How to Warm-up Between Races
đź“Ś KEY TAKEAWAYS
- After the first race, take 10–15 minutes to feel mostly normal, then do a quick 6-exercise mobility routine (iron cross, low whips, groiners, reach under/up, cat-cow, side bends) before hydrating and refueling.
- Use an adjusted Jeff Boele warm-up for the second race: 20m of dynamic drills, wall/fence exercises (leg swings, hurdle trail leg, eagles), ground exercises, then A-march and A-skip sequences.
- Skip B-march and B-skip when doubling — hamstrings may be tight from the first race. Replace with a second set of A-march and A-skip unless the athlete has no hamstring history.
- Strides before the second race are event-specific: 1600m runners do 2 x 100m at goal pace; 800m runners add a 150m in-n-out at 96%; 3200m runners do 2–3 x 100m at goal pace.
- Repeat the quick mobility routine after the second race to begin recovery immediately.
One of the biggest questions coaches and athletes have during the track season is what to do to properly warm-up when the athlete is running two races (aka "doubling").
Great question! Here's my concise warm-up for running track races on the track.
Quick Mobility Routine
After they finish the first race of the day, the athlete should take 10-15 minutes until they feel mostly back to normal. They can choose to jog for 2-3 minutes, though this isn’t necessary. What is necessary is the following mobility work, to ensure their body is ready for the next race.
If you don’t know what the following exercises click here to get the videos on your phone.
- Iron cross x 10 – do this a bit slower than normal
- Low whips x 5 each leg – again, do this a bit slower than normal
- Groiners x 5 each leg
- Reach under/up x 5 each side
- Cat-Cow x 5 cycles
- Stand up and do side bends – 5 for each side.
That’s it! Now it’s time to hydrate, and depending on the length of time until the next race, possibly refuel.
Adjusted Jeff Boelé Warm-Up for Doubling
For 20m, do the following:
- Skips w/ arms forward
- Skips w/ arms backward
- Skips w/ arms crossing
- Skips w/ twist
- Backward walk w/ reach
- Backward skip
- Butt Kicks
- Side Jumping Jacks
- Carioca
Now move to a wall or fence…
- Leg Swings – front/side
- Hurdle Trail Leg – forward/back
- Eagles
- Side bends – L/R
Move to the ground…
- Camel/old horse
- Cat/Cobra
- Reach under/up
- Fire hydrant
- Donkey kick
- Low whips
Finally, for 10m…
- A March
- A Skip
- A March
- A Skip
We’re doing the A march and skip twice, and taking out the B march and skip, for two reasons.
First, we need to get focused for the race, and doing a technical aspect like skipping is great. But the hamstrings may be tight from the first race so we’ll take out B march and skip. That said if the athlete has never had hamstring issues you can replace the second A march and skip combination with B march and B skip.
Strides
Athletes can do a 5-minute jog, if they want to, but this is not necessary. After they put on their spikes, they’ll run:
- 2 x 150m In-n-out with middle 50m at 92 percent, 94 percent.
- Strides at goal pace:
- 1600m: 2 x 100m with a run-in at goal pace.
- 3200m: 2-3 x 100m with a run-in at goal pace.
- 800m: One more 150m In-n-out at 96 percent. You could possibly do 80m from a standing start in lane 6, 7, or 8 to replicate the start of the race, but that’s not necessary.
- 400m: 1 x 150m In-n-out at 96 percent, for an older athlete. Make sure there are several minutes between the end of this rep and the race.
Following the race, you’ll repeat the Quick Mobility Routine.
"Can I get a PDF and the Videos?"
Here you go!
Here's an article explaining what 800m runners should do the day before a meet. Enjoy!
About Coach Jay Johnson
Jay Johnson has coached high school, collegiate, and professional runners for over two decades, including three USATF champions in cross country, indoor track, and road racing. He studied kinesiology and applied physiology at the University of Colorado, where he was a member of the varsity cross country team featured in Chris Lear's cult-classic Running with the Buffaloes. His book Consistency Is Key has sold over 20,000 copies. Jay has been quoted in Wired, Outside, and Runner's World, and his YouTube channel has over 2.9 million views.
Jay Johnson
