Letter from the Editor February 2018

Welcome readers, to the February 2018 issue of The Hurdle Magazine. This one has shaped up to be another good one with plenty of thought-provoking content.

Freelance writer Melinda Burris Willms is back with another article this month, this one entitled “Training Effectively in Colder Temperatures” – a very time-specific articles for those who have to train outside in the winter months. In the article, she provides advice on how to maintain optimum glycogen levels despite the cold weather.

Freelance writer Teige West has contributed two articles to this month’s issue – “Cadence Breathing: A Discussion,” and “Plantar Fasciitis: Prevention is the Best Medicine. In the former article he writes an very informative article about breathing techniques that hurdlers can benefit from, which is a topic on which it is difficult to find much information at all. In the latter article, he discusses how to prevent an injury that is very common among runners in general and hurdlers in particular – plantar fasciitis – one of the overuse injuries that is an occupational hazard for those who do what we do.

As for the articles that I wrote, “Muscle Memory” is the one in which I discuss how hurdlers who participate (or have participated) in other events or sports need to be trained out of bad habits that may have aided them in their other sport/event, but which prove to be hindrances to progress in the hurdles.

“The D.O. Tilt” is an article inspired by my work with one of my hurdlers who is a high school freshman moving up to the 39’s. The “tilt” itself is a style of hurdling that David Oliver had a lot of success with, in which he tilted his torso over his lead leg during hurdle clearance. In the article, I discuss how I used this method to help my smaller hurdler avoid hitting hurdles without sacrificing speed.

This month’s workout, “Conditioning Workout for the 300m Hurdler,” is for long hurdlers who are still in the process of building a base while also beginning to incorporate some race-rhythm workouts into their training. While the workout is specifically designed for the high school 300m hurdler, a variation is included that is specific to the 400m hurdler.

Thanks to the writers who contributed to this issue, and a special thanks to all subscribers. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.

Steve McGill