Sprinter acceleration phase

During practices, my coach would often remind us to strike directly down onto the ground when accelerating. He emphasizes lauching out horizontally while while striking down vertically. When I thought about how the vectors would look for these forces, I realized you end up with a diagnol line facing away from the finish line. I now see that the ground pushes back on the runner with an equal amount of force. The more force exerted onto the ground by the runner, the more distance is covered with each step. Ignoring air resistance, muscle fatigue, and assuming ideal conditions, a runner who can strike the ground with a constant force will have an increasing velocity because of a constant acceleration. This made me think about the phrase, "the one who slows down the least, wins". It can also be said that the sprinter who can keep applying their maximum force for the longest interval of time will be victorious.