How to record a sprint

Put a cone at each distance, stand your phone side-on to the lane, and drag the on-screen gates onto the cones. Metric Sprint then times the athlete across each line from the video. You do not need timing gates or beam sensors.

On Free, Metric Sprint records your baseline test and one free 24-hour pass. After that, recording needs a day pass, Sprint Pro or Ultra. See Subscriptions.

Position the phone

1. Mount the phone on a stable tripod. A phone in a hand or leaning on a bag moves during the run.
2. Set the camera 1.4–1.5 m high, about chest height.
3. Place the tripod directly side-on to the lane, level with the middle of the run. The camera looks straight across the lane.
4. Keep the phone in landscape.
5. Level the phone until the tilt warning clears. Metric Sprint reads the ground for scale, so a tilted phone costs you accuracy.
6. Move the tripod back until the whole lane fits in the frame.
7. Use the zoom chips to fine-tune the framing without moving the tripod.

If you need a tripod, see Best gym tripod for recording with your iPhone or iPad.

Use a tripod with a wide base. A wide stance keeps the phone steady through a whole session of runs.

The T-Test, the Modified T-Test and Lane Agility are the exception. On those tests the athlete moves towards and away from the camera, so the tripod stands 6–12 m back. See Agility tests.

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, tap Flip run direction. This moves the 0 m start line to the other end.

The lane must fill a set part of the frame width. The Track meter on screen shows your current share, and the share to aim for when you are outside it.

• Lane of 5 m or less — about 38–88% of the width.
• Lane of 10 m — about 65–88%.
• Longer lanes, such as 15 m, 20 m and 30 m — about 75–90%.
• T-Test, Modified T-Test and Lane Agility — about 25–60%, because the tripod stands further back.

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

Check the light and background

• Keep a low sun or a bright window behind the camera, not behind the lane. Backlight makes tracking harder.
• Dark clothing against a dark fence or wall makes the athlete harder to track.

Start the run

Tap Start. Metric Sprint looks for the athlete, then arms the run once they stand still with their toes at the 0 m line. Ready to run shows when it is armed.

The timer starts on your first real movement forwards, so go whenever you are ready.

When you film someone else, watch the prompts on screen. They tell you whether Metric Sprint has found the athlete before the run starts.

To run the same sprint several times in a row without touching the phone, turn on Repeat runs. See Repeat runs.

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

When it goes wrong

Start stays off while one of these warnings shows:

• Phone tilted — level the phone until the warning clears.
• Phone is moving — mount the phone on a tripod or steady it.
• Track too small in frame — move the tripod closer or zoom in.
• Too close — move the tripod back or zoom out.

Other problems show after you tap Start:

• Gates misconfigured — check that each gate sits on its own cone.
• No 0 m crossing — Metric Sprint never saw the athlete cross the start line. Check the gate placement, then try again.

Metric Sprint scales every number from the gates you placed. If the tripod moves during a run, or a cone sits at the wrong distance, the times are wrong too.

Related

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