Sprint to the Finish Line Workout, Part II

by Steve McGill

This month’s workout is a variation of last month’s. In last month’s the workout was for 100/110m hurdlers to do race-distance sprints in which they cleared the first hurdle from a block start, the first two hurdles from a block start, and the first three hurdles from a block start. In each case, they would continue sprinting off the last hurdle to the finish line.

For this month’s workout, we’re adding more hurdles, thereby increasing the difficulty level and the intensity level. Because this is a preparation workout for a championship meet, the volume of reps should be low, and the pace should be as close to race pace as practice conditions will allow.

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The Workout:
3x110m (males) or 3×100 (females), clearing the first five hurdles and sprinting to the finish line. From a block start with commands from a coach or reliable teammate, with another coach at the finish line to time each rep. Watch should start at the “g” of the “go.” Watch should stop as athlete’s torso crosses the finish line.

Rest:
8-minute rest after first rep, 10-minute rest after second rep. Rest should be active. Athlete should stay loose by walking, lightly stretching, and by doing light drills over low hurdles.

Target times:
Athletes should be looking to finish each rep under their target race time, by at least two tenths. So, if the target race time is 14.00 FAT, then the times for these three reps should be no slower than 13.6 hand-timed. Not hitting the target time isn’t the end of the world. My girl ran her fastest rep in 14.0 the week before nationals but ended up running 13.97 in the finals at nationals. Having three rounds helped a lot. If your athlete is running in a meet with rounds, then the early round(s) can serve the same purpose as this workout.

Purpose:
The purpose of this workout is to get the athlete to run through the finish line without subtle, subconscious slowing down at the end. That’s why having a target time is so important. This workout also gets hurdlers in the mindset of sprinting with an aggressive sprinter mindset instead of fixating on the hurdles.

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