off in spacing can lead to a bad hand-off, total chaos, or add milliseconds to a race that always comes down to the milliseconds. It’s INTENSE!
Most of the readers here are from the U.S., so I’m sure we all remember past World Championships and Olympics where U.S. teams fumbled batons/exchanges. Every time the U.S. is DQ’d, fans grumble in disbelief. But the truth is…the 4x100 is not all fun and games (even though it’s fun to watch). There are some key fundamentals that even pro athletes fumble with.
I’m going to tell you my 6 tips for the 4x100m relay (at any level).
PSST…ELITE HURDLE CAMP registration is LIVE!☀️
The biggest hurdle camp in the country is this summer! June 20-21, 2024. Coach Clark has helped athletes for 10+ years progress and commit to BIG Ten, SEC schools, and more. Registration is live and there’s a discount for ALL subscribers!
For more information (and the discount) click here.
To register hit the button below⬇️
1️⃣ Every leg needs to SPRINT at max effort with max technique
Some athletes are thinking about the exchange zone, the baton, what hand, etc, and they slow down before they reach their teammate. Whether they’re worried about running up on their teammate or just overwhelmed, it can happen. Don’t let your athletes fall into that trap. RUN AT FULL SPEED.
In practice I teach my athletes to SPRINT through the exchange zone. We hand off at full speed so we don’t lose speed during the handoff.
2️⃣ Make up the stagger — and don’t let other teams make up the stagger on YOU
Any athlete can make up the stagger anytime in the race. We’ve all seen an athlete get passed on the first curve, and that’s hard to recover from.
Your athletes need the mentality that no one is going to make up the stagger on them. And if they feel someone trying to inch past them then they must RESPOND with urgency! In a tight race athletes have to find that next gear and always RESPOND to competition/being challenged.
3️⃣ Positions in the lane!
Like I’ve mentioned before in past training/tech posts—everything we do has a purpose. And in the 4x1, I position my athletes in the lane with purpose.
Legs 1 & 3 (curve runners) ride the inside of the lane, they get the handoff with their right hand —first leg starts in blocks with the baton in right hand
Legs 2 & 4 (straight away runners) run on the outside of the lane, they get the hand-off in their left hand
Don’t believe me?—watch the Women’s 4x1 in Budapest ‘23 below
4️⃣ LEAVE ON YOUR MARK!
Middle school, high school, and college athletes see their incoming runner blazing down the track and instead of getting focused😤 they panic🫣.
Now I’m assuming you—the coach—know how to space your athletes. I’ve seen coaches guess on spacing (true story) and unfortunately that puts their 4x1 team in a precarious situation. Worse yet, I met a coach that said the athletes just need to “get a feel for it”…and essentially guess when to take off (no marks). Ummm…no. Choose a spacing. It’s typically going to be anywhere from 25 to 35 feet to place a “GO” mark (tape line or box). Keep in mind this IS general, it could be less or more. Practice and adjust until the spacing is correct. And STAY consistent, and then adjust if there is consistently a problem.
BUT I’m going to assume you know how to space your athletes. Once you give your athletes a mark they need to LEAVE on time / LEAVE on the mark. If the outgoing sprinter leaves even a half step too early, then they may not hand off in the exchange zone. If they leave too late then the incoming runner has to slow down and the outgoing runner never gets to speed on the exchange. In a race that comes down to hundredths/thousandths of a second we have to avoid slowing down on any leg at any time.
*However, you will see in pro 4x1 races like Worlds that sometimes they run up on each other. Pro teams have minimal practice time together. What they do is incredible considering we have full seasons to work with 4-6 athletes on perfecting a 4x1. Pros only have a few weeks (or days or less). And let’s not forget—they’re freaking fasssttt.
5️⃣ Ignore everyone else
The 4x100m relay requires 4 athletes to be in sync, focused, and determined. Your four athletes have to block out the noise—literally. Other team’s callouts, bad hand-offs, and performances cannot impact your team. Run through the noise! Athletes need to stay focused on their mark, their job, their race and good things will happen.
6️⃣ Outgoing Runner: KEEP YOUR HAND FLAT & STEADY
One of the main reasons a baton doesn’t get passed in the exchange zone is because the outgoing runner tries to reach and grab at the baton. WE DON’T SWIPE, WIPE, or GRAB! Steady, Grip, Rip. Outgoing runners keep their hand steady, high, open, and flat🫱 and let the incoming runner PUSH the baton into their hand. When outgoing athletes try to grab/reach for the baton they miss the baton completely. The incoming runner can’t hand off to a moving target and swirling fingers. Be steady until a baton is pushed through the hand! *You’ll see this in the videos below.
Q: But how do you teach handoff❓❓
There are different variations and ways to get the baton around the track. In middle school with new/unexperienced/young athletes usually coaches teach athletes to do an underhand pass. Regardless of your level, create your key fundamentals then teach and reinforce. No matter what level everyone must leave on time, keep speed through the zone, and accelerate out of the zone.
In high school we can get more advanced. I’ve been teaching the same hand off technique to my collegiate athletes that I taught my high school athletes when I was a coach. And it works over and over.
You might have a different way that works for you and your team. That’s fine and respected! Hopefully, sharing some of my main principles has helped you build yours.
🎥Ready for a video quiz!? YEAH, YOU ARE!
I’m using pro 4x1 videos because NBC has multiple camera angles. All these videos are courtesy of NBC on YouTube. 👍
Now what did you see? Did you see the outgoing runner’s hand start flapping, reaching, grabbing? Leg 3 and 4’s exchange took so long because of the initial miss and they almost didn’t complete the exchange in the zone.
Now we look at the Women’s 4x100 World Championships at Budapest ‘23⬆️
What did you see? Who had the smoothest hand-off? What surprised you?
There’s a few things I want to point out.
Leg 1 (Tamari Davis) handing off to Leg 2 (Tee Tee Terry):
Davis had the baton in her right hand, Terry received the baton in her left hand.
Davis ran up on Terry—they were almost shoulder to shoulder BUT neither of them panicked. Terry DID NOT look behind her! She kept her hand there and Davis forced the baton in Terry’s hand. It wasn’t pretty but they got the baton through the exchange zone. Sometimes success isn't perfection. It’s persistence and refusing to give up.
Leg 2 (Tee Tee Terry) handing off to Leg 3 (Gabby Thomas):
Their handoff was a little shaky. Terry missed the target (the stick hit Gabby’s wrist which forced an awkward reach around and grab — aim for the palm). But Gabby didn’t look back and did eventually get the baton. It wasn’t ideal or flawless but neither athlete gave up. Then Gabby FLEW around the curve to take the lead. Running fast is part of the equation!
Leg 3 (Gabby Thomas) handing off to Anchor Leg (Sha’Carri Richardson):
Now this handoff (IMHO) is what “seals the deal” for the gold medal at Budapest. The timing, the spacing, Richardson’s steady hand, Gabby hitting the target—it’s A GOOD handoff! Especially considering Gabby says her and Sha’Carri didn’t have much time to practice with each other. Watch Sha’Carri and you will see her punch her elbow up, then arm back, hand high, keep her hand open, and palm flat🫱. Gabby punches the baton in her hand. Sha’Carri grips/rips the baton with her arm drive, and then Sha’Carri FLIESSSSSSSS.
These 4 women succeeded through non perfect hand-offs and minimal practice and became WORLD CHAMPS👏 A great video to show that no matter what happens around you or to you the biggest thing is stay steady, stay fundamental (even if pieces are totally off), compete, and get the baton to the finish line.
4x1s are fun. Dropping the baton or getting DQd is not. It is rare that a squad of four teammates will hit three handoffs with flawless precision, but the event should always be coached in hopes that it can be.
Speaking of 4x100s…
This weekend (April 12-13, 2024) the Florida Gators hosted the Tom Jones Memorial track meet. Pros and top collegiates ran/threw/jumped and put down some big marks.
Two USA pro women teams ran the 4x100m with athletes Jenna Prandini, Abby Steiner, Aleia Hobbs, and more! The USA Red team ran 41.94 and The USA White team ran 41.99. LSU women were the highest placed collegiate team with a season best of 43.05.
A pro men’s team also raced at Tom Jones Memorial but they were DQd👀. The top 4 collegiate teams were TIGHT and all got a season best mark.
NCAAs is going to be a battle😤
Did you have any 4x100 PRs this weekend? What are you hoping your 4x100 can run?
