Q&A – WOMEN’S 4X400 METER RELAY TEAM

CONFIDENCE ISN’T THE ONLY SECRET TO THE LONGHORNS’ SUCCESS IN THE 4X400-METER RELAY THIS YEAR.

FOUR HUNDRED meters. A quarter of a mile. 1312.34 feet. The metrics used to measure a single lap around the outdoor track may vary, but a sprinter’s perspective on the distance remains the same.

The 400-meter dash is nothing more, nothing less, than grueling.

The longest of the sprinting events, the 400 taxes the body. Runners need heart — and guts — to push through to the finish line after racing at top speeds around the entire track.

Sprinters can’t hold back at any point in the race. They need to approach the first 200-meters as a standalone event — fast out of the blocks with an aim to catch the competitor in the next lane.  They need to maintain their form as the burn creeps into their legs as they approach the second curve. And they need to push through that pain and kick out the final 100-meters.

“The 400 is a mental race. The last straightaway is the hardest part — when you’re coming home,” sophomore Allison Peter says. “The pain kicks in and all you can do is fight.”

For Peter and the rest of the women’s quarter mile team, fighting through to the finish line is never a question. Grueling or not, the Longhorns have expectations to uphold.

The 400-meter dash serves as the foundation of the Texas women’s track and field program...

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