Trying to Fix the Trail Leg Might Not Fix the Trail Leg
by Steve McGill

I know the title of this article sounds counterintuitive, and I know that what I’m about to discuss in this article sounds counterintuitive. But I also know that it makes sense when you think about it, and that it absolutely makes sense when you apply it. My basic premise is this, based on my observations over the years in working with hurdlers and making corrections to mistakes in technique: no matter how bad the trail leg might look, the trail is hardly ever the source of the problem. Trail legs that swing too wide, that move to the front too late, that flatten out too much, etc. are almost always a symptom of another problem that is causing the trail leg issues. Usually, when you find the root issue and fix that issue, the trail leg issues fix themselves. Meanwhile, trying to fix trail leg issues directly can often lead to frustration and aggravation, both for the athlete and for the coach. That’s because if the root issue isn’t addressed, the trail leg issues will linger, even though we’re doing everything we can to correct them. 

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In this article I will identify what those root issues could be, and how they negatively affect the trail leg action.

If the trail leg is lazy, late, slow, or wide, the first place to look in correcting it is in the athlete’s sprint mechanics. Whenever I start with a new hurdler in my private coaching, the first thing I do is evaluate their A-skips, their high-knee drills, and their sprinting form. I’m looking to see if the ankles are staying dorsiflexed and if back-kick is being minimized. If I see back-kick, if I see the knees pointing down, if I see the heel making contact with the ground, or if I see the upper body posture being too erect, I know that those flaws in sprint mechanics must be addressed before I can concern myself with the athlete’s hurdling technique. In sprinting, we want both legs to cycle, knee-up/heel-up, so that when we hurdle we can continue that cycling action.

Poor sprint mechanics cause poor hurdling mechanics. So, if the athlete sprints with back-kick, that back-kick will carry over to the hurdling action. It will cause the lead leg to swing with the foot leading the way instead of the knee leading the way. And when that happens, the trail leg is helpless to do anything except lag behind and to come through too low and too wide and too flat. That’s why, when I see a flat trail leg, the first thing I look to analyze in the sprint mechanics.

Now, after sprint mechanics, the next thing I look at is the lead leg action. Because the lead leg clears the hurdle first, anything it does directly affects what the trail leg does. Again, if the sprint mechanics are poor, the lead leg will swing. But for some hurdlers, even if the sprint mechanics are strong, the lead leg will still swing because that has become an ingrained habit. So again, if you’re trying to fix the trail leg action without addressing the fact that the lead leg is swinging, it’s not going to work. The trail leg is the symptom, not the problem.

Then there is the issue of upper body posture. A hurdler who runs too erect and who hurdles too erect will have trouble bringing the lead leg to the front in a high and tight action. Leaning forward from the waist gives the trail leg room to rotate in such a way that there is no twisting of the hips or shoulders. Even the great Renaldo Nehemiah sometimes hit hurdles with his trail leg. Known for his upright style, Nehemiah was exceptionally strong in the hip flexors and groin area, so he could get away with an upright posture much of the time. 

Meanwhile, there are some coaches who would argue that hurdlers should be more erect between the hurdles, and that they should only lean when attacking the hurdle. The logic is that being more erect makes it easier to drive the lead leg knee higher. While I agree that the logic makes sense in sprinting, it doesn’t hold true in hurdling. My personal philosophy is that even 100 meter sprinters should be slightly tilted forward for the simple fact that if you’re running on the balls of your feet with the ankles dorsi-flexed, doing so will slightly tilt your upper body forward. As a hurdler, the three strides between the hurdles happen so quickly that you don’t have time to lean into the hurdle and then stand up off of it, lean again, stand up again, etc. And it makes for a very herky-jerky race in which the standing-up action constantly causes a breaking action, crushing any possibility of a fluid, natural acceleration towards top speed. So, as far as the trail leg is concerned, the more forward you are between the hurdles, the easier it is to lean even more deeply when clearing the hurdle, making it easier for the trail leg to drive to the front in an easy, effortless, natural action.

Now keep in mind, with the style of hurdling I teach, and that I’m seeing become more and more common, especially in the women’s hurdles, the trail leg doesn’t lag and then whip to the front. It drives to the front as soon as it leaves the ground. Also, the emphasis is more on raising the knee than opening the groin, so that the trail leg action can as closely as possible mimic the lead leg action. The concern with hurdling this way is that if the toe catches the crossbar, the athlete will fall face-first. That’s a genuine fear. But if the athlete keeps the ankles dorsiflexed, there won’t be contact with the hurdle. That’s why staying dorsiflexed is a fundamental, non-negotiable principle that I instill in any hurdler I coach from day one.

The final issue to address would be arm action. If the arms are crossing the body, or if the trail arm is swinging away from the body, the trail will go wide and flat. Keeping the arms in a tight up-down motion will ensure that the trail leg will move in a tight motion as well, assuming the other issues discussed above aren’t causing any problems.

My personal experience has been that addressing these other issues fixes any trail leg issues almost all of the time. I’m to the point where I don’t even have my hurdlers do trail-leg-specific drills at all. It’s like, once you’re in the air, and the foot of the lead leg has passed the crossbar, you’re a sprinter again. Just sprint.

The only issue in which the trail leg needs to be addressed directly is the timing issue. As the lead leg gets faster, as the athlete gets faster between the hurdles, the trail leg has to keep up. And sometimes that can be a problem. If the trail leg is used to waiting for a lead leg that’s swinging, it will still be expecting to have time to wait. Same with when the arms are fixed, etc. So as other flaws are being addressed, we have to make sure that the trail leg keeps up with the increased pace.

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