How pro runners prepare for a powerful kick
- 05 August 2024
Nike athletics coach Diljeet Taylor is a literal pro at coaching champions through running's demanding middle- and long-distance races—the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. In these longer events, she says the podium can be decided by "the kick": that sudden surge in the final metres when an athlete's able to turn on the jets. Here, she shares a simple strategy for sprinting through the finishing line.
The closing stage of a race is the most exciting part of our sport, right? In those minute fractions of a second, medals are won or lost, and those tiny moments define people's lives. To coach our athletes for that final kick, we frame it as, you've got to be strong enough to arrive at that last stage with the least amount of damage accrued.
People think what you're seeing when athletes sprint at the end is just this natural speed, when actually, it's that they had to arrive at the stage of "one lap to go" really, really strong so they're able to use that speed. If they don't expend too much energy early on—battling for position or making moves when they shouldn't—and they can stay relaxed and confident, then they're set up for the optimal kick. Some of that is pure racing instinct.
It's about the ability to make your world really, really small. Your focus is the next 10, the next five metres and what you need to do to stay strong.
Mike Smith, athletics coach
There's also a mindset that you need to get to those final metres and be able to hold on to your lead or execute a kick that gets you to the line first. It's about the ability to make your world really, really small. Your focus is the next 10, the next five metres and what you need to do to stay strong. If your thought is, "Am I going to medal?", that's too big. You have to be precise and zero in on the work—e ven when you know you're in the biggest moment of your life.
Editor's note: One of Nike's most famous long-distance closers was Steve Prefontaine, "America's Distance Prodigy". Pre ran each race as if his life depended on it. His competitive fire, gutsy race tactics and inherent charisma charmed crowds and inspired up-and-coming runners to stick with the sport and give it their all.
"I don't go out there and run", Prefontaine once remarked. "I like to give people watching something exciting".
His last competition was 29 May 1975, in a race he helped organise against members of the Finnish national team and distance heavy hitters such as Frank Shorter. Competing in the 5,000m, Prefontaine trailed Shorter the first two miles, then, with three laps to go, accelerated to a 63-second pace. In front of a cheering Hayward Field crowd, he finished with a 60.3 last lap and a winning time of 13:23.8, just off his own American record. The ultimate kick.