The Start in the 400 hurdles

In the 400 meter hurdles, the start of the race is just as important as it is in any other sprint and hurdle event. The start is where tempo is established. A bad start can lead to a bad race, and a good start can lead to a good race. What’s different about the 400h start though, is that there is a strategic element in it that wouldn’t be relevant for the 100m hurdles or any of the sprint events. Get out too fast and you might die at the end; get out too slow and you’ll fall too far behind too early. Stutter at the first hurdle and you’ll be stuttering the rest of the way. So in this article I’ll be discussing the start in the 400 hurdles, from the start line to hurdle one, and how it sets up the rest of the race.

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The amount of strides you want to take to hurdle one is largely determined by how many strides you want to take to hurdle two. The number of strides between one and two will most likely be the stride pattern at least through hurdle five, and beyond in many cases. Whatever the stride pattern may be for the entire race, success in executing the plan will be dependent upon hitting the first hurdle in rhythm.

Generally speaking, the list below explains how many strides you’ll want to take to hurdle 1, depending on how many you’re planning to take to hurdle 2.

• If taking 13 strides to hurdle 2: take 20 strides to hurdle 1
• If taking 14 strides to hurdle 2: take 21-22 strides to hurdle 1
• If taking 15 strides to hurdle 2: take 22-23 strides to hurdle 1
• If taking 16 strides to hurdle 2: take 23-24 strides to hurdle 1
• If taking 17 strides to hurdle 2: take 24 strides to hurdle 1
• If taking 18 strides to hurdle 2: take 25 strides to hurdle 1
• If taking 19 strides to hurdle 2: take 26 strides to hurdle 1

My experience has been that, as athletes round into shape and get stronger and faster as the season goes on, the approach to the first hurdle may need to be adjusted. This is one of the difficult aspects of being a 400 hurdler. In the 100/110 hurdles, there will be no changes to stride pattern. It’s going to be three steps all the way, with the first hurdle being either eight or seven steps. Therefore, it may be necessary, especially during the competitive season, to have at least one day a week devoted to experimenting with the start to the first hurdle, and adding a second hurdle to work on the transition between hurdles 1 and 2.

Ultimately, a huge onus is on the coach to help the athlete find the stride pattern that best fits his or her speed and conditioning level. Let’s say, for example, I’m a 17-stepper for most of the race, and I take 24 strides to the first hurdle. But let’s say I’ve been getting crowded in races at hurdles 2 and 3. I talk to my coach about it and he says go ahead and try for 16 strides, or even 15, between those hurdles, depending on whether I can alternate or not. So I practice that, but I find that I have to reach too much for my 15 strides to hurdle 2. The solution may be to change the start. Switch the feet in the blocks and take 23 strides to hurdle one. Going faster to hurdle 1 means taking slightly longer strides, which will carry over into hurdle 2, and now, yes, hurdle 2 feels much more manageable. 15-stepping hurdle two now feels relatively easy, and I feel confident now that I can do it in a race.

But now the question becomes, will I be exerting too  much energy early in the race if I take 23 strides to hurdle 1, and 15 strides to hurdles 2 and 3? I may discover that although I get out faster, I also decelerate sooner. Before, I could hold my seventeen the whole race, but now I’m taking 19 strides to hurdles 9 and 10. Now what do I do?

Probably, I should go back to my original stride pattern and focus on keeping my 17 strides quick early on so that I don’t get crowded. Or, I’ll have to get myself fit enough to finish stronger so I can take advantage the new stride pattern that I will be using in the early part of the race. Much will depend on how late in the season we are – if making a switch is worth the risk, if sticking with the same old same old is worth the risk.

The above example applies to hurdlers of all ability levels;  just change the number of strides accordingly.

The 400 hurdles is all about balance. Go out aggressively, but don’t go out foolishly. With that being said, I feel that, in order to optimize one’s potential, one shouldn’t hold back. In the off-season, the 400 hurdler must do the conditioning and speed/endurance work necessary to put him/herself in a position where he or she can employ a stride pattern that matches his or her ability level.

In regards to the start itself, the blocks should be angled slightly toward the inside of the lane, so that the hurdler will be able to run on the inside part of the lane in approaching the first hurdle, minimizing the amount of distance he or she must cover. Whether a left leg lead or a right leg lead, it does become important to move slightly toward the center of the lane right before the hurdle, as it is possible to hook the hurdle with the lead leg (left leg lead) or trail leg (right leg lead) if you continue to hug the curve through hurdle clearance. If you are in an outside lane, however, where the curve isn’t as drastic, the importance of angling the blocks diminishes, and there is less chance of hooking.

For 300 hurdlers, much of the discussion in this article doesn’t really apply. It is a short enough race that the need to distribute energy isn’t nearly as much of a factor as it is in the 400 hurdles. The 300 hurdler has to have more the mindset of a sprinter. Go out hard and stay hard. The 300 hurdler will not need to angle the blocks at the start, and can approach the first hurdle in the center of the lane, since the start is on the back straight-away. The 300 hurdler should attack the first hurdle very aggressively and then continue with a stride pattern that he or she can maintain for the rest of the race. Or, at the very least, through hurdle five.

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