The Hurdle Events. Jeff Martin IATCCC Clinic. Indianapolis, Indiana. 5 Myth s about Hurdling

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1 The Hurdle Events Jeff Martin Indianapolis, Indiana 5 Myth s about Hurdling - Speed is not a necessity to hurdle fast - Good form not pure speed makes a good hurdler - An athlete that can t jump, throw, or sprint will make a good hurdler - Tall athletes make the best hurdlers - Drill s don t do much in practice, we just run full speed over the hurdles in practice Introduction The key to being successful at the hurdling events is to generate as much speed as possible over the race distance (100,110, 300, or 400 meters) while clearing a set number of equally spaced barriers at a specified height. An athlete s speed is a direct function of his stride frequency and stride length. Once the athlete has learned speed in the hurdle events, his steps or the number of strides will be predetermined. If an athlete has a set number of strides for the race his or her rhythm during the race becomes more and more important. Mission Statement for Improvement In All Hurdle Events Through correct training & education, to reduce the time spent on the ground or in the air by 0.01 or more for each stride taken. In the hurdle races if this is done every stride the athlete s improvement can be drastic. Example: During the 110m hurdle race an athlete that three steps take 51 strides during the race. A 0.01 second improvement per stride can lead to a.51 second drop in the athlete s time. One major component for improvement is that the athlete must keep his or her center of gravity as close to the track as possible and resemble the normal sprinting form while clearing the hurdle. This will help reduce the amount of time spent in the air. Hurdling is Sprinting: Sprinting & Hurdling both involve moving the body s limbs at the highest possible velocity or speed. These high frequency movements occur because of the stimulation, excitation, and correct firing of motor skills. Hurdling is a faultless sprint over barriers: Hurdling speed is limited by technique. An athlete cannot run faster that his/her technique will allow. Hurdling techniques are learning through motor education: The skills of hurdling can be learned, but they must first be learned at slow speeds. Then they can be transferred to maximum speeds, from basic to an advanced technical model. Hurdling can be improved by specific training: A sprint hurdle race is composed of quick reaction time, acceleration, maximum speed, and speed endurance. All of these elements can be trained to maximize the firing of the motor units, which make the movement possible. 1

2 The reason why most of the top elite high school hurdlers and top hurdlers in the world today are successful is because they are sprinters. Many of the top hurdlers can be competitive in the 100, 200, and 400 meters dashes at the highest level of competition. They are also students of the event and want to learn more about what they can do to become better hurdlers. His/her training during the off-season, conditioning period, early season, competitive/championship season, and in the weight room are at very high levels. They love to train. They eat right, they sleep right, and they surround themselves with good people! Why? Because they want to WIN! Four aspects of the hurdle technique 1.) The Start & Approach 2.) Take-off to the hurdle 3.) Clearance 4.) Landing & step off the hurdle The Start & Approach A good start with maximum acceleration to the first hurdle is necessary to achieve a fast rhythm between the hurdles. The hurdler should use the same start that a sprinter would. The only difference is that the hurdler must come up to a taller position quicker out of the drive phase to make visual contact with the first hurdle. The start should be powerful and explosive! If the athlete stays too low for too long, it will not allow the athlete time to have an effective drive knee for the lead leg into the hurdle, which could result in the athlete hitting the hurdle. The lead leg should always be positioned in the back of the blocks if there is an even number of strides taken to the first hurdle. This is the case for the 110m hurdles, but may vary for the 400m hurdles depending on how many strides the athlete take to the first hurdle in the 400m races. Once the athlete is set the hips should be slightly higher than the shoulders with the arms supporting the shoulders that are directly or just in front of the starting line. The approach and number of strides to the hurdle out of the blocks should be predetermined before the start of the race. We know that in the 110m hurdles that eight strides out of the blocks to the first hurdle will allow the athlete to generate more power and achieve maximum acceleration to the first hurdle than taking seven longer steps to the first hurdle. In the 400m-hurdle race the number of strides taken to the first hurdle should be determined by the athlete s ability and strengths. As the athlete approaches the hurdle he/she should move to a tall sprinting position two strides out from the hurdle that is about to be cleared. Take-off to the hurdle The take-off to the hurdle may be the single most important aspect of a hurdle race. It is important that the athlete has a continuous acceleration through the take-off. If an athlete takes off to close to the hurdle, it forces the athlete to a higher clearance over the hurdle therefore resulting in a slower and longer flight over the hurdle. If an athlete is tall, the distance he/she takes off from the hurdle will increase. As the athlete approaches the hurdle to take-off, the take-off foot from which the athlete will propel himself over the hurdle should be placed on the track aggressively and underneath the hips to insure that the athlete s momentum is moving forward. A take-off foot that is ahead of the hips will result in a slowing of the forward momentum and an increase of height over the hurdle. The athlete should always lead with the knee and not the foot going into the hurdle. Initiating the knee with a driving motion toward the hurdle board will aid in the athlete s explosiveness into the hurdle. During this motion the lead foot should always be dorsiflexed (toes up or foot cocked). The lower part of the lead leg should be relaxed and tucked under the thigh. The take-off leg should be long and extended as much as possible at take-off. The take-off for the clearance of the hurdle should be 6 ½ to 7 ½ feet behind the hurdles for both the 100m & 400m hurdle races. This may vary depending on the athlete s leg length, stride length, stride velocity, and height. 2

3 The head and shoulders will lead the body over the hurdle. When done properly it will result in a natural lean of the body. This makes it possible to minimally raise the center of mass to clear the hurdle effectively. The shoulders and hips should always stay square to the hurdle that the athlete is clearing. The arms should represent that of a sprinter and should only be modified to allow the trail leg to come through. The athlete should never reach with the lead arm to the front of the body, at the same time the lead arm should never cross the mid line of the body. If one or both of these things occur during the take-off, over rotation will occur during the landing. Clearance As the lead leg attacks the hurdle with a high knee action and a quick aggressive take-off plant, this will allow the body s center of mass to be as flat as possible. By doing this it also allows the athlete to keep his/her center of mass as close as possible to that of a normal sprinting action. A quick, fast lead leg is important to running fast times. If the athlete concentrates on thigh up, keep up, toe up, heel up this will help aid the process of a quick lead leg. It will also help with reducing any braking forces at the landing. The peak of the athlete s parabolic flight should be achieved just prior to reaching the hurdle. Once the athlete has become airborne, the lead leg should never become fully extended. It should always have a slight bend in it to help allow a fast and efficient landing. As the lead foot has cleared the hurdle, the snapdown action of the lead leg begins. At the point that the lead leg has started the action toward the hurdle, the athlete has become airborne. At this time the trail leg should come through tight to the buttocks and finish in a high-knee position in front of the body. This will occur when the athlete pulls the trail leg foot to the buttocks with the toe pointing out to the side and keeping the angle of the tucked trail leg closed as long as possible. As the hips clear the hurdle, the athlete should then pull the trail leg through the armpit into a high-knee position in front of the body. The arms should resemble that of a sprinter when clearing the hurdle. Once the trail leg starts to come through, the lead arm will sweep back. The lead arm will have to rise slightly to allow the trail leg to come through. The arm will then shorten as the trail leg passes the arm to allow the forward momentum to continue. Again, the arms should never cross the midline of the body and should resemble that of a sprinter as much as possible. Landing & Step off the hurdle The landing distance off the hurdle in both the 110m & 400m hurdles should be about four feet. The athlete should always have an active landing with the lead leg pawing back or pulling back to the track off the hurdle. Doing this will help to propel the athlete to the next hurdle. During this action, the athlete should have the lead and trail foot in dorsiflexion at all times. The lead leg toes should land first with the heel never touching the track. At the point of contact with the track, the lead leg should be fully extended. The knee of the lead foot should be over the toes at the point of contact. This allow s the athlete s center of mass to be directly over the lead foot and not behind. If the center of mass is behind the foot at contact, this will act as a breaking motion and slow or kill the athlete s forward momentum. By doing this, the athlete will maintain forward momentum and keep a fast rhythm between the hurdles. When the lead leg makes contact, the body should be straight with the shoulders slightly in from of the hips. The trail leg should be in front of the body in a high knee position and brought back down without reaching forward. The recovery of the trail leg should be quick and active at all times. The trail leg will be driven or hammered back down to the track with the toes under the knee. The athlete should never reach with the trail leg once landing. This also will cause a breaking action and kill forward momentum. 3

4 Drills: Why they are important! Hurdle drills should be the backbone of every hurdle program. A coach should use drills as an extended warm-up for the athletes before the hurdle practice. It is not uncommon to have the drills take longer to complete that the actual hurdle workout. The propose of any drill is to isolate a certain movement so the athlete and coach can work on one aspect of the hurdle movement. Since we know that the hurdling technique is learning through motor education, it is very important that the drills are first learned at slow speeds. Once the athletes motor units have learned the correct way to do the drill then they can be transferred to maximum speeds or from basic to an advanced technical model. The coach must make sure that the athlete is learning the correct way to do each drill. If the athlete learns the incorrect way to do the drill or drills, that will transfer to the hurdle form once the athlete starts to run over the hurdles at full speed. Once the athlete is ready to run full speed, the coach must emphasize to the athlete that the hurdle form does not change from what he or she was doing during the drills. Flexibility Drills 1. Hurdle Walk Overs- Place five hurdles end to end. The athlete walks over each hurdle alternating legs. This works on the athlete s flexibility and range of motion in the hips. 2. Hurdle Over & Unders- Place five hurdles end to end. Hurdles two and four should be placed at the highest setting. The athlete will walk over the first hurdle and step through reaching as far as they can under the second hurdle. They will then walk over the third and step through reaching as far as they can under the fourth hurdle and then walk over the fifth. This works on the athlete s flexibility and range of motion in the hips. 3. South Carolinas- The athlete will stand behind the hurdle with his/her hands at the very ends of the hurdle board. He/she will then bring his/her lead leg forward over the hurdle followed by the trail leg. The athlete should not take his/her hand off the hurdle board while performing this drill. This drill should be done at the 30 height until the athlete can perform this comfortably and then raise the hurdle 3 at a time. This works on the athlete s flexibility, range of motion in the hips, and keeps the lead and trail legs close to the body. Hurdle Technique Drills 1. Lead Leg Wall Drill- The athlete places a hurdle against a solid wall and stands three walking steps from the hurdle. The athlete walks up to the hurdle and simulates the take-off with the lead leg by driving the knee to the hurdle board and placing the foot just above the hurdle board. Emphasize leading with the knee, not the foot. The leg should be bent slightly and not straight when foot is placed on the hurdle board. 2. Standing Trail Leg Wall Drill- The athlete places a hurdle three to four feet from a wall. He/she stands next to the hurdle with the lead foot on the ground in front of the hurdle with his/her hand on the wall for balance. The trail leg should start fully extended with the toe cocked. The athlete will then simulate the trail leg action by bringing the leg high and through the armpit. Emphasize keeping the trail leg as close to the body as possible and finish with the leg in a high knee position in front of the body. Do not let the athlete extend and reach out with the trail leg after he/she has cleared the hurdle. The foot should come down to the track under the knee Standing L Trail Leg Wall Drill- The athlete places a hurdle three to four feet from the wall. Place another hurdle inside the other hurdle, making an L. The athlete will hold on to the wall and place his/her trail leg on top of the hurdle that makes the L. The athlete will then simulate the trail leg action by sliding his/her leg along the hurdle into a high-knee position in front of the body. This works on making the athlete drive the knee into the chest. Be sure that he/she is not extending the trail leg after he/she has cleared the hurdle.

5 4. Rhythm Drill - The athlete uses no hurdles. From a light jog on a line, the athlete drives his or her lead leg into the chest followed by the trail leg knee to the chest. The lead leg lands first on the line followed by the trail leg. The arms should be moving at all times. Emphasize on the high-knee action and driving the knees to the chest. 5. Hurdle Rhythm Drill - Place three to four hurdles that are a foot high about ten yards apart. The athlete will then run slowly over the hurdles while working on the two high-knee actions like in the rhythm drill. The athlete may start to build speed after the technique has become better. Emphasize on the high-knee action and driving the knees to the chest. 6. A Skips Over the Hurdle - Place five hurdles three walking strides apart. The athlete will perform the A skip over the hurdle with the lead leg. The athlete is to take one skip between the hurdles. The athlete is to lead with the knee not the foot. The arms must continue to work throughout this drill. This drill should be done over 33 hurdles. This works on the knee drive into the hurdle at take-off while also working on the leg extension at landing. 7. B Skips over the Hurdle - Place five hurdles three walking strides apart. The athlete will perform the B skip over the hurdle with the lead leg. The athlete is to take one skip between the hurdles. The athlete must lead with the knee, once the knee has cleared the hurdle the athlete is going to Push down on the gas or extend the lead leg and paw back/snapping the lead leg back to the track. The arms must continue to work throughout this drill. This drill should be done over 33 hurdles. This will work on the knee drive into the hurdle as well as the Fast action of getting back on the ground as fast as possible. 8. Walking Trail Leg Drill - Place five hurdles three walking strides apart. The athlete will walk next to the hurdle with the lead leg to the outside. As the athlete approaches the hurdle they should drive the lead leg to the chest and step down past the hurdle. The athlete will then perform the trail leg action over the hurdle. Start at a low height and as the athlete gains flexibility raise the hurdle. Emphasize keeping the trail leg as close to the body as possible and driving the lead knee into the chest. Do not let the athlete extend the trail leg after they have cleared the hurdle. The trail leg foot should come down to the track under the knee. 9. Running Trail Leg Drill - Place five hurdles three walking strides apart. This drill is the same as the walking trail leg drill but the athlete is now running. There should be only one step in-between the hurdles. The athlete must have some speed going into the hurdle, but not too much. If they cannot one-step between the hurdles move the hurdles to where the athlete can take three easy strides in between the hurdles. Emphasize keeping the trail leg as close to the body as possible and driving the lead knee into the chest. Do not let the athlete extend the trail leg after they have cleared the hurdle. The trail leg foot should come down to the track under the knee. 10. Running Lead Leg Drill- Place five hurdles three walking strides apart. The athlete will run to the hurdle with the lead leg to the inside of the hurdle. The athlete drives the knee to the hurdle board and goes over the hurdle. The trail leg should always follow through like in the rhythm drill. Start at a low height and as the athlete gains flexibility raise the hurdles. Emphasize keeping the trail leg as close to the body as possible and drive the knee into the chest. Do not let the athlete extend the trail leg after they have cleared the hurdle. The trail leg foot should come down to the track under the knee. 11. Combination Drill- Place hurdles 1,3,5, in one lane and hurdle 2,4,6, in the next lane three walking strides apart. The athlete will run on the shared line alternating the lead leg drill and the trail leg drill. This forces the athlete to focus on the hurdle action. 5

6 110 High Hurdle Drills 1. One Step Hurdling- Place 5 to 10 hurdles about three walking strides apart from each other. Combine the running lead leg and running trail leg drills and go over the hurdle. Start at a low height so the athlete can adjust to taking one step between the hurdles. As the athlete becomes comfortable going over lower height, raise the hurdles 3. Emphasizes the lead leg action and forces the athlete to land quickly to prepare to take the next hurdle. 2. Line Hurdling- Center the hurdles on a line on their original marks. The athlete will then run over the top at full speed. This will help identify foot placement problems at landing and will allow the athlete to have a target path while running full speed. 3. Short Hurdling- Set the hurdles on the regular marks. The first hurdle will stay on the original mark. The second hurdle will be moved in a foot, the third will be moved in two feet, the fourth moved in three feet, the fifth moved in four, and so on. This works on developing more speed in between the hurdles. It will also force the athlete to land quicker with an over exaggerated quick lead leg Hurdling- Place hurdle one and two on the original marks, leave out hurdle three and place hurdle four and five in one foot. The athlete will come out of blocks over the first tow and then sprint to hurdle four and five going over both. This drill emphasizes the build up in speed between hurdles. It will also make the athlete feel that they are running faster than they normally do. 5. ISU Repeats- Place five hurdles on the original marks; put the first hurdle on the regular height and then drop the other four down 3. The athlete will then run full speed out of blocks over all five hurdles. This drill will work on the speed in between the hurdles. It will also work on forcing the athlete to put the hurdle form together over the first hurdle and then running fast while maintaining good hurdle form over the next four. 6. Over Distance Hurdling- Set up 12 hurdles moving them in like the short hurdle drill. Have the athlete run over all 12 hurdles during one repeat. This is a good conditioning drill for early season workouts. 7. Cone Hurdling- With a cone, mark the 7 foot take-off mark and the 4 foot landing mark after the hurdle. The athlete will then run repeats over the hurdle while trying to hit the marks. This drill helps the athlete feel the ideal take-off and landing areas. 8. Marathon Hurdling- Set a lane of ten hurdles going down the track in one lane and set another lane of ten hurdles going back down the track. Have the athlete take five strides between each hurdle. Once they have reached the end of the first ten hurdles they then turn around and come back going over the next ten. This is a good drill for early season workouts. 6

7 300/ 400 Hurdle Drills 1. Hurdle Technique Drills- Use all hurdle drills using the weak leg. This will help in developing the weak or bad leg. 2. Charge on & Run Off Drill he athlete will approach the hurdle at ¾ speed then pick the tempo up the last three steps to the hurdle. The athlete will then run hard off the hurdle after clearing the hurdle. This drill helps the athlete learn to drive through or run through the hurdle. 3. Alternate Lead Leg Set up 5 hurdles 12 yards apart so the athlete must take an even number of strides between hurdles. Have the athlete run over the top at race speed. Emphasizes using both legs while running fast. 4. Start + 3 Athlete will come out of blocks working on the start and the stride pattern over the first 3 hurdles. The drill should be done at target race pace. 5. Odd Hurdle Drill Set hurdles at different distances on a straightaway in one lane and back down the straightaway in the next lane. Use ten hurdles total. The athlete will run at race pace taking the hurdles with whatever leg comes up. Once the athlete has done one repeat, move the hurdles to different positions on the track for the next repeat. Do this each time the athlete finishes. This drill focuses on the athlete having to take the hurdle and adapt to whatever leg comes up in a race. 6. Isolation Hurdling Pick a hurdle that the athlete needs to emphasize during a workout, depending on the athlete s weak spots in a race. Hurdle five you can work on the transition, seven to work on the curve, two to work on setting an early pace. All hurdles are set up but the drill is emphasizing problem areas in the race. 7. Repeats Use any combination of hurdles depending on the needs of that particular workout day. Examples would be: Start + 5 hurdles timing the touch downs; 1,2,3-6,7,8: Run a 200 without hurdles and pick up hurdles 5,6,7 then run the last 100 without hurdles (works on hurdling on the curve); run hurdles meters without hurdles (works on first half of race plus conditioning). 8. Iowa State Drill Set hurdles 6-10 up in a lane. The athlete will run hurdles 6-10 at race pace and then jog back to the 200-start line. Once they have gotten back to the start line, they are to run hurdles 6-10 at race pace again. Then, once they are finished, they are to rest 45 seconds at the finish line and run a 200 all out. This is a very good early season conditioning drill that teaches the athlete to run hurdles while tired. 7