Letter from the Editor June 2014

The highlight of the June issue of The Hurdle Magazine is undoubtedly the interview with Track & Field News writer Jon Hendershott. As someone who hurdled myself and who now spends a lot of time writing about hurdling, Hendershott is as much of a role model for me as any athlete I could mention. Hendershott has been with T&FN since 1967, and I can’t put into words what a pleasure it was to pick his brain during a 90-minute interview and then through subsequent email dialogue. Hendershott’s perspectives on track & field in general and on hurdling specifically could fill many more pages than can be covered in the space of a single interview. So maybe there’ll be a Part Two down the road!

Because I haven’t done a technique-specific article for a while, this month’s issue includes “Teaching Trail Leg Mechanics to Beginners,” which is about exactly what the title suggests. In this article I include some photos and short video clips of one of my athletes demonstrating drills that I use to teach trail leg mechanics.

This month’s injury-related article relies again on the expertise of Dr. Kelsey Armstrong, who, in “Dealing with Achilles Tendonitis,” provides insight on the causes of Achilles tendonitis, how to manage the pain and address the symptoms, and how to avoid a full-blown Achilles tear.

Keare Smith, for this month’s issue, continues to delve further into the healthy living theme that he introduced to us in last month’s issue. This time around, he discusses genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) and their effect on our health and on the environment. He also discusses the potential for genetically modified athletes becoming a new form of illegal performance enhancement.

For this month’s deeper article, I have included the first of a four-part series that I have entitled “Go Where the Hurdles Take You.” In it, I tell the story of my personal journey down “Hurdle River,” as I call my lifelong relationship with the hurdles. In Part One, I discuss my initial introduction to the hurdles during my high school years, and my battle with a life-threatening blood disease that led me to realize how much the hurdles mean to me.

This month’s workout – “Starts over the First Three Hurdle Workout” – is another championship season workout for 110/100m hurdlers, designed to prepare the body and mind for the speed of major competitions.

This month’s instructional video focuses on dorsi-flexion of the ankle, and how a lack of dorsi-flexion can lead to many flaws in technique.

Thanks to Jon Hendershott, Dr. Kelsey Armstrong, Keare Smith, and my athlete Arthur Njemanze for their contributions to this issue. And thanks to my good friend Kevin Howell for letting me use his camera to record the instructional video. And as always, thanks to web designer Chris Brajer for putting the articles into the mag and for keeping the machine running.

A very special thanks to all of you, our loyal subscribers. Please contact me at smcgill@hurdlesfirst.com with any ideas for topics you would like me to write about in a future issue.

Steve McGill