Track and Field Event Tactics

Lessons

Senior 3 · Physical Education

Track and Field Event Tactics

4 lessons

Lesson 2 of 4

Introduction to hurdles

25 min

Sprinting with obstacles

A hurdle race is a sprint in which ten barriers stand in your lane. The best hurdlers do not jump over them: they run over them, losing as little speed as possible, and take exactly three strides between each pair. That fixed pattern is called the rhythm, and learning it is the first aim of a beginner.

Definition

Lead leg: the leg that goes over the hurdle first. Trail leg: the leg that pushes off and follows, swinging over to the side.

Clearance: the movement over the hurdle, from take-off to landing. A good clearance keeps the body's centre of mass low, so the athlete runs over rather than jumps up.

Three-stride rhythm: landing from one hurdle and taking three running strides before taking off for the next.

The race distances

World Athletics fixes where the hurdles stand and how high they are (Technical Rules, Book C2.1):

Race	Start to 1st hurdle	Between hurdles	Last hurdle to finish	Height
100 m hurdles (women)	13.00 m	8.50 m	10.50 m	0.838 m (U18 women 0.762 m)
110 m hurdles (men)	13.72 m	9.14 m	14.02 m	1.067 m (U20 0.991 m, U18 0.914 m)
400 m hurdles	45.00 m	35.00 m	40.00 m	men 0.914 m (U18 0.838 m); women 0.762 m

Figure: the two sprint hurdle races drawn to scale. There are always ten hurdles, so the race has 9 equal gaps between the first and last hurdle.

Technique, step by step

Approach. Sprint from the start to the first hurdle in a fixed number of strides (most adults take 8). Rise to an upright running position earlier than in a flat sprint so that you can see the hurdle.
Take-off. Take off about 2 m before the hurdle, from the ball of the foot, driving forward rather than up.
Lead leg. Drive the lead knee up fast, pointing straight down the lane, then let the lower leg reach out over the hurdle. Reach forward with the opposite arm, and lean the trunk forward ("attack the hurdle").
Trail leg. Push off fully, then bring the trail leg round the side: knee out, ankle bent so the toes point up and outwards, heel tucked close to the buttock. Pull the knee through high in front of the body.
Landing. The lead leg comes down quickly, landing on the ball of the foot about 1 m past the hurdle, under the hips, so that you can sprint away at once.
Between hurdles. Three quick, active strides, then take off again. Keep running tall.

Learning safely at school

Use low, light hurdles that fall forwards if hit, or canes resting on two cones, 40 to 60 cm high. Start with the hurdles closer than the competition spacing, about 6 to 7 m, so that three strides are possible, and widen them as you improve. Practise the lead leg by running past the side of the hurdles, and the trail leg by walking beside them, before you put the two together.

Video: "Lead and Trail Leg Drills to Run the Hurdles Faster", Championship Productions. Watch the walking drills at the side of the hurdle; copy them with low hurdles before trying full clearances.

Worked example

Worked example 1: checking the 110 m layout. Show that the distances add up to 110 m.

Ten hurdles make 9 gaps between the first and the last hurdle.
$13.72 + 9 \times 9.14 + 14.02 = 13.72 + 82.26 + 14.02 = 110.00$ m.

Worked example

Worked example 2: stride length between hurdles. In the 100 m hurdles, a hurdler lands 1.0 m past each hurdle and takes off 2.0 m before the next one.

Distance left for running: $8.50 - 1.0 - 2.0 = 5.5$ m.
Three strides cover it, so each stride is about $5.5 \div 3 \approx 1.83$ m.
A pupil whose stride is only 1.5 m cannot three-stride this gap: $3 \times 1.5 = 4.5$ m. Moving the hurdles closer, to about 7.5 m apart, gives $7.5 - 3.0 = 4.5$ m, which fits.

Tip

Run over, not up. If your head bobs up at each hurdle, you are jumping. Keep your eyes level, lean forward at take-off and snap the lead leg down quickly.

Warning

Rules and safety. Under World Athletics rules, knocking a hurdle over is not itself a foul. You are disqualified if you knock it down with your hand, body or the front of the lead leg, if your foot or leg passes beside the hurdle below the height of its top, or if you leave your lane or hinder another runner. For safety, always run hurdles in the direction in which they fall over, never approach from the wrong side, and never use fixed or heavy barriers.

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Practice

How many hurdles are there in a 100 m hurdles race, and how far apart are they?
Define the lead leg and the trail leg.
Show that the 100 m hurdles distances add up to 100 m.
Why is it important to take off about 2 m before the hurdle rather than close to it?
Show that the 400 m hurdles distances add up to 400 m.
A hurdler knocks over three hurdles with the trail leg but stays in lane. Is he disqualified? Explain.
Ishimwe's head rises high over every hurdle and he lands far beyond it. Identify the fault and suggest one drill to correct it.
Your school's hurdles cannot be lowered below 76 cm, which is too high for beginners. How would you organise a first hurdles lesson?

Show answersHide answers

Ten hurdles, 8.50 m apart.
The lead leg goes over the hurdle first; the trail leg pushes off and swings round the side afterwards.
13.00 + 9 × 8.50 + 10.50 = 13.00 + 76.50 + 10.50 = 100.00 m.
Taking off too close forces the athlete to jump up and the lead leg may hit the hurdle; taking off further away lets the athlete run across it with a low, flat clearance.
45.00 + 9 × 35.00 + 40.00 = 45 + 315 + 40 = 400 m.
No. Knocking hurdles over is not itself a foul, as long as it is not done with the hand, the body or the front of the lead leg, the trail leg does not pass below the top of the hurdle at the side, and no one else is hindered.
He is jumping instead of running over. Use low hurdles and a lead-leg drill beside the hurdle, practising a forward lean and a fast snap-down of the lead leg.
Use canes on cones or low foam hurdles at 40 to 60 cm instead, set about 6 to 7 m apart; teach the lead and trail legs separately at the side; and use the 76 cm hurdles only later, if at all.

Remember

Ten hurdles in every race; 100 m H: 13.00, 8.50, 10.50 m; 110 m H: 13.72, 9.14, 14.02 m.
Take off about 2 m before the hurdle; lead knee up, trail leg round the side.
Three strides between hurdles; run over, do not jump up.
Knocking a hurdle is not a foul; using the hand, or trailing a leg below the top beside it, is.

Sources and credits

Hurdling, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
100 metres hurdles, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
World Athletics Technical Rules (Book C2.1), World Athletics: hurdle distances, heights and fouls, summarised.
Photo: Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres hurdles semi-final 3, Daieuxetdailleurs, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Video: "Lead and Trail Leg Drills to Run the Hurdles Faster", Championship Productions, embedded from YouTube.
Scale diagram, technique steps, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Sprinting with obstacles

2The race distances

3Technique, step by step

4Learning safely at school

Sprinting with obstacles

The race distances

Technique, step by step

Learning safely at school