Q & A: Dr. Ralph Mann–Track Expert on Being A Blur!

Dr. Ralph Mann

Many think that running fast is simply a matter of picking up your feet quickly. Ummm…better think again.

PreraceJitters.com had the pleasure to catch up with Dr. Ralph Mann—one of the world’s top authorities on biomechanics—to set the record straight.

Dr. Mann is the man, behind the man—teaching college and elite coaches the finer points of sprinting that helps the U.S. stay on top of the game. He is a doctor of mechanics, assisting runners with becoming human bullets. The results of his work can be seen in the mountains of U.S. won medals at world championships and Olympic Games.

Currently he serves as head of the Sprint / Hurdle division for Elite Athlete Program of USA Track & Field and leads the organization’s annual conference of the nation’s top coaches to discuss assisting runners on being a blur.

Dr. Mann’s manual, The Mechanics of Sprinting and Hurdling, is a must-read for track coaches and represents 25 years of research, filming, and evaluation of every top U.S. athlete. His book, Swing Like A Pro breaks down the skills of golf’s greatest champions.

Alongside being a researcher and author—he also has massive track cred. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Dr. Mann clocked 48.51 winning a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles and is a former world record holder.

PreraceJitters.com appreciates Dr. Mann taking time to talk with an upstart blogsite about the inner world of elite sprinting.

Question: How did you become involved in biomechanics?

Answer: My college degree was in mechanical engineering, so I combined my interest in mechanics and human movement.

Question: The casual fan may think that track is about running fast. How important is biomechanics?

Answer: Sprinting is not a natural movement. In mechanical terms, it is much different than casual running. We have filmed and analyzed more than 600 of the best sprinters since 1982, and they all display the same mechanics – some better than others, but there is only one way to sprint fast.

Mechanics is critical – with the level of competition in the sprints, a sprinter cannot be successful without sound mechanics. That said, the most important factor is the genetic ability to generate large amounts of explosive force.

Question: Since you have been involved in biomechanics how has the science evolved?

Answer: I was one of the group of biomechanists that started the sports science program for Track & Field in 1982. So, I have seen it go from startup to a major factor in preparing our elite athletes.

Today, the Sprint/Hurdle program uses computer modeling to both analyze and teach the athletes – often in real time on the track. In 1982, the sports science program was started because the U.S. was losing its dominance in track – especially the sprints. We have long since regained this dominance and maintain it despite the improvement in other countries sprinting programs.

The USATF High Performance Program in Sprints and Hurdles now directly affects all of the top men and women sprinters and hurdlers – through their coaches.

In addition, beginning this year, we have opened the annual Elite Seminar to a limited number (200) of developing coaches, and the response was overwhelming.

Question: How might your career as an elite 400-meter hurdler have differed with what is know today in biomechanics

Answer: I look back at what I did to excel in the hurdles and realize that my ignorance at the time limited my potential development in more ways that I care to count.

Question: What can young runners learn from biomechanics

Answer: All of research and all of the years of application have shown us that if an athlete is to be successful at the level that we are seeking to achieve, no area of performance can be ignored. Since it has become evident that the development of explosive strength and the proper mechanics to deliver the power are the two most critical factors in sprint performance, ignoring either will guarantee that the athlete will not achieve their performance potential.

Any serious sprinter needs to find a coach that understands the mechanics of sprinting (circa 2008), as well as all of the other performance factors involved.

Question: Can you name a few runners that have excellent biomechanics?

Answer: The sprinters that have stood above, even above the elite, level since 1982:

Short Sprints:

Carl Lewis Flo Jo

Long Sprints:

Michael Johnson

Question: What are the limits of human performance?

Answer: Any scientist that has answered this question in the past has been shown to be short sighted. I place no limits on potential.

Jay Hicks

AT&T U.S. Indoor Track & Field Championships Highlights

Khadevis Robinson, Lolo Jones, and Christian Cantwell win big!

Besides national indoor titles, roster spots were also at stake this past weekend. The top two finishers in each event go on to compete at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships for Team USA on March 7-9 in Valencia, Spain.

Many of U.S.A.’s biggest names did not participate in the indoor season because it is an Olympic year. Their absence means the typically much smaller appearance fees paid at indoor meets was not worth the time needed to prepare for the outdoor season.

The indoor national championship meet was marked by low attendance, a shame considering the fabulous facility in Boston. Even with the smaller crowds, there were some impressive performances. And here’s why.

Money. Besides national titles and $2,500, $1,500, $500 payouts to the medalists, additional future money was at stake in Boston. Victors in Spain will collect $40,000, and bronze is worth $10,000. Not bad for a day’s work at the office.

The Visa Championship is a points-based system awarded on performances and finishes for men and women. Lolo Jones and Adam Nelson were the winners, and each went home with a $25,000 check.

Lolo Jones is making her case to be the next great American hurdler now that Gail Devers has somewhat retired. Jones, the defending women’s 60-meter hurdles champ, won easily. Lolo bested Candice Davis by two-hundredths of a second in 7.88. Her win gave her the 1,194 points on the scoring table to take the women’s Visa Championship’s $25,000 prize.

The men’s shot put came in with big expectations. Cantwell, Hoffa, and Nelson have been throwing out of the universe, and at the same time, breathing excitement into the often over-looked field event. A small, but select, field gathered as Christian Cantwell defended his indoor title by defeating Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson, the winner of the men’s Visa Championship points’ race.

The men’s sprints were an ensemble of new, upcoming names and faces. In his first professional season, two-time NAIA champion Michael Rodgers won over Leroy Dixon in the 60-meter dash in 6.54 seconds after Leonard Scott, the defending world champion, pulled his right hamstring during his semifinal heat.

David Neville won the men’s 400 in 46.34, besting Greg Nixon’s 46.72 in the two-heat final.

Jennifer Stuczynski continues to build the case that she is the sport’s new queen of pole vault. She easily won the women’s pole vault with a vault of 15 feet, 5 inches over Jillian Schwartz in 14 feet, 9 inches.

The men’s 800-meters was the most exciting event of the two-day meet. KD and Symmonds have big show-downs every time they compete, and this time was no exception.

Four-time U.S. outdoor champion Khadevis Robinson held off a fierce kick down the home stretch by Nicholas Symmonds by a mere hundredth of a second to win the men’s 800 meters in 1:46.95. Whew!

37-year-old Allen Johnson was narrowly edged for second place in the men’s 60-meter hurdles. Winner, Anwar Moore, blazed to victory in 7.47 seconds, the fastest time by an American this year.

Rob Myers led most of the way and won the men’s 1500 in 3:40.8.

Amy Acuff is so good that she is often over-looked. She won the women’s High Jump with a 6 feet, 3.5 inch leap for her fourth overall and second consecutive indoor national title.

For more information, including complete results and athlete quotes, visit www.usatf.org

Jay Hicks

My First Guest Blog!

Michael Johnson

Guest blog leads to a deeper question.

From: SpeedEndurance.com and guest writer, Jay Hicks.

I wrote my first guest blog with byline at SpeedEndurance.com, “The NFL’s top candidates are hoping track legend, Michael Johnson’s sprinting wisdom brushes off on them. Two of the draft’s top running backs, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, are in a six-week training program for the scouting combine at the Michael Johnson Performance Center (MJPC) in McKinney, Texas, just north of Dallas.”

The post is a must-read about the five-time Olympic sprint champ’s $20 million training facility for youth athletes, elite athletes, and professionals. Johnson also plans to host elite meets at the facility’s outdoor track.

Interesting.

Seriously, how long will it take the Dallas area native Jeremy Wariner to begin training part-time at MJ’s new spot once the outdoor track is complete? PRJ has recently learned that J Dub has purchased a home in Craig Ranch in McKinney, the same development where the MJPC resides.

Tensions must be sky high at the Baylor track since Jeremy Wariner split with Coach Clyde Hart and decided to train with Baylor assistant coach Michael Ford.

I’m not saying…

Jay Hicks