How to record a sprint

Metric Sprint times your sprinting and agility splits from a single side-on video. You do not need timing gates or beam sensors. You mark where the lines sit on screen, run, and Metric Sprint reads your body across each one.

Position the phone

1. Place the phone side-on to the lane, with the camera looking across the lane.
2. Set the camera at roughly waist-chest height. A tripod is ideal, and a bench or a fence post also works.
3. Keep the phone in landscape orientation.
4. Level the phone until the tilt warning clears. Metric Sprint reads the ground plane for scale, so a tilted phone costs you accuracy.
5. Step back until the whole run fits in frame. The entire sprint track needs to fit in the screen.
6. Use the zoom chips (0.5×, 0.75×, 1×) to fine-tune the framing without moving the phone.

Mark out your lane

Put a cone or a marker at each real distance first. Then match the on-screen gates to the cones. Metric Sprint draws a slanted ground line for every gate.

1. Drag each gate handle onto its cone.
2. Line up each ground line with the cone on the near side of the lane.
3. Check that the ground line follows the front edge of your lane along the ground.
4. Check that the lane overlay points the right way.
5. If the chevrons run against you, use Flip run direction. This swaps the 0 m start line to the other end.

Gates lock once you start. They light up green as you cross them.

Check the light and background

• Avoid heavy backlight. A camera pointed towards a low sun or a bright window makes tracking harder.
• Avoid dark clothing against a dark background.

Start the run

Metric Sprint detects the sprint and starts it automatically. Stand settled with your toes at the 0 m line. Metric Sprint arms once it finds you.

The timer starts on your first real movement forwards. There is no countdown to beat, no gun or signal, and no false start. Go when you are ready.

The prompts on the screen guide you during the sprint. A coach can watch the prompts to make sure Metric Sprint detects the athlete before the sprint starts.

Tip: Run through the last gate rather than decelerating onto it. Slowing into the finish gives a slower time.

How the setup affects your results

Every number Metric Sprint gives you comes from watching your body cross a line you placed. If the phone shifts or moves during the sprint, your results may be inaccurate. If your lane measurement was inaccurate, your results may also be inaccurate.

Related

• Sprint and agility tests: the tests you can run.
• Sprint metrics: what each number means.