Letter from the Editor, December 2016

Hello readers, and welcome to the December 2016 edition of The Hurdle Magazine. Got another potpourri of articles for you this month.

This month’s workout, “Downward Ladder Workout,” is designed as a lactic acid workout for the 400 meter hurdler. It’s a pretty intense workout that only the fit and the strong can complete effectively.

“Technical Connections” is an article in which I discuss the work that I’ve been doing with one of the athletes that I coach privately. The point of the workout is to show how several flaws in technique are all connected to each other, and can be addressed and corrected by identifying the athlete’s strengths and by figuring out the best ways to troubleshoot the issues.

“Staring Down the Dream” is tells the story of how I am on the verge of becoming a published author, as I have found a publisher for the biography I wrote several years ago on 1972 Olympic high hurdle champion Rodney Milburn. The title has to do with the fact that I almost blew my chance of getting it published out of fear of getting it published. Read the article to see what I mean.

“The Slow-Down Effect” is an article in which I look at great athletes from other sports and discuss the qualities of calmness and ease of motion, and how those qualities contribute to their success, tying it all in to how hurdlers can learn much from such athletes.

In “What Makes a Great Hurdles Coach,” I list the qualities that I feel make for a great hurdles coach. The article was inspired by a novel I am teaching in one of my English classes, in which the narrator, an English butler, describes the qualities that make for a great butler. And of course, it got me thinking about the hurdles…

“The Greatest Men’s 400 Hurdle Race” takes a look back at the 400 meter hurdle final from the 1987 World Championships in Rome, where Edwin Moses, Danny Harris, and Harald Schmid all finished under 47.50, with Moses claiming the victory in 47.46. I also take a look at the stride patterns of each of the three athletes late in the race in explaining how the results could’ve been different.

Enjoy the articles, good luck with your training, and thank you for your support!

Steve McGill