Pole vaulters love going fast. Short approaches, full approaches, max-velocity flys: that’s the fun stuff, and it’s what makes poles bend. So when a coach says “today we’re doing tempo,” a lot of vaulters hear “today we’re jogging for no reason.”
Here’s the thing, though. Tempo runs might be the most underrated workout on a vaulter’s calendar. Done right, they don’t make you slower. They help you stay fast: they build tissue that can handle all that sprinting and planting, and they let you recover between the hard days that actually move your PR.
Let’s break down what tempo is, why it belongs in a vault program, and how to run it without messing up the speed you’ve worked so hard for.
What Exactly Is a Tempo Run?
Tempo running is sub-maximal sprinting: runs of roughly 100 to 400 meters at a controlled pace, with short recoveries that don’t let you get all the way back to fresh. It isn’t a jog and it isn’t an all-out sprint. It’s the middle gear.
Pole vaulter Sondre Guttormsen breaks tempo into two flavors in his training article on Stavhopp:
| Type | Intensity | Rep length | Recovery | Main purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extensive tempo | 65–75% of max speed | 100–200 m | Walk-back / 30–90 sec | Active recovery, capillary development, technical rhythm |
| Intensive tempo | 80–89% | 120–300 m | 1–3 min | Lactate buffering, 400 m race rhythm |
For most vaulters, extensive tempo is the one you’ll use. You’re not training to run the 400; you’re training to recover well and build a durable engine. Intensive tempo is more of a sprinter and 400-runner tool.
Why Vaulters Should Care (It’s Not Just “Conditioning”)
The most common knock on tempo is that it “isn’t specific,” meaning long, slow-ish runs teach slow mechanics. Fair concern! But the Stavhopp article makes a strong case that the benefits outweigh the risk when you set it up correctly. Here’s what tempo brings to a vaulter:
- Tougher lower legs. Long-stride calf loading, in sets like 6 × 200 m, builds tendon resilience, which the article specifically calls valuable for single-leg jumpers. That’s you. Every takeoff is a big one-leg hit.
- Fresher legs for the next hard day. Extensive tempo raises your heart rate without a heavy nervous-system cost, so you can hit quality lifts or speed work the following day.
- Better recovery overall. Expanded capillary beds help you bounce back between hard sessions.
- More training volume for free. Adding one tempo day a week over a 13-week season adds roughly 13 extra sessions, which the article describes as about two extra micro-cycles of work.
- Weather insurance. When lightning or cold wipes out max-velocity work, moderate runs on turf are a safe fallback. (Hello, Idaho spring.)
The big idea: tempo lets you flush today so you can sprint tomorrow.
How Fast Should Tempo Actually Be?
This is where most athletes blow it. Tempo feels easy at the start, so everybody speeds up, and suddenly your “recovery day” is a hard day in disguise.
The guideline Stavhopp shares is simple: measure, don’t guess. Their example is that a 10.9-second 100 m sprinter should run about 14.5 seconds per 100 m of tempo, not 13.0. The pace reference in the article is roughly your 100 m best × 1.33.
Quick way to set it up for your group:
- Take each athlete’s best (or a recent timed) 100 m.
- Multiply by 1.33. That’s their tempo target per 100 m.
- Put cone markers every 100 m on the infield so athletes can check their own splits. (Our Gill Cone Markers run $1.50–$14, cheap enough to grab a stack.)
- If athletes are coming in way under target, slow them down. Seriously.
Other implementation tips from the article:
- Run on grass or turf. It reduces joint stress while still loading the tendons.
- Split reps before form falls apart. If posture starts sagging on longer reps, replace them with 100 m chunks. Technique only suffers when reps are too long.
- Start small and build slowly. Begin around 600–800 m total, add about 10% per week, and back off every fourth week.
Sample Tempo Workouts
Here are formats Stavhopp lists, sorted by what you’re after:
| Goal | Workout |
|---|---|
| Jump-focused stiffness | 8 × 200 m @ 75%, 3 min rest (grass) |
| Recovery flush | 10 × 100 m @ 70%, walk-back recovery |
| Cooldown option | 6–8 × 100 m descending from 90% down to 50% |
| 400 m rhythm (sprinter-focused) | 3 × 4 × 150 m @ 82%, 2 min between reps / 6 min between sets |
For a high school vaulter just getting started, the recovery flush or a trimmed-down version of the stiffness set (fewer reps, same controlled pace) is a great entry point. Remember that starting volume guideline: 600–800 m total.
Where Tempo Fits in a Vaulter’s Week
Tempo works best as a “low” day in a high-low week: hard, fast, high-nervous-system days separated by easier metabolic days. Here’s the sample vault week from the Stavhopp article:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Mon | Short-approach vault + power throws |
| Tue | Acceleration sprints + weight-room strength |
| Wed | Technical drills + gymnastics-based core |
| Thu | Full-approach vault + mixed lifting |
| Fri | Extensive tempo (e.g., 6 × 200 m @ 70% on grass) |
| Sat | Hill sprints (moderate) + high-bar strength |
| Sun | Rest / mobility |
The key rule: avoid heavy nervous-system work right after a big tempo volume. Tempo supports your speed days; it doesn’t replace them.
Consistency beats cramming
There’s a great parallel to this over at Apex Vaulting. Their take on drills is that frequency beats volume: doing something consistently across the season does more than piling up reps in one session, and once reps get sloppy, they stop helping. Apex athletes do 3–5 pole runs every practice instead of a huge pile once in a while.
Tempo works the same way. One well-paced session every week, all season long, beats a brutal “conditioning day” that leaves your athletes wrecked and their mechanics ugly. Keep it controlled, keep it regular, and let it quietly stack up.
The Bottom Line
Tempo running isn’t old-school filler, and it isn’t a magic fix either. Used smartly, it:
- Protects your tendons and connective tissue for all that sprinting and planting
- Rehearses good rhythm in a low-stress setting
- Speeds up recovery so your hard days stay hard
- Adds training volume without eating into your top-end speed
Put one extensive tempo day in your week this fall, time it, keep it honest, and you’ll show up to the season with legs that can handle the work.
Ready to get your group set up? Grab cone markers and practice gear in our shop, or reach out to Coach Dopp if you want help building a season plan around your vaulters’ speed work.
