6 replies to this topic

[jacksoner]

just by wondering, does anyone know how much slower grass would be then tarden, and how much it effects running speed? i recently did a training session by myself on grass and was wondering how much the time would be quicker on tarden if doing a 400m?

[justanothercoach]

jacksoner, on Aug 3 2008, 04:49 PM, said:

just by wondering, does anyone know how much slower grass would be then tarden, and how much it effects running speed? i recently did a training session by myself on grass and was wondering how much the time would be quicker on tarden if doing a 400m?

i think its pronounced "tartan" but anyways ive always found the kids i coach run about 1 second slower over 400mtrs on grass or say 2 seconds slower over 800 mtrs....so if you set a new PB on grass get excited cause you will smash it on tartan. hope this helps

[Aceydude]

I have been a big fan of doing sessions on the grass. It has less impact than running on tartan or running on bitumen. As long as it a good surface then speed training is not a problem. I dont tend to run for a prescribed distance instead opt to run on time eg 30 seconds. Recently I have had a problem with my calfs from running on the footpaths and it would take me a few days to recover but since switching to grass the problem has gone away. Even in winter time I use a nice big field with some good hills on it and do fartlek sessions. So the grass can be used all year round.

[NorthShoreRunningGirl]

I run on grass whenever I can. I believe it's kinder to my feet and legs. I can still do as hard a workout as I desire.

[Steve 'The Footman']

Alot of it depends on the quality of the grass track and the shoes worn. The harder the surface than the faster you will run. That is also why tartan is slower than Mondo tracks. Grass tracks require more strength as the surface takes some of the power out of your stride. This can be a good thing for training. However the principle of specifity also means that you need to train part of the time on the surface on which you plan to race. Doing all of your speedwork on a grass track will most likely reduce your effectiveness when running on a synthetic track. You may lose even more doing all of your speed training on hard surfaces and then try to race on a grass track. Learning to use spikes and changing gait patterns depending on the surface will maximise your effectiveness and reduce time losses. For someone racing a 400M around 60 seconds on a grass vs tartan track the difference if equally trained I would guess be about 1 to 2 seconds. Someone must have done a study about it at some time. Makes you understand how great Ron Clarks performances really were.

[AlunDavies]

Ok, other than being a gaelic/celtic woven plaid, what's tartan?

[TehAxe]

TaffTrail, on Oct 31 2008, 12:18 PM, said:

Ok, other than being a gaelic/celtic woven plaid, what's tartan?

its the red stuff they make running tracks out of.


Tartan track is the trademarked all-weather synthetic track surfacing for athletics made of polyurethane. It lets athletes compete in bad weather without serious performance loss and improves their results over other surfaces. It also provides a more consistent surface for competition even under optimum weather. Such tracks have become the standard for most elite competitions.
1968 Summer Olympics at Mexico City was the first Olympic Games to use the Tartan track surface in athletics.
(Wikipedia)