The Three-Step Move: How to Break the Pack When It Matters Most
The Three-Step Move: Race-Winning Tactics from Grant Fisher’s Coach
A few years ago, Charlotte ran the 1600m at the NH Division 1 State Track and Field Championships. With 350 meters to go, she was sitting in the lead pack. That was the plan. Then it was time to move, and she did what most high school runners do. She picked up the pace a little at a time over about 50 meters and tried to pull away.
Her competitor saw it coming. She matched the surge, stayed on Charlotte’s shoulder, and outkicked her over the final 200. Charlotte finished second. She was crushed.
“Coach,” she said afterward, “I tried to go. She just wouldn’t let me.”
Here is what I told her. Her opponent was not faster. Charlotte gave her too much time to react.
That conversation changed how I coach tactics. In high school distance racing, the runner who controls when the race changes often beats the runner with the best kick. Few coaches understand that better than Mike Scannell, who has coached Grant Fisher since childhood. Scannell guided Fisher to back-to-back Foot Locker national titles in high school and, years later, to bronze medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Paris Olympics.
Quick Answer
The three-step move is a sudden, all-out burst that opens a gap before an opponent can react.
- Decide: Commit fully. No half moves.
- Burst: Sprint hard for three steps to open a 2 to 3 meter gap.
- Re-settle: Hold a new pace slightly faster than before. Do not drift back.
Why Gradual Surges Fail High School Runners
Most high school runners surge slowly. They ramp up effort over 50 to 100 meters. That gives the other runner time to notice, adjust, and latch on.
The three-step move works differently. It snaps the invisible elastic band between two runners before the other runner realizes the race has changed. Pass hard. Do not look back. Shut the door.
Scannell grew up in Arizona, ran for Arizona State, and coached Fisher through high school in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Today he coaches Fisher as a professional and coaches the Hamilton High School cross country program in Chandler, Arizona, which he led to state titles. In interviews, he describes building workouts around the end of races, where VO2 max and breathing control decide who holds on. The three-step move is the race-day tool that training makes possible.
How the Three-Step Move Works
Most runners have two gears. Cruise and kick. This move adds a third: the ignition.
1. The Mechanics: A Sudden Gear Change
- Step 1: The Decision. The runner does not just go a little faster. They commit to an all-out acceleration.
- Step 2: The Burst. For three steps, the runner sprints. Not race pace. A true sprint. The goal is a 2 to 3 meter gap right away.
- Step 3: The Re-Settle. Once the gap opens, the runner does not fall back to the old pace. They settle into a new rhythm that is slightly faster.
By the time the opponent reacts, they are not matching a surge. They are chasing a gap. Chasing a gap feels much harder than covering a move.
2. Why It Works: The OODA Loop
Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist Colonel John Boyd created a decision model called the OODA Loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Boyd flew in the Korean War, and his later study of air combat shaped the idea. The side that moves through the loop faster gains the advantage.
When a runner makes a move, the opponent has to work through all four steps:
- Observe: “She’s moving.”
- Orient: “How fast is she going?”
- Decide: “Do I go with her?”
- Act: “Okay. Go.”
A tired brain is slow. Even so, a gradual surge gives the opponent time to get through all four steps and stay in contact. A three-step move is finished before the opponent is done orienting. By the time they decide to chase, the elastic band has already snapped.
Speed alone is not the weapon. A sudden, decisive change is.
3. The Physical Foundation
This is not just a mind game. A runner has to be fit enough to sprint, recover on the move, and hold a faster pace afterward.
Research backs the kind of training that builds that fitness. A 2007 study by Helgerud and colleagues in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that high-intensity intervals at 90 to 95% of max heart rate improved VO2 max more than moderate training. That is the system a runner leans on to recover from a hard burst and keep going.
The move asks for three things. A short all-out effort. Quick recovery while still running hard, which depends on threshold fitness. And the aerobic power to hold the new pace. None of that works without a strong base, which is why zone 2 training matters so much. Without it, athletes cannot hold the faster pace after the move.
Three Workouts That Teach the Move
Workout 1
Whistle Surges
Purpose: Teach athletes to burst while tired, then return right to target pace without falling apart.
The drill: During a normal interval session, blow a whistle at a random moment in a rep. Athletes hit a three-step all-out acceleration, then settle back to target pace without slowing down.
Coaching cues:
- “Three hard steps. Then back to business.”
- Every burst is 100%. No holding back.
- Start with 1 to 2 surges per session. Build to 3 to 4 over time.
- Only blow the whistle in the middle 60% of a rep.
Workout 2
The Shadow Drill
Purpose: Show leaders how powerful a sudden gap is, and show followers how hard it is to react in time.
The drill: Pair runners of similar ability. During a tempo or interval, the leader makes a three-step move whenever they choose. The follower tries to stay within one meter. Switch roles each rep.
What athletes learn:
- Leaders: How much a sudden gap hurts the runner behind.
- Followers: How long it really takes to react and close 2 meters.
- Both: The best places to move are where an opponent least expects it, like turns and the tops of hills.
Workout 3
Post-Threshold Sprints
Purpose: Practice accelerating when already tired, just like the late stages of a race.
The drill: After a 20 to 24 minute threshold run, go right into 4 × 150m. Open each one with 20 meters of hard acceleration. Then float the last 130 meters, fast but relaxed. Walk or jog back to the start.
Key points:
- Athletes learn to find speed on tired legs.
- The float teaches them to carry speed without tying up.
- Use it once every 10 to 14 days in season.
Sample Weekly Structure
This week assumes a Saturday race and keeps two quality days plus the race. Rotate the Thursday and Saturday options on non-race weeks.
| Day | Workout |
|---|---|
| Monday | Easy run (40 to 50 min) + strides |
| Tuesday | 5 × 1000m at threshold with Whistle Surges |
| Wednesday | Easy run (30 to 40 min) |
| Thursday | Race week: easy run + strides. Non-race week: 20 to 24 min threshold + Post-Threshold Sprints |
| Friday | Easy run (25 to 35 min) |
| Saturday | Race, or 3 × 1200m with the Shadow Drill |
| Sunday | Long run (60 to 75 min easy) |
Watch total load when you add these sessions. Hard work without enough recovery is how fatigue crosses the line into overtraining.
The Scannell Philosophy
Scannell has talked about how high school runners often do not know their own limits yet. That can be an advantage. Tell a teenager they can sprint three steps in the middle of a 3200m, and many will believe you. Train them to do it, and they can break a field apart.
This is not about having the most talent or the highest VO2 max. It is about having a tactic your competitors do not see coming and do not know how to answer. For more on Scannell’s broader coaching philosophy, including why he treats each runner as an individual, read the companion piece.
Putting It Into Practice
Start these drills 4 to 6 weeks before your championship races. Repetition is the key. You want the move to be automatic, not something an athlete has to think through at 2.5 miles of a 5K when everything hurts.
Coach’s Checklist
- Introduce the move with Whistle Surges during threshold work.
- Progress to the Shadow Drill to teach timing and reaction.
- Add Post-Threshold Sprints once every 10 to 14 days.
- Rehearse where to move on your courses: turns, hilltops, and narrow sections.
- Show race video so athletes see what the move looks like and how opponents respond.
Most of all, give your athletes permission to be aggressive. Too many high school runners wait for a perfect moment that never comes. This move teaches them they can create their own opening. Decisive action beats perfect timing. For many athletes, the real barrier is belief, so help them break through self-limiting beliefs.
The Race That Changed Everything
Remember Charlotte? The next fall, in cross country, we trained the three-step move over and over. Shadow drills. Whistle surges. Post-threshold sprints. She hated them at first. Then they became second nature.
At the state championship, she made her move with 600 meters to go. Three hard steps. A 2 meter gap opened right away. Two girls who had beaten her the year before tried to respond. By the time they decided to chase, Charlotte had already settled into her new pace. The gap held.
She won by 9 seconds.
After the race she told me, “Coach, I knew I could go when I made the move. The other two were struggling and nobody was watching out for me.”
That is the power of the three-step move. It is a tactic, and it is a mindset. Your athletes do not have to wait for someone else to make a mistake. They can force the issue. They can break the field. They can win.
Any race plan built on hard surges starts with a real warmup. Here is the pre-race warmup protocol for 800m and 1600m runners.
Additional Resources
- Mike Scannell interview: Grant Fisher’s Olympic Coach (podcast)
- Scannell’s approach with Fisher in high school: The Smartest Training of a High School Runner
- Racing tactics: McMillan Running’s Simple Tactics for Successful Racing
- OODA Loop: John Boyd’s decision-making framework
Sources
- Helgerud J, Høydal K, Wang E, et al. Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2007;39(4):665-671.
- Coram R. Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Little, Brown; 2002.
- Chandler Arizonan. Chandler coach, Olympian a dynamic duo. May 2025.
- East Valley Tribune. Hamilton XC coach Mike Scannell never settles. November 2023.
