OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (AP) — Usain Bolt says running a 300-metre race at the Golden Spike meet is not a stepping stone to him competing in the 400.

“No, no, no,” Bolt said yesterday, a day before the race in the eastern city of Ostrava.

The 100 and 200 Olympic and world champion said the 300 was not new for him because it’s a common part of his training.

“I know how to run a race and see how fast I can go in a competition,” Bolt said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Bolt said he didn’t plan to compete in the 300 regularly, but he added: “It’s really fun to do different events sometimes. It’s always fun to try something new.”

Jeremy Wariner of the United States won the 300 in Ostrava in 2008 in 31.72 seconds, and Bolt said he was inspired.

Bolt will race for the fourth time at the meet, which is part of the new IAAF world challenge series. Last year, he won the 100 in 9.77 seconds.

Michael Johnson holds the world mark of 30.85 seconds in the 300. The IAAF does not recognise it as a world record, as the distance is not used at major events.

“That’s pretty fast,” Bolt said of Johnson’s time. He said he ran the distance in 31 seconds in training but had “no clue” what he could achieve in the race.

“I’m just going to run hard. You never know what’s possible, hopefully it’s not too cold and windy.”

Bolt recently said he was avoiding the 400 because of the hard work needed to be the best at that distance.

“It’s gonna be painful but it’s not gonna be as painful as (the 400),” he said about the 300.

Bolt said he didn’t plan to attack his records this season, which is without a major world competition, and didn’t expect his main rivals — Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell — to break his record times.

“I’m not worried about world records this season,” he said. “I am trying to get through the season injury free and take it as easy as possible.

“From my angle, I don’t think there’ll be any world records.”

Bolt, Gay and Powell will race each other at the Van Damme Memorial in August in a rematch of last year’s World Championships, where Bolt set a 100 world record of 9.58 seconds.

Bolt opened this season with a year’s best 9.86-second win in the 100 last Wednesday at Daegu, South Korea, and snatched victory in the 200 at the Diamond League meet in Shanghai on Sunday with 19.76 seconds.

If Bolt breaks the 300 record in Ostrava, organisers said he will receive $30,000 besides an undisclosed appearance fee.

Due to the recent deadly clashes in his native country, Bolt said his best performance was not his only concern.

“It’s really sad for me. It’s on my mind because of family and friends,” he said.

“I’m just trying to be focused really right now, it’s kind of hard. I hope there’ll be no more casualties in the near future.”