Staying in the Middle of the Lane
by Steve McGill
Sometimes, for a hurdler, staying in the middle of the lane is the hardest thing to do. Lateral movement in the lane – while approaching the first hurdle, while clearing hurdles, and while sprinting between the hurdles – causes slower times for the simple reason that it means running farther. Obviously, lateral movement in the lane is a symptom caused by other mistakes; it is not the cause of slower times unto itself. So the question becomes, how does a hurdler minimize his or her amount of lateral movement in the lane? Let’s take a look at that question in regards to the three parts of a race that I mentioned above: 1) out of the blocks, 2) over the hurdles, and 3) between the hurdles.
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As any sprint coach or hurdle coach will tell you, the start is the most important part of the race because that’s where everything you’re trying to do later on is established. Many beginner hurdlers and even more experienced hurdlers who have not been coached well will fixate on the first hurdle instead of focusing on being true sprinters out of the blocks. They’ll look up too soon, they’ll pop up too soon. And, often they’ll zig-zag in the lane for the first three or four strides.
The reason that hurdlers (and sprinters) will often zig-zag in the lane in the first few strides out of the blocks, from what I can tell, is because they are trying to gather momentum. But they’re doing so in a way that exposes the fact that they are rushing – taking shorter, quicker strides in an effort to get themselves moving. For a sprinter this is self-sabotage because it prevents them from having a true drive phase. They will reach top speed too soon and begin to decelerate too soon, meaning that last half of the race is going to feel like a marathon. For a hurdler this is self-sabotage for the same reason, but also because it messes up the take-off distance to the first hurdle. And if the take-off distance to the first hurdle is off, it’ll be off over every hurdle down the line.
The way to solve this problem, as I see it, is to focus on getting full extension in the arms, which will allow for full extension of the legs, which will keep you moving in a straight line. In regards to the arms, full extension means letting the elbows lock and swinging the arms as high and as far back as you can. Don’t let the arms swing to the side at all. Any swinging to the sides will cause lateral movement and therefore shorter strides. Meanwhile, push with force off the track with each stride, being sure to keep each stride inside your shoulder blades. If you step outside of your shoulder blades, you know you’re running laterally. If such a problem persists with a particular athlete, then one solution would be to place small cones in the lane on both sides of the athlete, and instruct the athlete to keep each stride inside the cones.
Hurdling flaws are the most common cause for lateral movement in the lane. The best technical hurdlers, you may have noticed, stay in the center of the lane all the way down the track. Think Allen Johnson, Liu Xiang, Sally Pearson, Keni Harrison. Many hurdlers who ride their lead leg all the way down the track will hug the lead leg edge of the lane starting with hurdle one and stay on that edge for the entire race. That’s better than zig-zagging, but it’s still not ideal. It increases the chances of making contact with hurdlers in other lanes and minimizes the margin for error when it comes to making contact with the barriers. Zig-zagging is caused by a multiplicity of technical errors, starting with a lead leg that swings from the hip. As I’ve said before, the knee is your steering wheel, so if you’re leading with the foot instead of leading with the knee, you’re bound to lose control of the lead leg, causing it to swing left to right or right to left, and you won’t be able to do anything about it.
Leading with the foot causes a domino effect of balance issues – the hips twist, the shoulders twist, the trail leg lags way behind. So, of course, you land sideways at best, and you’ll have to correct yourself and straighten yourself out after you land. Other technical flaws will similarly cause lateral movement in the lane and a loss of balance. A lazy trail leg will cause you twist. Arms that cross the body will cause you to twist. Arms that open up like a parachute will cause you to sail and to twist.
All of the abovementioned flaws in hurdling mechanics will lead to balance issues between the hurdles as well. As stated previously, a loss of balance over the hurdle will lead to the need to correct yourself after you land. Therefore, you will have to move laterally in the first step off the hurdle just to get back to the center of the lane. A lot of times, hurdlers overcompensate by shifting themselves to the other side of the lane, and then finally getting themselves straight on the second step between the hurdle. Obviously, this type of lateral movement in the lane is counterproductive to the goal of pushing further down the track. So, when considering the value of efficient hurdling technique, one of the benefits to keep in mind is that efficient hurdling allows you to stay centered in the lane, and to thereby sprint faster, with less effort, between the hurdles.
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