Race-Prep Sprint/Hurdle Workout

by Steve McGill

This time of year, for hurdlers who are preparing for qualifiying meets in the Junior Olympics, or who are preparing for big national meets, having go-to race prep workouts is a  must. I have a 14-year-old boy who is getting ready for the state meet – also called the association meet – in Junior Olympic competition. With that meet two weeks away, I had him do the workout that is described below:

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The Setup:

• Place the starting blocks behind the 100m start line, in any lane you prefer.
• Set up seven hurdles in the next lane over, with the first hurdle on the regular race mark, and all hurdles after the first one moved in one foot. Initially, set all hurdles at one click below race height.
• Set up a cone at the mark for where the eighth hurdle would be. That will be the finish line.
• Two coaches/helpers will be needed: one to give the starting commands, and one to stand at the finish line to time each rep.

The Workout:

2 sets of 3×72.5m sprints (the reason the distance is so specific is because that’s how far it is from the start line to the eighth hurdle mark.

The first rep of each set is to be run with no hurdles – just a straight sprint, from the blocks, with commands, spikes on.

For the second rep of each set, move the blocks into the hurdle lane, and the hurdler will clear all seven hurdles and cross the finish line.

For the third rep of each set, raise the hurdles one click to race height, and the hurdler will again clear all seven hurdles and cross the finish line.

The person timing should be standing at the finish line. Start the watch at the “g” of the “go,” and stop the watch when the athlete’s torso passes the cone. For most accurate results, be looking at the finish line, not at the athlete.

Rest Period:

The athlete should rest 4 minutes between reps, and then 6 minutes between sets. Rest should be active – keep walking, keep moving. For this particular workout, keep the rest periods consistent, even if the athlete is fatiguing. One of the challenges of the workout is to maintain speed when fatigued.

Aim/Purpose:

The first rep of each set establishes the fact that, in the hurdles, SPEED COMES FIRST. There should be no holding back on the hurdles-free sprint.

In the second rep of each set, the aim is to run as close as possible to the time run in the previous rep without hurdles. About 1.5 seconds would be a target time. So, if the first rep was 9.0, the goal for the second rep would be 10.5 or faster.

In the third rep of each set, the aim is to run as close as possible to the time run in the previous rep, over lower hurdles. Here, you want the time difference to be as minimal as possible. So, if the athlete came through in 10.5 in the second rep, the goal for the third rep would be 10.8 or faster.

Variations:

This is not really a variation, but for male hurdlers who run the 39’s or 42’s, the start line would be the 110 start line, and the finish line would be hurdle eight of the 110m hurdle race.

If doing this workout the week of the big qualifying meet or the big championship meet, take off the second set, and increase the recovery time between reps to 5 minutes.

One More Thing:

All warming up – including any hurdle drilling, practice starts without hurdles, and practice starts over hurdles – should be done prior to the first rep of the first set. Use the rest periods between reps and sets to rest. Once the workout starts, everything is full speed ahead.

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