Ray Armstrong teaches teachers at workshop
By Sandra Jordan
For the St. Louis American
Last week St. Louis-area teachers picked up tips from an Olympic gold medalist on how to step up their students’ running game.
Go! St. Louis presented sprinter Ray Armstead at a free teacher workshop at Parkway Northeast Middle School last Thursday to share his formula to help young runners get more limber and physically fit.
Armstead’s second leg in the men’s 4×400-meter relay in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles clocked at 43.97 seconds. His run around the track, along with those of Sunder Nix, Alonzo Babers and Antonio McKay, handed off a time of 2:57:91 – the second-fastest time in history at the time and the faster ever at that altitude. Armstead was also a World Cup gold medalist in the 4×400 meter relay in Australia in 1985.
Teachers seemed surprised when Armstead admitted that as a youngster he considered running a punishment handed down for mistakes on the basketball court.
For power, he told the gym teachers to have their students do hurdle stretches and lunges.
“To get fast, you work on explosive drills,” he said.
Armstead coaches track at University City High School. He brought two of his runners with him to the workshop, who joined selected Parkway and private school students in demonstrating several techniques for the teachers.
Runners with a need for speed also need finesse. They may want to consider joining karaoke singers, dancers and gymnasts in practicing in the mirror.
“Arm speed dictates leg speed,” said Armstead, who added that finesse also plays a part in speed. Armstead said running is all about stretching, breathing, form and ice.
“Slow down and relax when you breathe. It may mean the difference between a second or a tenth in a race,” Armstead said.
He said there is also a must-do regimen following a run or workout. “Stretch with ice at night for 15 minutes to numb them out and then stretch,” he said. “If you don’t get the lactic acid out, you’re really going to be sore in the morning.”
Although shuffling is usually associated with a trifling gait, it apparently has benefits when runners work out.
“Learn how to run just shuffling your feet instead of running like a sprinter,” Armstead said. He also described a technique to help loosen stiff leg muscles, which he jokingly described as the Ray Armstead Special.
“Stretch for 10 seconds, hold it, relax, then stretch again as 10 more seconds forward,” he explained as senior Tiffany Baldwin demonstrated. “And don’t bounce when you stretch.”
In addition to stretches, planks, bounding, A-steps and a myriad of questions about techniques, Armstead said there is another place where runners gain momentum.
“In the air – that’s where the speed is. As soon as you hit the ground you come back up,” the Olympian explained.
Armstead was impressed by how focused the teachers were. “No one wanted to figure out a quick way to do anything. They realize it takes time,” he said.
Go! St. Louis, formerly known as the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon and Family Fitness Weekend, changed its name to reflect a broader and year-round mission to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle through physical fitness, staying active and eating a healthy diet.
The workshop was one of several weekend events by the organization for its fall fitness kickoff. Events included a one-mile walk for National Walk at Work Day starting a Kiener Plaza and a One Mile Family Fun Run/Walk at the downtown Taste of St. Louis to promote family fitness.
“The idea is that fitness is a wonderful way for families and children to spend some time together,” said Nancy Lieberman, president of Go! St. Louis.