Bunch, medium, or elongated: which sprint start should you use?
The distance between the two blocks changes the start more than which foot goes where, and the right spacing is found by testing, not by rule.
Most of the argument around starting blocks is about which foot goes in the front pedal. The spacing between the two pedals gets less attention, and it changes the start more.
Three spacings, one choice
Bunch sets the pedals close together, with the front knee only a little ahead of the back one, roughly 30 to 35 centimetres apart. Medium opens that to somewhere around 40 to 50 centimetres, which is where most programmes start by default. Elongated pushes it past 60, with the back knee well behind the front one and more room for both legs to extend before the hips come up.
- Bunch: the quickest in theory, and the least forgiving. Both legs have to coordinate almost at once, with little margin for a late one.
- Medium: close to how far an athlete naturally stands, and the spacing most coaches default to when there is no specific reason to move off it.
- Elongated: slower to clear the blocks, but more stable at the gun, and common with taller athletes who need the extra room to unfold without standing up early.
Why the choice matters less than it looks
What actually decides a fast start is the drive-phase trunk line: whether the shin and the back stay on roughly the same angle through the first few steps, or whether the athlete pops upright too soon. That line is produced by strength, rhythm and confidence in the position, not by which spacing the blocks were set to. Change the spacing on an athlete who stands up early and they will usually still stand up early, just from a different starting shape.
How to actually decide
Set the blocks one way for a week, film the first six steps from the side, and look at the trunk angle and how far the back leg extends before it leaves the track. Then move the spacing and do it again. The number that should change is the drive-phase angle, not a stopwatch time from a single rep, because one sprint time swings on too many other things to tell you anything about blocks alone.
A side-on camera can tell you what came out of the drive phase: the trunk angle, whether the hips climbed early, how far the back leg straightened. It cannot tell you which spacing an athlete reacts to fastest, because reaction to the gun is a question about sound and movement before the frame starts, not about the pose inside it.
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Related
How far apart should you set the blocks?
Bunch, medium and elongated block settings are not a matter of taste, they trade power against time, and most blocks on a track are set the way they have always been set.
Read →Which foot goes in front in the starting blocks?
The popular rules of thumb contradict each other, which is why the only answer worth trusting is a timed one.
Read →How far forward should a sprinter lean?
A lot out of the blocks, very little at top speed, and never by bending at the waist, which is the version that gets taught by accident.
Read →Try it: Sprint timer app: 40-yard dash and flying sprints with one phone