200s over Hurdles Workout
by Steve McGill

This fall I’ve picked up some new athletes in my private coaching, and one of them, Tevin Colson, is a post-collegiate athlete who specializes in the 400 meter hurdles. As a result of working with him, my focus has been on the long hurdles much more than it has in past years. And like I told him, it’s been a lot of fun so far because I love coaching the long hurdles but rarely get a chance to. High school hurdlers run the 300 meter race, which isn’t the same vibe because it doesn’t present the same challenges. In the 300 hurdles, the mindset has to be that of a sprinter because the race is too short to approach it otherwise. But the 400 meter hurdles requires more strategizing in terms of stride pattern and a more urgent need for pinpoint precision in the early stages of the race due to the potential fatigue factor in the latter stages of the race.

So this month’s workout is designed specifically for 400 meter hurdlers, but can also certainly be used with 300 meter hurdlers. Here’s the workout:

4×200 over the first three hurdles. The athlete will start at the 400m start line, either from a three-point start or a crouched standing start. They will sprint full speed over the first three hurdles and then continue on to the 200 meter start line, using the stagger in their lane as the finish line. So, if they’re running in lane five, they’ll run to where the 200 dash begins in lane five. 

The workout should be done in spikes.

At the end of the warmup, prior to the first rep, the athlete should do at least one full-speed warmup rep over the first hurdle to make sure the necessary speed is there to maintain the desired stride pattern. With Tevin, we’re trying to go 22 strides to the first hurdle and 15 between all the rest. So once we know our 22 is on point, we’re ready to begin the workout.

Rest after the warmup rep should be three minutes.

Rest between reps should be 9-10 minutes. We want full recoveries so that we can go all-out every rep. The athlete should stay active during the rest period — walking, doing leg swings and other dynamic stretches, doing some sprint drills, etc. No sitting down.

The next level challenge would be to do:

3×200 over the first four hurdles. Same rest period. 

Then the final level would be:

3×200 over the first five hurdles. Same rest period.

Once we’re clearing five hurdles in our 200’s, we know we are at a point where the first half of our race will be fast and mistake-free. 

The video above is of Tevin clearing the first four hurdles in this workout. We try to emphasize bigger bounding strides at the start (for about four strides) and then again after clearing each hurdle (the first two strides off each hurdle). The logic is, we want to feel like we can shorten our last stride in front of each hurdle, allowing for a good push through the hurdle.

In regard to timing the reps, that’s something I do suggest, as this workout can serve very well as a workout that monitors progress. While it’s not a race-predictor workout in the truest sense, it does give an idea of the pace we’re on. But I’m not big on doing race-predictor workouts in the fall anyway, so it’s all good. More important to me is the rhythm. In Tevin’s case, I don’t just want to maintain a consistent 15-stride pattern; I want it to be an easy 15 strides every rep over every hurdle. That way, I’m getting clear evidence that we will be able to sustain it beyond the fifth hurdle, into the second half of the race. But, getting back to the point, when I’m usually out there with Tevin, it’s just him and me, so I prioritize filming the reps; that way, I can time the reps later from the footage.

For 300m hurdlers, the distance could be shifted to 150 meters, as that is the first half of the race for them. Start with 150’s over the first two, and build up to 150’s over the first four.