THE HURDLES - FROM START TO FINISH By Tom Tellez, Mike Takaha A hurdle race can be described as a sprint with obstacles. To be most efficient, the vertical deviation of the athlete’s center of gravity should be as little as possible when traveling over the hurdles. In order to accomplish this, the athlete must be in the proper position when he or she leaves the ground to take the hurdle. This paper will discuss the hurdle races from start to finish, describing the proper mechanics to be used to achieve maximum results. THE START The Starting Position Use a sprinter’s crouch start, with a “medium” block spacing. The rear knee should be approximately in line with the toe of the front foot (see Diagram 1). The arms should be perpendicular to the ground, with the elbows locked. The head should be in natural alignment with the shoulders, with the eyes focused straight down. The toes of the front foot should be on the ground so that force may be exerted against the track at the gun. The Set Position At the “Set” command, the hips are raised to a position slightly above the shoulders, with the shoulders moving slightly forward, creating an angle in the lead leg of 90° and approximately 130° in the rear knee. The head is kept in natural alignment with the body and the eyes are focused just behind the starting line. Slight pressure is exerted against the rear block (see Diagram 2). The Gun At the “Gun”, the athlete should think only of extension off of the lead block, with active arm action. The drive should be in an upward and outward direction (45°), with the shoulders rising immediately, so that the body position becomes a straight line from the head through the shoulders, hips, leg and foot (see Diagram 3). Again, the head is held in natural alignment with the shoulders, with the eyes looking at the ground in front of the athlete. The back knee should bend and lead the leg through. This will pick up the back foot. The action of the back leg is very similar to a normal running stride. As a coaching point, you should see a “whip-like” action of the back ankle. This is a stretch reflex that occurs if there is pressure against the back block. The athlete will not feel this — it happens too quickly. If you don’t see this action, one of two things probably is the cause — either there was no pressure against the back block or the athlete pulled the foot off the block, instead of driving off the front block. Be sure that the rear foot is flush against the block. If it is, the athlete probably is trying to step out with the back foot. After driving off the front block, the athlete should be in the air before the rear foot comes down. The foot should come down under the center of gravity, just as in normal running. The athlete should not try to be quick with the first step or the force off of the blocks will be diminished. On the other hand, the athlete should not try to step out with the rear foot or force will also be lessened. The key to the start is to run powerfully out of the blocks. Short, choppy strides and long, reaching strides are both mechanically inefficient and will hamper maximum performance. The athlete should feel powerful when driving out of the blocks and during the first 4-5 strides. APPROACH TO THE FIRST HURDLE Most high hurdlers use eight strides to the first hurdle. In the starting position using the eight stride approach plan, the lead foot over the hurdles is placed on the rear block and the take-off foot in placed on the front block. If a nine stride approach is used, these positions are reversed, with the lead foot on the front block and the take-off foot on the rear block. Perfecting the approach to the first hurdle is accomplished by trial and error. Adjustments to the approach are made by lengthening or shortening the 4th, 5th and 6th strides from the start. Strides 1, 2, and 3, and strides 7 and 8 should be kept constant. Because the take-off for the first hurdle is less than 13 yards from the start, the hurdler must get into the normal sprinting angle and sprinting stride rhythm sooner than the sprinter. No effort should be made to look at the first hurdle until after the first three or four strides. (The head should remain in natural alignment with the shoulders and will rise with the shoulders.) Thereafter, fix the eyes on the hurdle rail ahead. The arms function as in sprinting except during hurdle clearance. Slightly shorten the last stride prior to take-off. This rotates the trunk forward so the drive from the take-off foot will project the body with an almost horizontal lean or “body dip” across the hurdle. Body lean must start as you leave the ground, as the flight path of the center of gravity (CG) is predetermined once you are in the air and cannot be altered while airborne. For most hurdlers (using an eight stride approach) this means the eighth stride is shortened before take- off. Greater approach speed permits a more horizontal take-off thrust, which results in a lower, flatter, faster hurdle clearance. THE TAKE-OFF The take-off point is 6½ to 7½ feet from the barrier. The distance from the hurdle depends upon the speed of approach, height of the athlete, length of the leading leg and effective speed of lead leg action. 90% of the effective clearance of the hurdle is determined at take-off. Leave the ground with sufficient body-lean to clear the hurdle with a minimum of upward movement. The body-lean makes it possible to raise the seat and lower the trunk, in relation to the center of gravity, as the hurdle is crossed. Leave the ground from the ball of the take-off foot with the toes pointed straight ahead. The CG and body weight are ahead of the foot at take-off (see Diagram 3). Keep the hips and shoulders square to the line of running at all times, including take-off. At take-off, lift the lead leg directly forward, with the knee well bent, in the line of running, as though executing an exaggerated running stride. Again, the shoulders remain square to the direction of the run (see Diagram 3). At take-off, the lead leg must be lifted quickly. The bent lead knee must be lifted higher than in normal sprinting. A high, fast pick-up of the knee of the lead leg encourages continuation of general sprint action, increases the force of thrust off the ground by the take-off leg in reaction to the increased force resulting from the fast knee lift, leaves behind the take-off leg (trail leg) resulting in a good split position after take-off, increases body-lean, in reaction to the fast knee lift, permits getting closer to the hurdle for the take-off than would be possible with a straight lead leg, and is much faster than a straight lead leg. As the leading leg is lifted quickly for hurdle clearance at take-off, the arm opposite the lead leg is thrust forcefully straight ahead to balance the movement of the lead leg. This brings the body weight forward and down for a thrust across the hurdle. The trunk dips forward at the hips. Think of the shoulders as going forward with the opposite arm action at take-off. A “double-arm” action is not recommended, as it interferes with normal sprinting action (see Diagram 4). The other arm (on the same side as the lead leg) remains bent at the elbow in a normal sprinting position in readiness to come forward for the first getaway stride after clearance. The head continues facing forward as in a normal sprinting alignment. HURDLE CLEARANCE The action of the lead leg should be so fast that it produces a wide split between the legs after take-off. After leaving the ground, the lead leg will open at the knee, to allow the leg to clear the hurdle. Then, as you cross the hurdle, the trail leg (take-off leg) will come through late but fast (see Diagram 5). After full extension of the take-off leg, the heel of the take-off foot is brought immediately to the buttock. This will happen automatically, as a reaction to the action off the ground. The toe must turn out immediately as the foot leaves the ground. Thus, the lower leg is folded to the upper leg, permitting the entire trail leg to subsequently clear the hurdle as one unit (see Diagrams 5, 6 and 7). The forward lean which began on the ground at take-off, continues in the air, so as to produce a hurdle clearance as flat as possible. As the body crosses the hurdle, the chin should be over or ahead of the knee of the lead leg (see Diagram 6). The body’s CG reaches its zenith before the hurdle and the foot of the lead leg reaches its highest point some 6 to 12 inches in front of the hurdle rail. From the high point, the hurdler comes down across the hurdle in his clearance. This will happen automatically if you leave the ground correctly. When over the hurdle, the body-lean places the chest well forward, over the thigh of the lead leg.