What is a Kick?

The Kick (or "Home Straight Kick") is that explosive burst of speed a runner finds in the final few hundred meters of a race. It is the last-ditch effort to drop a rival or secure a personal best.

The Physiology of the Kick

A good kick requires:

1. Anaerobic Capacity: Your body must be able to produce energy without sufficient oxygen for a short duration.
2. Fast-Twitch Fibers: Recruiting the muscles used for sprinting even after your slow-twitch fibers are exhausted.
3. Mental Grit: The ability to override the brain's "stop" signal when the lungs and legs are burning.

Tactical Kicking

• Early Kick: Starting the sprint 400-600m out to catch others off-guard.
• Sit and Kick: Staying right behind a competitor (drafting) and then accelerating past them in the final 100m.

Famous "Kickers"

In elite track racing, some athletes are legendary for having a "deadly kick," allowing them to win races even if they weren't the fastest for the first 90% of the distance (e.g., Mo Farah).

Everyone has a plan until they face a 200-meter kick.