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What's New Most recent additions to the site.
Training Tips Advice and suggestions for how to fix certain technique problems as they pertain to hurdling.
Workouts Hurdle workouts and workouts for hurdlers that I've used at various times of year.
Profiles Profiles of various coaches and athletes who either coach the hurdles or run the hurdles.
Issues Issues in the sport of Track and Field that are relevant to hurdlers and hurdle coaches.
All-Time Greats My lists of all-time greats in the various hurdle events
Top-Ten Lists Various top-ten lists in the hurdle events.
Links Links to other Track and Field sites that may be useful to hurdlers and hurdle coaches.
Resources A list of books, videos, and articles that may be useful to hurdlers and hurdle coaches.
Personal StoriesAnecdotes from hurdlers and hurdle coaches about personal experiences they've had in the world of hurdling.
Site AuthorIncludes a very handsome picture of moi
Contact me to respond to any articles on this website, or to contribute an article to this website.

Issues

Click on the links below to read about issues regarding our sport.

Negative Chatter (added 4/29/08)
With the “big-meet” part of the season coming around the corner for many high school and collegiate athletes, it’s time to address a bad habit that is an issue for many hurdlers: negative chatter. Many times, as pressure mounts and the stakes rise, we overwhelm ourselves with negative thoughts that prevent us from performing at our best. . . . [more]

Medals Matter (added 4/9/08)
One of the funny things about track is that you do best when you focus on yourself, but you cannot bring out the best in yourself without the aid of competition. From a young age we’re encouraged to go for the gold, and for elite athletes the lure of Olympic gold is one of the enticements that keeps them in the sport, that leads them to make enormous personal sacrifices. . . . [more]

Time to Scrap 55m Hurdles? (added 2/21/08)
I’m wondering if people who run the hurdles, coach the hurdles, or are interested in the hurdles would agree with my belief that it might be time to scrap 55 meter hurdles as an indoor event. I think it would be better instead at this point to stick exclusively with the 60 meter hurdles as the indoor distance of choice. There are a few reasons I feel this way. . . . [more]

Beyond Xiang (added 1/25/08)
The men's 110 meter high hurdles over the 42-inch barriers is the only hurdle event in track in which it can unequivocally be said that technique matters more than speed. Over the 39-inch hurdles at the high school level, a hurdler with superior speed can get away with a lot of flaws and beat a better technician. The same obviously holds true for the girl's/women's 100 meter hurdles from the ninth grade all the way to the international level. In the 300m/400m hurdle events, the same holds true. A technician can’t beat a stud quarter-miler. There’s too much room to sprint between the hurdles and not enough hurdles in the way to slow down all that speed. But in the 110s over 42s, the hurdles are too high for a pure sprinter to succeed. Technique is a must. As is the relevant strength, flexibility, and stamina that the event demands. . . . [more]

Youth Hurdlers' Transitions (added 12/22/07)
In USATF youth track, hurdling begins at the11-12 year-old age group with the 80 meter hurdles for both boys and girls. At the 13-14 year-old age group, they move up to the 100m distance, with the boys running over 33” hurdles and the girls running over 30” hurdles. Also, both boys and girls begin running the 200m hurdles. Then, at the 15-16 year-old age group, comes what I feel to be a huge leap: the boys go from the 100m race over 33” to the 110 distance over 39” hurdles. The hurdles are six inches higher, the distance is ten meters longer, and there is also much more ground to cover between the hurdles. . . . [more]

Common Sense Things (added 11/24/07)
There are some common-sense things that can enable an athlete at any level to get the most out of his or her talent. These lessons don’t apply just to hurdlers, but to any track and field athlete who is serious about his or her training regimen and is willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve success. Here are some of the things I’ve learned that can prove to be quite valuable if practiced consistently. . . . [more]

The 400 Hurdles: A Quarter-miler's Race? (added 10/27/07)
In watching the most recent world championships, it caught my eye that Angelo Taylor, well-known as the 2000 Olympic champion in the 400 hurdles, finished 3rd in the open quarter. Also, Taylor ran a leg on the US gold medal winning 4x400 relay. When you add in the fact that Kerron Clement, WC gold medalist in this year’s 400 hurdles, also has run a 44-mid open quarter in his career, and both of them have only decent hurdling technique, it makes you wonder: is the 400 hurdles a hurdler’s race or a quarter-miler’s race? . . . [more]

Oh Marion ... (added 10/5/07)
So Marion Jones has finally come clean. Well, sort of. I must admit that I was one of the people who believed every one of her lies over the past five or so years. I remember getting into arguments about it with friends. No, I would say, Marion never used drugs. She was always good. She was a sprint goddess in high school. Someone that good doesn't even need to take drugs. . . . [more]

Some Thoughts on the World Championships (added 9/3/07)
Now that the 2007 version of the Track and Field World Championships in Osaka, Japan have drawn to a close, I have some closing thoughts I’d like to share regarding the hurdling and sprinting events, starting with the hurdles first. . . . [more]

Performance-enhancing Drugs in the Hurdles (added 8/16/07)
I haven’t written any articles on this site about the steroid issues in track, mainly because, fortunately, there haven’t been many cases of it in the hurdling events. The only American hurdlers I know of who have tested positive are Larry Wade and Tony Dees. But with stars like Allen Johnson and Terrence Trammell for the past decade, it can be said that the 110 hurdles are one of the cleanest events in the sport. . . . [more]

Is Taller Better? (added 8/9/07)
The common perception among those who don’t follow the hurdles closely is that taller hurdlers make for better hurdlers. While this is true to an extent, there are exceptions. While it’s easier to teach a taller hurdler to 3-step in the sprint hurdles and they can more easily swallow up ground in the long hurdles, there is a place in the sport for shorter hurdlers, and sometimes that place is at the head of the pack. . . . [more]

World Championships Preview, 2007 (added 7/29/07)
With another World Championships in Osaka, Japan less than a month away, it’s time to make some projections as to who the medalists will be in the hurdling events. Some hurdlers have been very active in the past six weeks or so while others have been injured or have limited their competitions in order to avoid injury. This year it looks like we have some old veterans in the mix as well as some up-and-comers who could make some noise. Without any further smick-smack or jaw-jacking, let’s go ahead and look at the favorites in the four hurdling events. . . . [more]

Should High School Hurdlers Train Over 42-inch Hurdles? (added 3/2/07)
One question that a coaching friend of mine brought up in a recent email has to do with whether male high school hurdlers should train over hurdles set at the 42-inch college height. It’s a very good question – one worth addressing in an article. Generally, my answer is that, for a variety of reasons, you have to take each case on an individual basis. . . . [more]

Technique in the Intermediate Hurdles (added 2/10/07)
A few weeks ago I received an email from a coach asking my thoughts on technique in the intermediate hurdle race, as compared to technique in the sprint hurdles. It was a very good question that I’ve debated about with people before. My opinion differs from the general consensus. Here is the response I gave to the coach. . . . [more]

How to Save a Hurdler (added 2/9/07)
I was driving from Raleigh to Delaware during the Christmas holidays this past December, on my way to visit my mom. I had bought my eight-year-old daughter a copy of How to Save a Life by The Fray, and, at her request, I must’ve played the title song about seventy times on the way up, and another seventy times on the way down. It’s a really pretty song, and I was glad to not have to worry about any curse words spitting out of the speakers, which happens when I play some of my hip-hop cd’s. And my daughter has no patience for my old-school Coltrane jams. On our drive up, I wasn’t really listening closely to the lyrics, but then, about the thirtieth time around, the above lines caught my ear, and I instantly related them to hurdling (just like I do with everything else, of course). They made me think of how I used to feel after running a bad race. . . . [more]

Indoor Track: Useful or Useless? (added 1/04/07)
I’m not a big fan of indoor track meets. They’re too cramped, too crowded, there’s not enough room for spectators to sit and watch comfortably, not enough room for athletes to warm up without slamming into each other, not enough room for coaches to walk around and give instructions to their athletes. And if you want to film your athletes’ races, well, good luck. But I’ve come to appreciate the value of indoor track more than I used to. While I’ll always view track as an outdoor sport until the day I die, this article will focus on the importance of the indoor season and its role in a hurdler’s development. . . . [more]

Not All Hurdlers Are High Hurdlers (added 12/1/06)
In developing hurdlers, the most common method is to teach hurdling mechanics through drills and workouts that focus on the 110m/100m hurdles. This is the method that I most often use; even if I start kids out by learning over lower hurdles, the emphasis is on preparing them to run the sprint hurdle race. Often is the case that they’ll end up participating in the 300h/400h before running their first 110h/100h race, simply because there’s more space between the barriers and not as much need for technical precision to get through the race. What I’ve come to discover over the years, however, is that not all hurdlers are high hurdlers. . . . [more]

Lane Assignments in the Hurdling Events (added 11/12/06)
This past summer Mark Hale-Brown of runningmovies.com emailed me and asked if I’d write an article about lane assignments in the hurdling events. I put it on my to-do list, but never got around to doing it, until now. The November issue of Track & Field News jogged my memory, as two articles in there mentioned the importance of lane assignments. So, in this article, I will put forth my views on lane assignments in the 110/100m and 300/400m hurdles. . . . [more]

Hurdling Trivia Quiz #1 (added 9/14/06)

Johnson Returns to Form in Zurich (added 8/19/06)
Just when I thought it was safe to assume that Allen Johnson had officially fallen down a peg from the top tier of high hurdlers, he goes out and busts a 13.14 at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich. The time is impressive, but even more impressive is that he defeated two of the young guns who have been among the world's best throughout 2006 - Cuban Dayron Robles (2nd in 13.20) and fellow American Aries Merritt (3rd in 13.28). . . . [more]

High Hurdle Heat Intensifies (added 7/20/06)
Although 2006 features no World Championships and no Olympic Games, the competitive level in the 110 meter high hurdles is arguably at an all-time high. The 110s have turned into one of the most competitive events in track and field. Of course, I would argue that it is the most competitive event. Several hurdlers have broken or tied their personal bests and some new hurdlers have emerged to make a major impact on the international level, while some old-schoolers are fighting to stay in the hunt. . . . [more]

Finding Your Own Style (added 7/3/06)
Hurdling, at its best, is a means of self-expression. It’s a way of showing the world who you are. When you can hurdle in a way that is unique to who you are as an athlete and who you are as a person, the confidence you have in your ability to come up big in big races is unshakeable. But then the question arises, what is “style” in the hurdles? . . . . [more]

Track Still a Stepchild Sport (added 5/24/06)
While watching the Adidas Track Classic this past weekend, I got smacked in the face with another dose of reality. Excited that a track meet was being televised by ESPN, the major sports television channel, I sat down on the edge of my couch to view the competition. . . . [more]

Do you Have to Be a Hurdler? (added 5/12/06),
Do you have to be a hurdler, or former hurdler, in order to be a good hurdle coach? That’s a question that’s worth looking into. I’m gonna ride the fence on this one and answer yes, and no. Being a hurdler helps when it comes to coaching hurdlers, but being a hurdler and being a hurdle coach are not the same thing. Success in one does not guarantee success in the other. . . . [more]

Don't Talk about School (added 1/18/06)
The type of athlete that drives a coach crazy more than any other is an athlete with lazy practice habits, regardless of his or her ability level. While some athletes who seem to be lazy really aren’t, they do lack focus. The ability to focus mentally throughout an entire practice session is not very common among today’s athletes, and I don’t really know if it ever was. Though I consider myself someone who isn’t big on laying out a lot of rules, I do have a few that apply to my athletes when we’re on the track. In this article, I want to talk a little bit about those rules, and how they apply to the basic philosophy that the athletes with the best practice habits athletes are going to be the athletes who are most prepared to compete. . . . [more]

Rod Milburn: The Double-armed Man (added 12/23/05) As I continue to gather research for the biography I plan to write on 1972 Olympic high hurdle champion Rodney Milburn, I find that the thing that most intrigued me about his hurdling technique was his employment of a double-arm motion during hurdle clearance. Both his lead arm and his trail arm would thrust forward, bent at the elbows, as he dove into the hurdle. Although this style of hurdling is considered archaic by today’s standards, it enabled Milburn to become the most dominant hurdler of his era, and one of the greatest hurdlers ever. This article will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the double-arm motion, and whether or not this technical innovation could still be considered useful to a hurdler in the modern era. . . . [more]

Love to Hurdle (added 12/21/05)
While it’s easy to say “go for what you know,” “follow your dreams,” “don’t stop believing,” and to use similar motivational phrases, we all know that the many demands of training, competing, and staying afloat in other areas of your life can turn a happy hurdler into grumpy hurdler rather quickly. So the question becomes, how do you stay motivated, how do you keep the energy level high through the grind of a long season? This article will discuss some of the obstacles that can sap a hurdler of the will to win, and suggest ways to negotiate such barriers so that the enjoyment of hurdling remains intact. . . . [more]

Who Will be the Next U.S. High Hurdling Great? (added 11/23/05)
Now that Allen Johnson is entering the twilight of his career, the time has come to start thinking about who the next great American high hurdler will be. The history of American distinction in this event dates back to the early part of the twentieth century, and has been continued generation after generation. From Forrest Towns to Bill Porter to Harrison Dillard to Jack Davis to Lee Calhoun to Hayes Jones to Willie Davenport to Rodney Milburn to Renaldo Nehemiah to Greg Foster to Roger Kingdom to Allen Johnson, the United States has set the standard for excellence in the high hurdles throughout the world since the inception of the event. With the exception of the U.K.’s Colin Jackson in the 1990’s, no non-American hurdler has ever stood head and shoulders above the rest of the hurdling world. Until now. . . . [more]

It's Time to Give Allen Johnson His Proper Respect (added 11/10/05)
The United States of America has produced many great Track & Field champions over the past century. The names that stand out most clearly are those of such stars as Jesse Owens, Jim Ryun, Wilma Rudolph, Tommie Smith, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Edwin Moses, and Michael Johnson, among others. I strongly feel that it is time to acknowledge that 110 meter high hurdler Allen Johnson belongs on the short list of the sport’s most notable all-time performers. . . . [more]

Don’t Take it so Hard, Coach (added 10/23/05)
While we can all agree that coaches must not allow themselves to live vicariously through their athletes, we would also have to agree that it is kind of hard not to. The quality of the coaching is generally measured by the performance of the athletes. If they succeed, you succeed; if they fail, you fail. The level of their performance serves as the basis for evaluating your performance. There’s no way around it. The success of your athletes is the foundation upon which you build your confidence and credibility. To be more direct, it is also the foundation upon which you build your resume. But is it possible to separate yourself emotionally from the performance of your athletes, to not take it home with you? Not only is it possible, it is necessary. . . . [more]

Cross-training? (added 10/16/05)
Although it is true that, in order to run faster, a track athlete needs to get out on the track and run, and that a hurdler, in particular, needs to clear a lot of hurdles in order to improve his or her hurdling technique, the question as to whether or not a hurdler can benefit from cross-training is a valid one. This essay will discuss the positives and negatives of incorporating cross-training into a hurdler’s training program. . . . [more]

Goal Setting: Yes or No? (added 10/5/05)
One of the questions that comes up at the dawn of every new season is, What goals do I want to accomplish this year? While some athletes like to have clear, concrete goals to shoot for from the outset, others prefer to go with the flow, so to speak, instead of putting the undue pressure on themselves that can come with having unachieved goals hanging over their heads. This article will address the question as to whether or not it is beneficial to set personal goals prior to the beginning of a new season, and, if so, how one should go about it. . . . [more]

Leisure Activities for Hurdlers (added 9/25/05)
Between attending classes every day, training every day, doing homework, maintaining important relationships, and keeping up with other personal business, most hurdlers don’t have much time to spend leisurely, but when you do have time, it is important to find hobbies that are productive and in some way educational in your growth as a hurdler. . . . [more]

A Few Thoughts about Rankings (added 9/24/05)
In Track & Field, when discussing who is the “best,” we all like to use rankings as a barometer. Whether they be world rankings, national rankings, regional, state-wide, city-wide, county-wide, when the rankings are listed, we all flock to the newspaper or internet to see where the athletes we care about stand in comparison to the rest of the pack. While I must admit that I’m as guilty of this behavior as anyone else, I would also say that one of the problems with this infatuation with rankings is that it takes away emphasis from performance on the track itself, which is where the magic happens. . . . [more]

It's Not All About the Start (added 9/6/05)
One of my favorite questions to answer no to is, “Coach, can we work on our starts today?” The reason I enjoy answering no is because I’m usually being asked by an athlete who is trying to avoid doing the grunt work needed to get in shape. Lazy athletes will always try to avoid hard work by “working on their start.” Still, there can be no doubt that the start is a very important part of a hurdle race, as that is where tempo, rhythm, and confidence are established. But just how important is the start in reference to the other parts of a race? That's the question this article will address. . . . [more]

World Championships Review (added 8/16/05)
It was another exciting World Championships in 2005, replete with remarkable achievements, heroic efforts, moments of heartbreak, and, specific to this year’s meet, some of the most bizarre weather in which a track meet has ever been conducted. The United States finished the Championships with an astounding total of fourteen gold medals – stunning when considering that many of these golds were won by new kids on the block who had never medalled, or, in some cases, even appeared in a World Championships before. In the hurdling events, America came away with two of a possible four gold medals, and six of a possible twelve total medals in the four events. Quite impressive, I’d say. Let’s break it down. . . . [more]

Hurdling in the Dark (added 8/2/05)
Hurdling in the dark – after the sun has gone down, but before it is too dark outside to see – is something that plenty of hurdlers have been forced to do at some point or another in their careers. Hurdling in the twilight hours, as the bats flutter about, as the stars begin to twinkle in the sky, and the only available light comes from the dull luster of the moon or a far-off street lamp or nearby building, can be a very beneficial and useful experience, both on a practical level and on an emotional level. . . . [more]

The HurdlesFirst Coaching Philosophy (added 7/26/05)
There are a lot of different kinds of Track & Field coaches out there. A small few are true track coaches, who have a genuine love of all the events and a vast range of knowledge to go with it. Most coaches, though, specialize in either the distance events or the sprint events. Then there are others who specialize in the throws, the jumps, or the pole vault. Then there are the few, like me and many of you reading this, who specialize in the hurdles. In my practice sessions, the hurdles come first; in my approach to the sport of Track & Field, the hurdles come first; in my approach to how I live my life, the hurdles come first. . . . [more]

World Championships Preview (added 7/7/05)
The 2005 Track & Field World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, set to take place in mid-August, will feature some intense battles in the hurdling events. Since it wouldn’t be very courageous of me to predict the winners after a whole month of European meets take place, I’ll go ahead and make my predictions now, because even if it turns out that my predictions are wrong, so what? . . . [more]

USA Outdoor Championships Provide Much Sparkle and Glitter (added 6/28/05)
My goodness gracious. Just when you thought the hyped-ness couldn’t get more hyped, along come the outdoor nationals, and more outstanding performances in the men’s and women’s hurdles. (And other events too, but who cares?). . . . [more]

Should There Be Penalties for Hitting Hurdles? (added 6/22/05)
One of the trends in the men’s 110m high hurdle race that has become increasingly disturbing to me is the tendency of many hurdlers to hit an inordinate number of hurdles in the course of a race. Just as, in the women’s 100m hurdle race, the low height of the hurdles enables hurdlers to get away with inefficient technique, similarly, in the men’s 110m hurdle race, the freedom to hit hurdles without any penalty has the same effect. Something needs to be done about this issue, as we’re seeing more and more sloppy hurdling among even the elite level hurdlers. . . . [more]

Raise ‘Em Up (added 6/19/05)
For the past decade or so, there has been a lot of talk about raising the height of the women’s 100m hurdles to 36” from the current 33”. Yet, for all the talk, rumor, and opinionating, nothing has happened. So, the height of the hurdles for female hurdlers remains the same for women at the international level as it is for little ninth graders just learning how to put one foot in front of the other. For several reasons, I feel that a raising of the height of the hurdles is long overdue, and I will expound upon this topic in this article. . . . [more]

Oodles of Hurdlers are Making Noise in 2005 (added 6/12/05)
My goodness, the second weekend of June 2005 proved to be one of the most exciting ever in the world of hurdling, as all kinds of remarkable performances were turned out at the NCAA National Championships, as well as in the Reebok Grand Prix Invitational in New York. Here are some of my observations about the goings-on in hurdleland: . . . [more]

The Coach’s Role on Race Day (added 5/20/05)
As we enter into the championship season for high school and college Track & Field, I felt it was appropriate that I write an article on getting athletes mentally prepared to run on race day, particularly in regards to the hurdling events. . . . [more]

The Art of Hurdling (added 5/6/05)
My recent interview of Renaldo Nehemiah, then my writing of the profile on him, and then going back and re-reading the profile several times, has led me to really think deeply about this thing called the art of hurdling, and what it entails. If hurdling is an art form, then what does that fact mean to those of us who run the hurdles, and those of us who coach hurdlers? . . .[more]

On the State of Track & Field (added 1/21/05)
I don’t know about the rest of you out there, but I for one am tired of always hearing about the sorry state of American Track & Field. The popularity of our sport, or lack thereof, has been an issue ever since I can remember, and I started to closely follow track in the late 1980’s. Recently, however, it seems that the crisis has reached a critical point. Though I am far from an expert on this topic, I do have my thoughts about it, so, in this article, I’ll throw them out there at you and see what you think. . . . [more]

Ode to the Average Joe (added 12/21/04)
I think it would be fair to say that all beginning hurdlers harbor notions to one degree or another of someday competing in the Olympic Games, of taking a victory lap around the track after setting a new world record, of waving to the crowd with one hand while holding a flag of their native country above their head in the other. For a small handful, such dreams are based in reality; their talent level is high enough that they can aspire to such lofty goals. But most of us sooner or later come to the sobering realization that we can only go but so far. . . . [more]

300m or 400m Hurdles at High School Level? (added 12/5/04)
An issue of increasing relevance on the high school level is whether the intermediate hurdle race should be 300 or 400 meters long. I recently searched the internet to find out how many states feature a 300m race, as opposed to how many featured a 400m race. To my surprise, I found that most states still run a 300m hurdle race, with Iowa, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and South Carolina being the only exceptions. . . .[more]

Hurdle - Football Connection (added 12/4/04)
When I first started coaching, I didn’t want for my hurdlers to play football. I was afraid they would hurt themselves beyond repair. The reason for this attitude was that during my high school days, my track coaches emphasized that we should run cross country in the fall in order to get stronger for the spring season. In the fall of my senior year, when I told my coach that my goal was to run a 14.5 in the 110s in the spring, he told me I should be running four to five miles every day. . . . [more]

Space on the Track (added 11/13/04)
Finding sufficient space on the track to do a workout or even to do drills can be a major issue for hurdlers and hurdle coaches. Depending on the number of hurdlers on a team, the number of other teammates who will be using the track, and, in some cases, the number of “mall walkers” and general exercisers taking up lanes, the task of finding enough room to do a workout the way it was planned, without interruptions or distractions, can be more arduous than the workout itself. More so than any other athletes on the track, hurdlers need space. Unfortunately, space is often the hardest thing to come by. . . . [more]