Letter from the Editor, October 2018

Hello readers, and welcome to the October 2018 edition of The Hurdle Magazine! This month’s issue features four articles from myself, one from freelance writer Teige West, and one from freelance writer Melinda Burris Willms. This issue covers a smorgasbord of topics, centered around the inaugural Team Steve Hurdle Coaches’ Clinic that took place October 13th.

In “Training Headaches: Causes and Preventions,” West discusses how headaches can be caused by exercise or by exercise-related issues (such as dehydration). He offers solutions to this problem as well, as many athletes who suffer from headaches don’t realize there may be a connection between their headaches and their training.

In the thoroughly researched “Should You Heat Up Your Workout?”, Willms looks into the positives and negatives of Heat Acclimation Training, weighing the possible benefits with the potential pitfalls.

In “Team Steve Coaching Clinic,” I talk about the topics coach Hector Cotto and I discussed with a group of coaches who attended our inaugural clinic for coaches. We had a lot of fun, taught a lot, and learned a lot as well. It was great to meet so many knowledgeable coaches who were eager to gain more knowledge.

In “A Week in the Life,” I provide workout ideas for coaches of sprint hurdlers, long hurdlers, and double hurdlers, covering a hypothetical week in the life in the fall, winter, spring, and championship seasons. Even if you don’t choose to follow these workouts verbatim, I’m confident you’ll find many workout ideas that you’ll be able to incorporate into your training plan.

This month’s workout, “Alternating Reps Workout,” is a  workout that I recently designed while deviating from my original plan during a workout. It involves doing a sprint rep past the hurdles, then doing one over the hurdles, gradually building up from one hurdle to five hurdles. It’s good for hurdle endurance and also serves as a good way to get in some sprinting and hurdling in the same workout.

Finally, for this month’s “Great Race,” I take a look back at Brianna Rollins’ 2016 Olympic victory, and the historic American sweep that came with it. I also discuss the irony of the fact that the newly crowned American record holder, Keni Harrison, did not even make the team. After the Olympic Trials, Harrison went on to break the world record while Rollins went on to win the gold.

Enjoy the articles, and thank you for your support. I hope everyone’s fall training continues to go well.

Steve McGill