THE HURDLES
Two basic hurdle events occur in most levels of track and field:
the high hurdles and the intermediate hurdles. The hurdle heights, the distances between the hurdles, and the number of hurdles
vary depending on the level of competition, whether the meet is indoors or outdoors, and whether the competitors are male
or female. Most high school hurdlers can be competitive in both the high and intermediate hurdle races. However, it becomes
more difficult to compete in both races in college when the height for men moves to 42 inches and the intermediate distance
for men and women is 400 meters. As athletes improve, they tend to focus more on one race; if they continue to run both races,
they spend less time on their second race.
HIGH HURDLES
The sprint hurdles are different for men and women at all levels.
It is because of these technical differences that these events are addressed separately in this chapter.
Both the men's
and women's high hurdle races begin in very much the same way as a 100-meter race would start. After three quick powerful
strides out of the blocks, the hurdlers raise their head and focus on the first hurdle at step four. At this point in the
race, they are in more of a sprinting angle than a 100-meter runner would assume.
Men's High Hurdles
Most male hurdlers use an eight-stride approach to the first hurdle and therefore place their lead foot on the front pedal
of the starting block. If the hurdler is exceptionally tall (six-foot-five-inches or taller) and has a tendency to chop his
strides to the first hurdle, look at using seven steps out of the blocks, and have him put the lead foot on the back pedal
of the blocks.
The athlete takes off between 78 and 90 inches from the hurdle. The takeoff distance
depends on a few factors, including the:
• stride length,
• speed,
and
• height of the hurdler.
Having your hurdlers experiment with their takeoff
points is the surest way to figure out what is most appropriate for each hurdler. You do not want your athlete to "float"
way over the hurdle because this does not lead to fast times. It is best if the athlete remains tall before driving up to
clear the hurdle (figure 8.la). The hurdler cannot swing the lead leg out to the side to clear the hurdle but must lead with
the knee and unfold the leg so that he is hurdling with a bent leg. In fact, the athlete should actually be coming down over
the hurdle and not coming down after he clears it.
Other concerns include having the hurdlers remain
on their toes at all times and in all aspects of the race and having them avoid laying out their lead leg too soon. Doing
so stops their clearance height and leads to hitting the hurdles.
Throughout the race, the shoulders
must remain square to the direction that the athletes are running. The trail arm cannot float behind the athlete's back, and
the lead arm should be bent, with the hand in front of the opposite shoulder but not outside of the shoulder. The lead arm
needs to return to the sprinting action as soon as possible and therefore cannot go beyond the side seam of the jersey (figure
8.1 b).
The trail leg foot should be pointed away from the torso (figure 8.1c), with the calf touching the back of the thigh. The
knee should come up to the armpit area as the lead leg extends to the ground, placing the hurdler in a good position to sprint
off of the hurdle (figure 8.1d). The lead leg should be driven straight down toward the track for speed and should contact
the track around 45 to 54 inches after the hurdle (figure 8.1 e). The first stride after clearance should be initiated by
a high-knee action, triggering a full-sprint stride. The athlete should keep the shoulders square and the eyes focused on
the next hurdle bar.
In most cases, the final hurdle is the difference between winning and losing a race. The momentum established after clearing
that hurdle, along with the runner's getting back into sprinting form as quickly as possible, can secure the win. We have
all watched races where a hurdler who was clearly in the lead throughout most of the race hits the final hurdle or clears
it in an awkward way. The transition back into the sprint technique is delayed, and the runner thereby loses the race to someone
who has good clearance, who returns to the sprint form more quickly, and who is able to carry the resulting momentum through
the finish line.
Women's High Hurdles
With the lower height in the women's sprint race, speed
becomes more of a factor than the ability to efficiently and effectively raise the center of mass, the primary concern of
the male high hurdler.
It is because of this lower height that the lead leg should lock out on top
of the hurdle, thus initiating a stretch reflex action that actually accelerates the lead leg off of the hurdle (figure 8.02,
a and b).
The trail leg action is also different in the 100-meter hurdle race than in the 110-meter race in that the knee is actually
brought through on a downward angle. There is also not as much forward lean with the torso; therefore, the action is closer
to the sprinting action in women's races than in the men's race (figure 8.02, c and d).
The takeoff and landing distances
before and after the hurdle are also significantly reduced in the women's race, with the acceptable takeoff range being 66
to 72 inches and a landing area between 36 and 42 inches. Sprint speed should be a strong consideration when you evaluate
possible candidates to run the women's hurdles, with strength and flexibility as supporting traits.
High Hurdle Practice and Drills
The first thing to remember as a coach is that hurdlers apply much greater stress to their legs and body than do
normal sprinters; therefore, you cannot expect them to run hurdles on back-to-back days. This does not eliminate, however,
the need to work on the daily flexibility that is associated with the hurdling technique.
Hurdlers
should always do a majority of their warm-up work in flats to protect their legs. They will need to be in spikes when they
actually perform on hurdles and work on technique drills.
Because it is difficult to simulate "competitive
adrenaline" during practice, you may want to consider running most or all of your practices on shortened distances between
the hurdles. Doing so makes it easier for the athletes to hit the proper strides each time and to avoid struggling to get
to the hurdle. Shortened distances ensure that throughout the workout, the athlete has the best chance at using proper technique
on the hurdles. At the beginning of the year I shorten the distance to the second hurdle by half the length of my shoe, the
distance to the third by a full shoe length, the distance to the fourth by one and a half shoe lengths, and so on. Later in
the season, I close up the space between each hurdle by a shoe's length, or even a shoe and a half per hurdle, to help the
athletes produce a faster neuromuscular memory pattern.
Likewise, I like to have athletes practice
over hurdles that are three inches lower than the competition height to assist in their speed development in this race. The
shorter, closer hurdles enhance the athletes' "quickness" of the technique on the hurdle, first step after the hurdle,
and speed between the hurdles.
I like to use the following three lead-leg drills with the hurdlers
in a break-out practice setting. These same drills can be used to work on the trail leg.
Wall drill.
The athlete places the hurdle up against the wall at competition height. He or she backs up and walks three steps into the
takeoff position, then drives the lead leg toward the wall by leading with the knee and placing the calf up against the hamstring
(figure 8.3a). He or she hits the wall with the ball of the foot, keeping the shoulders square and the arms in proper position
(figure 8.3b). To drill the trail leg, place the hurdle about 30 to 36 inches from the wall. The athlete places both hands
on the wall and steps with the lead leg so that the heel is in line with the vertical tube of the hurdle. Then the athlete
pulls the trail leg through. Athletes can also modify this drill by doing cycles of trail-leg drills, such as five in a row
without stopping, and by leaving the grounded foot stationary.
Clearance drill: With one or up to five hurdles set up in a sequence, the athlete starts from a jog. He or
she approaches the hurdle and completes the lead-leg action over half of the hurdle. The athlete then focuses on leading with
the knee and remaining on the ball of the foot, with the shoulders and arms in proper position (figure 8.4, a and b). As the
athlete becomes more efficient, he or she can also focus on the speed of the lead leg to the ground and the arm drive into
a sprinting motion while clearing the hurdle.
One-step drill: The athlete is again working on half of a hurdle. With a sequence of up to eight hurdles set 8 to
10 feet apart and using the previously described lead-leg technique when the lead leg touches the ground, the athlete takes
a single stride and clears the next hurdle. To work on the trail leg, the athlete starts from a jog, clears just half of the
hurdle with the trail leg, then focuses on the everted foot and drives the knee up to the armpit. The runner then focuses
on the stepping away and the high-knee drive for the next step (figure 8.5).
Another trail-leg drill I like to use is a buddy drill. One hurdler rests the trail leg on the hurdle board lengthwise,
then steps forward, past the support tube, down the board, pulling the trail leg down the board while a partner assists him
or her in keeping the foot everted and lifting the knee into the armpit area.
To get the athlete
accustomed to seeing the hurdles at faster speeds, you can do one of two things. You can either shorten the hurdles as I described
earlier, or you can lengthen the distance between the hurdles and have the athlete take five or seven steps between the hurdles,
thereby generating more speed. While you may have to experiment to find the right distance for your athletes, a reasonable
starting point would be 12 or 13 yards between each hurdle for both male and
female hurdlers.
A good drill to use with more advanced athletes is to have the hurdlers work on all short marks. Another good drill for such
athletes is to have them start from the blocks and hurdle the first three hurdles, then sprint to the sixth or seventh hurdle,
then hurdle one or two more hurdles. I started using this drill after watching several national- and world caliber athletes
on television; it became obvious that they developed a great deal of speed following the third hurdle. In an effort to simulate
this trend, I began to use this drill with my own hurdlers.
Another tool I use is to count the number
of foot contacts that a hurdler has while running and working with the hurdles during an entire practice. I break these contacts
into:
• touches during drills,
• touches during the main segment of the
workout, and
• touches during the endurance or strengthening segment
at the end of practice.
Keeping a record of these contacts may help you see patterns in problem areas
that a particular athlete is having. This habit of tracking foot contacts is similar to that of maintaining a log of total
meters run in a workout for non-hurdlers. It provides information that may define or clarify a problem (e.g., too many touches
resulted in an injury), and it may also provide information that helps you to gradually increase or decrease the workload
for the athlete. It becomes useful as you taper your athletes' workouts for major races at the end of the season. In addition,
if your team has always had injuries at a certain part of the year, this may highlight the problem area.
High
Hurdle Training
Since hurdlers perform sprints with interruptions, they should train along
the same lines. They do not need a lot of aerobic work, but they do need some recovery on their
non-hurdle days late
in the year. They cannot sprint hard during their hurdle session and plunge into an aggressive sprint workout the next day.
If they were to do so, they would have four stress days out of every six, with a meet constituting another stress day during
the competition season.
Knowing this, I train hurdlers by including some sprint work on one of the
hurdle days and specific speed development on only one of the remaining days. I usually have my athletes do volume hurdle
practice early in the week. The second hurdle day is geared more toward speed development, with less volume and drill work----we
go for more quality and less quantity. A sample week from the middle of an outdoor season is shown in table 8.1.
As the season nears the taper period, think less about how much and think more about how; that is, focus not on the volume
but on quality repetitions of the whole technique, with speed and efficiency being the major considerations. For example,
that second hurdle day might cover only the start through the first hurdle and an extended flexibility session. Remember,
more mature or experienced hurdlers require less drill time and need to be given more rest following the quicker and shorter
workouts. Table 8.2 shows a sample week from our taper period.
INTERMEDIATE HURDLES
While similar to the 400-meter hurdle race, the 300-meter hurdles do have several differences.
The first and most obvious is the distance run in the race and the energy systems used. The second is that the 300-meter hurdles
start on the straight and the 400-meter hurdles on a curve. The 300-meter race also has fewer hurdles and less run-in space
following the last hurdle. The final difference is that a strong 100 or 110-meter hurdler, who can also run a good 200 meters,
can have success in the 300meter hurdles without significantly changing the entire training focus, as he or she would have
to do if doubling in the 100- and 110meter hurdles. It is for this reason that most high school hurdlers can successfully
run both the high and intermediate races.
Intermediate hurdlers must be able to alternate lead legs,
with the left leg being their preferred lead leg. While fatigue is not as great a consideration in the 300-meter race, it
does become a factor in the 400-meter hurdles. With wind conditions always a part of outdoor racing, it is imperative that
intermediate hurdlers have confidence using either leg as a lead leg.
Table 8.3 provides touchdown
times and foot-strike times for different finishing times for the 100, 110, 300 and 400-meter hurdles for men and women.
300-Meter
Hurdles
One of the first skills that 300-meter hurdlers must accomplish is to get their
steps to the first hurdle. Most male athletes use either 21 or 22 steps to accomplish this task while most female athletes
use 23 to 24 steps. It is important to note that with an even stride pattern, the lead leg should be on the front block pad,
and for an odd stride pattern, the lead leg would be on the back pad.
Since this race starts on a
straight, the only factors that can create problems are the wind and the hurdlers themselves. The degree of mastery of the
first hurdle determines immediately the potential for success in this race.
The next task is to establish
a consistent stride pattern and speed for the first two hurdles. If the hurdlers cannot clear these two hurdles, they will
have problems with the next two as the curve becomes a factor in the race. Intermediate hurdlers must determine which lead
leg they will use to clear the next hurdle when they are about four or five strides from the hurdle. This recognition can
eliminate reaching or chopping as they prepare to clear the hurdle. Both of these actions have a negative effect on the total
time.
Once hurdlers have acquired the ability to clear the second hurdle with control and to execute
strong runoffs, they can focus on the hurdles on the curve. Having a primary left leg lead helps keep a hurdler from floating
to the outside of the lane. Hurdlers can adjust the route they take through the curve, remaining within the lane, to improve
their stride pattern for these hurdles. If the hurdler is always coming up too close to the hurdle, he or she can float to
the outside of the lane, thereby adding distance to achieve a better stride pattern. Similarly, if the hurdler is always reaching
to clear the hurdle, cutting closer to the inside of the lane helps to decrease the distance between hurdles. The optimal
stride pattern for the 300-meter hurdles is 13 to 15 strides between each hurdle for males, and 17 to 19 strides between each
hurdle for females, with adjustments made along the race.
Entering the home straight, the hurdler
may need to add a stride; this is another reason it is necessary for hurdlers to be comfortable leading with either leg. If
they were not, they would need to add two strides between each hurdle, as opposed to a single stride. The hurdler needs to
focus on each hurdle as it comes up. Otherwise, the runner might hit the hurdle bar. If this happens going into the hurdle,
it could cause the runner to lose balance and form, and thus decrease speed. If it happens later, it could cause the runner
to straighten up and fail to have a good runoff. During the last third of the race, any factor that impedes speed will have
a severely negative impact on the race's outcome.
400-Meter Hurdles
This
race is an altogether different race than the 300-meter hurdles because the hurdler is now starting on the curve. Good prospective
athletes for this event would be 400-meter runners who demonstrate flexibility but may not be able to score in the 400 meters
in your conference meet or qualify for your state or national championships. While the race is not easy, it usually attracts
fewer quality athletes than the open 400 meters, which may provide the motivation for a solid yet not outstanding 400-meter
runner to embrace the 400-meter hurdle race.
The first key for the 400-meter hurdler is to get the
right number of strides to the first hurdle: 21 or 22 for males, 23 to 24 for females. This task is truly a challenge because
the stride pattern may vary with the lane that the athlete draws to start from. The closer the athlete is to the first lane,
the tighter the curve; the farther out, the more gradual the
effect of the turn is. The left leg lead is even more important
in this race because runners need to establish themselves on a curve as opposed to the straight. A major factor in getting
a quality start in this race is getting to the second hurdle under control, without effort, and having a good runoff from
that hurdle. If this can be accomplished, the hurdles on the back straight should come easily without the athlete having to
use a lot of energy.
Most problems begin as the hurdler enters the second turn. If the runner had
a problem on the back straight and had to drop a stride or two, the second curve will be entered with less momentum. The hurdler
will therefore need to make an adjustment to the stride pattern or to the running line within the lane.
The finish of the race is similar to the 300meter hurdles, the difference being a longer run from the final hurdle to the
finish line. This distance often allows for some small changes in the finish order.
It is easy for
the athlete and coach to get caught up in the number of strides taken between intermediate hurdles, but it is important to
establish a rhythm that can be maintained to the end of the race. Therefore, while fewer strides are always the goal, intermediate
hurdlers shouldn't put so much effort into attaining an early stride pattern of fewer strides that they are fatigued and cannot
finish the race strong. In some cases, more is better, and this just may be one of them. As a coach, you need to keep momentum
on the side of the athlete in these races. The intermediate hurdlers must maintain an aggressive attacking lead leg and run
with rhythm so that they do not lose horizontal momentum.
It is beneficial to use videotape in all
events as a teaching tool, but videotaping the hurdle
races along with touchdown times (the time when the lead foot
strikes the ground after clearing the hurdle) can be an important tool for both the athlete and the coach.
Intermediate Hurdle Training
Tables 8.4 and 8.5 provide some sample training
weeks for the early and late outdoor season for intermediate hurdlers. These workouts are especially good for 400-meter hurdlers
but can be adapted for the 300-meter hurdlers as well. The drills used for the sprint hurdlers are also appropriate for intermediate
hurdlers, the only modification being that the height of the hurdle changes the height the athlete's trail and lead legs.
FROM: Coaching Track & Field Successfully by Mark Guthrie
