Training Tips

Practice with Wayne Davis (added 5/3/09)
My friend the photographer Derek Bradley came to practice again last week and took some more outstanding photos. The ones below are of Wayne Davis, who was working on a drill for most of the workout. . . . [more]

March 2009 Practice Session (added 3/30/09)
At a recent practice session one of the parents of one of the kids I coach took some photos. It just so happens that this parent, Derek Bradley, is a professional photographer. The photos he took were remarkable, so I'm hoping he'll feel the urge to take more in the future! Anyway, with such good photos, I decided I had no choice to put an article together that used some of them. So this article will cover several topics because we had a lot going on that day. . . . [more]

Stay Low (added 3/9/09)
A habit that gets a lot of hurdlers into a lot of trouble is that of running with an upper-body posture that is too erect. There are four key moments when a hurdler must be aware of the need to stay low and drive forward. . . . [more]

The Geometry of Hurdling (added 2/17/09)
As a high school student I couldn’t care less about geometry. I passed with a C- and was glad to be done with it. Except for Chemistry, there wasn’t a subject that I found more tedious and more useless. So it’s more than a bit ironic that when it comes considering the geometry of clearing a hurdle efficiently, there are few things in this world that I find more fascinating. I don’t know if it’s possible to be considered a hurdle geek, but if so, then I definitely fall under that category. Constantly I find myself thinking about angles of take-off, angles of landing, the shape of the body while it’s on top of the hurdle. Such thoughts inspired this article, in which I will discuss the geometry of hurdling. . . . [more]

Race Shape (added 1/19/09)
With the indoor season underway, a lot of track athletes are already in panic mode, realizing that, in spite of all the training they’ve been doing, the positive attitude they’ve been cultivating, and the high expectations they had entering their first meet, they’re nowhere near close to being where they had hoped to be. . . . [more]

A New Way of Hurdling (added 1/3/09)
After one of my races in college I was walking back to the starting line to pick up my sweats when I stopped to watch the next heat. Something struck me as odd in the hurdling style of the winner, who stood 6-3. He seemed to be running downhill. The hurdles seemed so low as to hardly even be in his way. I wanted to know how he hurdled that way. . . . [more]

Should Women Shuffle? (added 9/9/08)
A little while ago I wrote an article about shuffling between the hurdles in the men’s 110m high hurdle race. In this article I would like to discuss the same topic in regard to the women’s 100m hurdle race. While there are many similarities between the two races, there are several subtle differences that actually make the men’s race and the women’s race radically different events. . . . [more]

Shuffling Between the Hurdles (added 8/29/08)
You may have noticed that a lot of today’s elite 110 hurdlers don’t sprint between the hurdles, but shuffle. Shuffling doesn’t become necessary until crowding becomes an issue. Until that happens, you want to employ proper sprinting mechanics between the hurdles. . . . [more]

What Makes Robles Great (added 6/17/08)
I'll keep this article short, because if you're talking about what makes Dayron Robles great, it should be pretty clear already. After breaking the world record in the men's 110 meter hurdles with a 12.87, many people believe that Robles will take the record down even further before the end of the summer of 2008, and even below 12.80 before his career is over. . . . [more]

400 Meter Hurdles: The Run-in (added 6/13/08)
One of the most important parts of the 400m hurdles is the run-in off the last hurdle. But it’s not a part of the race that gets practiced very often, or very effectively. Still, no one would argue that the run-in can make the difference in the race. This article will discuss the run-in and how to prepare for it. . . . [more]

Seven Steps to the First Hurdle? (Added 6/11/08)
While almost all hurdlers take eight steps to the first hurdle, there are a few who take seven. This article will discuss the benefits of seven-stepping, as well as the dangers involved in trying it. . . . [more]

Word Choice (added 5/20/08)
Being an avid reader and writer, and having taught high school English for the past fourteen years, I’ve become very aware of how language affects thought. The words and phrases we use to define things and describe things has a direct affect on how we perceive them. This point holds true in the world of hurdling as much as it does in any other avenue of life. In this article, let’s take a look at some words in our hurdling vocabulary that may need to be re-examined. . . . [more]

The False False Start (added 3/21/08)
It happened again, and every time it happens we all agree with the following advice: “If you don’t hear a second gun, keep going.” But if it were only that simple. At the World Indoor Championships March 7-9 in Valencia, Spain, Cuba’s Dayron Robles got left in the blocks in the semi-finals of the men’s 60 meter hurdles. . . . [more]

Keep Running (added 3/21/08)
One of the worst habits for a hurdler to develop is that of stopping before a hurdle, or going around a hurdle, while doing practice reps. Generally speaking, it still holds true that what you do in practice, you’ll do in a race. . . . [more]

Susanna Kallur Sets New Standards (added 2/12/08)
On Saturday February 9, 2008 Susanna Kallur broke the world record in the women’s 60m hurdles with a 7.68 in Karlsruhe, Germany. Kallur’s world record can be sloughed off as not that big a deal because, after all, it is an indoor record and this is an Olympic year, so who cares about indoor records? But Kallur’s performance is yet another sign that the Americans are losing the battle of international hurdling supremacy, or at least losing their firm grip on the dominance they have shown in the past. . . . [more]

Accelerating off the Hurdle (added 1/4/08)
While the lead leg is definitely a major factor in providing fast hurdle times, two aspects of technique that often get overlooked in regards to generating speed are the trail leg and the lead arm. Sure, we all agree that these two aspects are important for balance and overall hurdling rhythm, but they can also be used to generate speed coming off the hurdle, and that topic is what this article will discuss. . . . [more]

Tucking the Heel (added 12/06/07)
A problem for faster hurdlers who have crowding issues between hurdles is that of getting the lead leg up and over quickly enough to avoid hitting the crossbar. The faster you are between, the quicker you have to be on top and in the descent off the hurdle. These speed hurdlers generally hit a lot of hurdles on the way up. . . . [more]

The Robles Factor (added 11/10/07)
While Liu Xiang has created separation from the rest of the world’s elite 110 hurdlers and is still a major favorite to repeat as Olympic champion when the Games come to his native country of China in 2008, there are several hurdlers out there who could give him some trouble. One of them is young Cuban sensation Dayron Robles. . . . [more]

Checklist of Hurdling Necessities (added 11/3/07)
There are certain basic things that a 110/100 hurdler needs to do in order to run fast. Coaches should constantly be looking for these things, and athletes should constantly be working on their weaknesses in these areas. This article will identify some of the basics and provide an explanation for each. . . . [more]

Hurdle Speed vs. Sprint Speed (added 10/15/07)
I was having a conversation the other day with one of my athletes about the differences between sprinting speed and hurdling speed. As someone with a background in sprinting who is just now learning the dynamics of hurdling rhythm, he mentioned that he is discovering that sprinting speed and hurdling speed are nothing alike, that, in learning to improve his hurdling, he has had to dramatically alter his sprinting stride between the hurdles. . . . [more]

A Technical Look at the World Champs 110m Hurdles (added 10/7/07)
A few days ago I took a look at some technical things in the women's 100 hurdles from the most recent World Championships in Osaka, Japan, so now I want to take a look at the men's 110s. Since I've focused a lot on Liu Xiang in past articles, I'm going to focus on Terrence Trammell in this one, but will also look at Xiang, David Oliver, and David Payne. Here goes. . . . [more]

A Technical Look at the World Champs 100m Hurdles (added 10/4/07)
Got finished grading a mountain of papers the other day and decided to treat myself by looking at some photos from the World Championships. Of course, I'm always looking to see what I can pick up technically, so this article will take a look at some photos and provide some analysis of the women's 100 meter hurdles. I'll focus on Michele Perry (since she won), but also take a look at Perdita Felicien and Ginny Powell. . . . [more]

From High School to College (added 9/28/07)
I was thinking about this the other day: there are very few events in track and field that require athletes to make a major adjustment from high school to college. You got the shot-put and discus with heavier objects, but other than that, the only athletes who must adapt to a new event are hurdlers – the men’s 110 hurdlers adjusting to the height of the hurdles being raised from 39 inches to 42. And because most states have the high schoolers run a 300 hurdle race, these athletes have to adjust to the 400m distance. . . . [more]

Hurdle Music (added 9/20/07)
Because hurdling is a rhythmic activity, developing a heightened sense of sound can be very beneficial to success in the hurdling events. This article will discuss some sounds that can be very helpful to a hurdler. . . . [more]

No Coach? No Problem (added 9/13/07)
Over the past few years I have received many emails from high school hurdlers and even some collegiate hurdlers who don’t have a hurdle coach, asking for tips. So this article is directed to any and all hurdlers who are trying to coach themselves. The first thing I want to say is, you don’t have to give up on hurdling. I had a good coach in high school who taught me the basics of technique and gave me the confidence I needed. But in college I was pretty much on my own, often planning hurdle workouts myself, using the resources I had available, like the Track & Field Omnibook and The Hurdler’s Bible. . . . [more]

Hurdling from Behind (added 6/9/07)
In the 110/100 meter hurdles, we all know how important it is to get out with a good start and put pressure on your opponents to come track you down. A good start puts you into a good rhythm, and we all know that opponents are more likely to make technical mistakes and hit hurdles if they are running from behind than if they are running in front. But many a great race has been run from behind, including Liu Xiang’s 12.92 at the Reebok Invitational in New York a week ago – the performance that inspired me to write this article. In this article I want to talk some about hurdling from behind – how to do it, who does it well, and what we can learn from those who do it best.. . . [more]

The Phases of a 400m Hurdle Race (added 3/29/07)
A little while ago I wrote an article breaking down the phases of the 100/110m hurdle race. So now I’ll go ahead and write one breaking down the phases of the 400m race. . . . [more]

Some Alternating Ideas from Minnesota (added 3/23/07)
I recently received an email from Aaron Wheatcraft, who coaches at Rosemount High School in Minnesota, where he coached the 2006 state champion in the 300m intermediate hurdles. Wheatcraft, in his fourth year at Rosemount, ran hurdles himself at Apple Valley High School in MN from 1989-1992, and also at the University of Minnesota from 1994-1997. As a collegian he ran personal bests of 14.45 in the 110s and 52.90 in the 400s. In his email to me, Wheatcraft discussed his thoughts on switching lead legs in the long hurdles, and offered some very useful insights on how to assist hurdlers in developing this skill. . . . [more]

Keep the Shoulders Low (added 2/28/07)
This article will be a quick one, based on an observation I’ve made over the past few months of watching hurdlers in practice and in indoor meets. While the idea that one must stay relaxed while sprinting and hurdling is nothing new, it usually isn’t very helpful to tell an athlete to “stay relaxed.” The key is to pinpoint where tension manifests itself, and to provide the athlete with cues that will remind him or her to stay relaxed. In hurdling, it seems to me, tension reveals itself mostly in the shoulders. . . . [more]

Back to Basics: Lead with the Knee (added 2/23/07)
The first thing my coach told me on my first hurdle rep in my first hurdle practice was to lead with the knee of my lead leg. He explained that if I swung the leg from my hip and allowed my foot to lead the way, I would have no control over where that leg would go. It could go to the left, it could swing to the right, and it could sail too high above the hurdle. If I was lucky, it might go straight. . . . [more]

Practicing the Start (added 1/10/07)
Practicing the start of a 110/100m hurdle race is an art form unto itself. It requires much concentration on the part of the athlete and a hands-on approach from the coach. This article will offer suggestions on how to organize a practice session that emphasizes the start of the race. I will not be giving tips to hurdlers on how to improve their start or fix their start. This article is geared toward coaches who are looking to do more than just tell the athletes, “Go work on your start.” Here are some ideas that I’ve used or borrowed over the years . . . [more]

The Phases of a High Hurdle Race (added 1/9/07)
Recently I received an email from a coaching friend of mine asking me to discuss the phases of a sprint hurdle race from start to finish. I don’t consider myself an expert on that topic, but I guess I know enough to write an article on it without sounding stupid. So, here goes. Broadly speaking, a 100m/110m hurdle race can be divided into three phases. . . . [more]

More Thoughts on Stride Pattern (added 12/10/06)
In the attempt to further address the never-ending questions about stride pattern in the 400m hurdles, I’ve been looking at footage of some old back-in-the-day races to get a feel for how greats of the past ran the race, and to see what conclusions I could draw from these observations. Before getting into the discussion, let me start by giving a breakdown of the stride patterns I noted. . . . [more]

Hooking (added 11/21/06)
One of the more common infractions in the 300/400m hurdles is that of hooking. This violation, which results in a disqualification, occurs when the hurdler’s trail leg swings around the hurdle instead of going over it. Most commonly, hurdlers hook when they’re on the curve, although it has also been known to happen on the backstretch. This article will discuss causes of hooking and how to prevent it. . . . [more]

Watson Sequence II (added 10/27/06)
On October 20, 2006, Kevin Watson did another hurdling practice session, this time with spikes on. Again, my student Mason McNair took photos, from which I put together another hurdling sequence. This time, Kevin did what amounted to a hybrid of the Sprinting 5-step workout and the Jean Poquette back-and-forth workout. Like Poquette, we set up the hurdles 12 yards apart, and like Poquette, I had Kevin run an uneven five steps between the hurdles. . . . [more]

Watson Sequence (added 10/07/06)
As some of you already know, I'm working with Kevin Watson this year in his bid to qualify for US Outdoor Nationals in 2007 in the 110m hurdles. Kevin, formerly of UNC-Chapel Hill, has moved to Raleigh to train with me, and we've already gotten started on our mission. On October 2, 2006, I had Kevin do a modified version of the quick-step workout, in which the hurdles are set up six yards apart. We set up five hurdles, and started at the 39-inch height, then moved up to 42 inches. This was Kevin's first time going over 42's in over a year, but he looked pretty good. Below you will find some photos from this practice session. In all the photos, he is clearing 42-inch hurdles. . . . [more]

Xiang Thang (added 9/13/06)
Okay, so I'm looking up the results of the World Athletics Final this past weekend, and after scrolling down past a bunch of stuff about Asafa Powell, Sanya Richards, Jeremy Wariner, Tyson Gay, and all these other non-hurdlers, I finally got down to what I was looking for: the men's 110m high hurdles. . . . [more]

Effortlessness in Hurdling (added 8/11/06)
To achieve the maximum of one’s potential in the hurdles, a hurdler needs to focus on making hurdling feel as easy as possible. The great ones over the years – Edwin Moses, Renaldo Nehemiah, Allen Johnson (and Carl Lewis in the sprints) – looked very relaxed and very fluid in their races. Why is it important that hurdling feel effortless? Because that’s the key to consistently running fast times. . . . [more]

Liu Xiang Changes the Whole Game (added 7/15/06)
Liu Xiang’s 12.88 in Lausanne on July 11th, 2006, breaking the old world record of 12.91 held by himself and Colin Jackson, has sent shockwaves through the hurdling world. On a personal level, he instantly made my All-Time Greats list outdated, so now I’ll have to revise the whole thing. More importantly, on a large-scale level, Xiang’s superb race forces all of us who live and breathe hurdles to sit down and take a serious look at this new hurdle master and ask ourselves, Who the hell is this cat, and how did he get to be so good? . . . [more]

Thumbs Up (added 7/6/06)
While there is really no such thing as a quick fix to a technical problem in the hurdles, I have often found that the solution to a correcting a flaw ends up coming in the form of a very minor adjustment. Many times I have found myself amazed at how a minor adjustment can provide a major benefit in improving technique. Of course, these minor adjustments only prove useful if the hurdler is doing a lot of other things efficiently. . . . [more]

Hurdling Well is Often a Matter of Quickness (added 4/2/06)
There are many physical factors that contribute to a hurdler's success, the primary ones being speed, power, endurance, flexibility, height, and quickness. While speed is arguably the most significant factor, it is also true that, over the years, the best hurdlers have not necessarily been the best sprinters. . . . [more]

In the Hurdles, Progress Comes Slowly (added 3/24/06)
One of the most notable mistakes that many hurdlers make is the mental mistake of growing too frustrated too soon with a lack of progress, believing that if they are trying to improve their technique, then there is no reason why their technique should not be improving, that if they are trying to run faster times, then there is no reason why their times shouldn’t be dropping. The quest for instant results has led many a potential hurdler to give up on the event before giving it a valid try. . . . [more]

Pre-race Warm-up Routine (added 2/19/06)
An aspect of race preparation that often gets overlooked in regards to its importance is the pre-race warm-up. This article will outline a basic warm-up routine in preparation for the 100/110m hurdles, as that race usually comes before the 300m/400m hurdles in most meets. Warm-up advice for the long hurdles will be included in the latter part of the article. . . . [more]

Arnold's Victory at Millrose - A Matter of Technique (added 2/10/06)
At the Millrose Games in New York City last weekend, veteran hurdler Dominique Arnold claimed a victory in the men's 60m high hurdles over such notables as Joel Brown, Antwon Hicks, and two-time Olympic silver medallist Terrence Trammell. Although Arnold is a very powerful athlete, his primary strength as a hurdler seems to be his technical proficiency, as his hurdling technique is pretty close to flawless, with only Allen Johnson and Liu Xiang, in my opinion, being comparable to him, or perhaps, depending on the day of the week, better than him, when it comes to minimizing technical flaws. . . . [more]

Touchdown Charts (added 2/2/06)
For you left-side of the brain thinkers, I added touchdown charts for the hurdling events. I found them in The Science of Hurdling by Brent McFarlane, a Canadian Track and Field coach who specializes in the hurdles. . . . [more]

Hill Running (added 1/5/06)
In addition to doing workouts on the track or on a playing field, another option for hurdlers (and sprinters) is to take to the hills and do some sprinting workouts on different terrain. This article will discuss the benefits of uphill sprinting and downhill sprinting, and provide suggestions for how to incorporate hill workouts into the athletes’ training program. . . . [more]

Eyes on the Crossbar (added 12/7/05)
In a couple of previous articles on this website, I have discussed the importance of keeping your eyes on the crossbar while hurdling. In this article, I want to clarify and expand upon that point, based on a few observations I’ve picked up on recently. . . . [more]

The Hurdling - High-jump Connection (added 11/25/05)
In the sport of Track & Field, there are many events that are seemingly different on the surface, but go well together for an athlete who has enough talent to excel in more than area. Often, because hurdlers are the only people on a team who know how to hurdle, they are asked to compete in both hurdle events, even though the high hurdles and the intermediate hurdles require different skills and different mindsets. Not every athlete who has what it takes to be a good high hurdler necessarily has what it takes to be a good intermediate hurdler, and vice versa. . . . [more]

Plyometrics for Hurdlers by Kevin Watson (added 11/15/05)
What routine do you have in your repertoire that will give you an edge on race day? Do you listen to your favorite song exactly five minutes before you hit the track to warm up? Do you look fixedly at yourself in the mirror and say, " I'm the greatest hurdler alive" before the race? Or, do you constantly remind yourself to obey every command barked by your coach throughout the week? No matter what your routine, you should definitely consider adding another to your race preparation. Every hurdler should consider adding Plyometrics to their training regimen. . . . [more]