Letter from the Editor, May 2018
The May 2018 edition of The Hurdle Magazine is here! This month’s issue features five articles from myself, and one from freelance writer Melinda Burris Willms. So this issue is heavy on technical advice related to my own coaching experiences and observations.
Willms’ article, “Bananas vs. Sports Drinks,” discusses a very interesting topic regarding the role that eating bananas can play in providing fuel for workouts. After reading it, you might want to consider the value of putting a banana or two in your track bag prior to heading out for a long day of competition.
In “Stay on the Balls of the Feet,” I address the issue that I feel is a pretty simple one, but that I often see as being problematic for hurdlers, as well as for sprinters. Many hurdlers, especially, do not run on the balls of their feet – either because they haven’t been taught to or because they focus too much on the hurdle and forget the importance of retaining proper sprint mechanics while approaching each hurdle.
In “Staying Low over the Hurdles,” I talk about the process I go through in teaching a hurdler how to hurdle efficiently – from learning efficient sprint mechanics to drilling over low hurdles to running over hurdles at full speed to then, finally, lowering hurdle clearance in order to ensure minimal air time. This last stage is the most refined stage, so it requires the most attention to detail.
“Staying in the Middle of the Lane” is another technical article in which I discuss the causes of lateral movement in the lane, and how eliminating lateral movement can lead to faster times.
This month’s workout, “300h Race Prep Workout” is a race indicator workout for 300m hurdlers, with a variation included for 400m hurdlers.
“More Thoughts on Four-stepping” is an article I wrote in light of my recent success in helping one of my athletes transition from four-stepping to three-stepping, showing to me that the key to three-stepping is a simple little thing called speed.
Enjoy the articles, good luck with all the big end of the season meets, and thank you for your support!
Steve McGill
