Coaches have traditionally used the athlete's personal best time for 200m as a reference to establish the ideal 200m split that will minimize the loss of velocity in the final 100m of a 400m race. However, this method has certain practical limitations as evidenced at the elite level by the two most recent World records in the men's 400m race - 43.18 by Michael Johnson (USA) in 1999 and 43.03 by Wade Van Niekerk (RSA) in 2016 - which were achieved with very different pacing strategies. This article describes a model for individualising the pacing strategy for the 400m tested in the early 1990s with elite female Spanish 400m runners, including two-time Euro- pean indoor champion Sandra Myers. The model utilises test data such as the maximum velocity achieved after accelerating for 30m (Vmax30), the Specific Useful Strength Index (SUSI), and kinematic variables obtained from 2x300m tests, which are compared to actual racing data. The result is a customised strategy aimed at allowing the athlete to act voluntarily within the optimal stride length/frequency ratio during competition and at providing training guidance and monitoring.
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