As a youngster I watched the television movie "Wilma" (1977), which was based on the autobiography of the late Wilma Rudolph. Rudolph overcame poverty, various childhood diseases, and crippling polio. I sat riveted to the television as twelve-year- old Rudolph learned to walk without crutches, leg-braces, or corrective shoes. At sixteen, Rudolph earned a spot on the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team winning a bronze medal in the 4x400M relay. In the 1960 Olympics, Rudolph won gold medals in the 100M, 200M, and 4x400M relay. I was mesmerized by scenes of Rudolph pulling away from her competition with her long fluid strides speeding down the track. From that day, I set my sights on becoming a sprinter.

I joined the track team my freshmen year in high school. I would explode off the starting line of the 100M and 200M races, driving my knees up and pumping my arms as quick as I could in hopes of being the first one to cross the finish line. I worked hard during workouts with strides and quick feet drills to improve my speed. I never won a sprint race; third-place was my best finish. My leg speed was not exceptional, but I could hold onto a fast pace better than most. I was heartbroken when my coach removed me from the 4x400m relay so that I could run the 800M race. My success at the middle distances meant the end of my short-lived sprint career. But, the quickness and agility I had acquired while sprinting proved valuable for my longer distance races.

My brief experience as a sprinter has stayed with me throughout my 26-year career in running. I believe that one must first develop short-speed techniques before attempting to improve your speed over the longer distances. No matter what the distance is that I am training for, I use short-speed workouts at some point during the regimen. My four techniques used for acquiring and improving speed are: quick feet, skipping, high knees, and strides.

Quick Feet

The ability to put one foot in front of the other as fast as you can is the groundwork of speed. Some individuals will be naturally able to do this better than others. Do not become burdened by your inability to move as quickly as others; focus on improving your own pace. While standing in place on the running track with your arms bent and prepared to swing, push- off on your toes in a standing running motion as fast as you can for about ten steps. Stop and rest by jogging in place for about 10 seconds. Repeat the quick feet drill as fast as you can for another ten steps. Alternate the jog-in-place rest and quick feet up to five times; do not overdue. The quick feet drill is extremely tiring and injury is possible if you are not reasonably fit.

Skipping

(Just like the children at the play ground!) Find a private location if you are too embarrassed to skip in public. For you confident runners, find a 60-meter stretch on the outside lane of a running track. Do a couple of sets of skips. Swing your arms in a relaxed motion. If you cannot skip, you need to learn. The coordinated movements of skipping are important for runners. The push-off-on-one-foot land-on-same-foot motion of skipping works on rhythm and strength. In addition, there is a certain amount of active stretching that occurs during the exercise, which makes skipping an excellent pre-race/pre- workout warm-up. Again, if you are not fit enough to skip or are suffering from an injury, avoid the exercise until you are ready.

High Knees

Ultimately, you want to be able to push off on one foot while raising the knee to stomach level and alternate the movements in a bounding motion, but bounding is extremely stressful and must only be performed by a well-trained runner. If you are at all questionable about this exercise, work into it by doing slow high-knees. Simply, find a 60-meter stretch of track surface. Begin by raising your right knee to stomach level while balancing on your left foot (raise up on your toes once you become more familiar with the movement). Bring your right knee down landing softly on the right foot and alternate to bring your left knee up. Perform two sets of the 60-meter drills. Adjust the speed of the high knees to what you are comfortable with. Ultimately, you want to bound or skip through two sets of high knees every time you hit the track.

Strides

Use strides as a warm-up before a workout or race. The stride can be performed well enough in training flats, but for optimum speed acquisition use track spikes on a spike-ready surface. Find a clear 100M stretch of track to sprint into an all-out running stride. Strides can vary from race-pace to 100% efforts. All-out strides are best for training days where the strides are the workout. Race-pace strides are ideal for pre- race warm-ups and post-workout warm-downs. The idea is to make the legs move quicker than a steady-state run. If you want your legs to move fast you must train them to do so. Always lean into the start of a stride, setting your momentum forward. Pay close attention to your arm swing. Arms should reach farther and swing more quickly than during a steady-state run.

We all cannot be Olympic sprinters, but we can sure make the most of our ability to run fast. After learning Rudolph's story years ago I became motivated to sprint. My lack of true sprint speed did not deter me from pursuing my desire to be the fastest runner no matter what the distance.

Race historian George Banker has created a photo gallery of Alisa Harvey in action over the years. Here is the Web address.