Coming off the Curve Workout
by Steve McGill
For 300/400m hurdlers, the trickiest part of the race often is the last hurdle on the curve – hurdle five for 300m hurdlers and hurdle 8 for 400m hurdlers. The difficulty lies in the fact that fatigue has become a factor by this point in the race, so the stride pattern established in the first half of the race is becoming difficult to maintain. Also, because the final straightaway is right there after you land, there’s a natural tendency to start sprinting toward the next hurdle prior to completing clearance of the hurdle, causing the body to twist in the air, creating an awkward landing.
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Training for the fatigue aspect of that last hurdle on the curve is difficult, as it requires doing 200’s (for 300m hurdlers) or 300’s (for 400m hurdlers) at a pace close to race pace. That’s not something that’s practical to do in the off-season, as the long hurdler doesn’t have any races in his or her specialty event until the spring. But there are ways to learn to negotiate the angles of the curve without putting the body through high-speed workouts, and this month’s workouts is one of those ways.
The Workout
8×150, clearing the last hurdle on the curve and continuing to sprint to the finish line.
Set up one hurdle at race height, at the mark for hurdle five (300m hurdlers) or hurdle 8 (400m hurdlers).
Athlete will begin each rep at the previous hurdle mark (hurdle four for 300m hurdlers, hurdle 7 for 400m hurdlers).
From a 3-point or falling start, athlete will sprint to and over the hurdle, then continue sprinting to the finish line.
Prior to the first full rep, the athlete will want to do a warm-up rep or two just clearing the first hurdle but not continuing to the finish line, just in order to get the steps to the hurdle down. We don’t want to waste any reps with a bunch of stuttering.
The purpose of the workout is for the athlete to work on landing of the hurdle first, and then attacking the straight, as opposed to beginning to attack the straightaway while still in the air.
Recovery Period
Recovery should be a walk-back recovery after each rep. The total rest period should be between 2:30 (early in the session) but no more than 3:00 (if needed later in the session).
Variations
One variation would be to add the next hurdle (6th hurdle for 300m hurdlers, 9th hurdle for 400m hurdlers) if it’s warm enough and if the athlete is feeling up to it.
Another variation would be to reduce rest period between reps in order to more closely simulate race fatigue. This variation should only be done with advanced athletes.
If the athlete is able to alternate lead legs and isn’t sure which leg will end up clearing that hurdle when race time comes, then he or she should practice clearing it with both. Half the reps should be done leading with one leg, other half should be done leading with the other, switching lead legs every rep.
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