Coaching and Care of Athletes

I. CHAPTER XXI HURDLING HuRDLE races comprise sprints or quarter-mile running with obstacles-i.e., hurdles-placed in the path of the athlete. The races vary in distance, and the hurdles in height in accordance with the distance of the race; but the hurdles are set up at regula– tion intervals, in order that the athlete may standardize the number of strides taken between each flight of hurdles, and also establish ·his method of clearing 'the obstacles. For the sake of convenience the standard hurdle races are usually classified as follows: The high hurdles: I20 yds. or I ro metres (I20 yds. ro·7 ins.). The low hurdles: 220 yds. or 200 metres (2I8 yds. 2ft. 2 ins.). The intermediate hurdles: 440 yds. or 400 metres (437 yds. r ft. 4i ins.). In each race there will be ten flights of hurdles for the athlete to negotiate. The heights of the hurdles are: High hurdles Low hurdles Intermediate hurdles 42 ins. go ins.. 36 ins. These heights apply to open races. At the English A.A.A. Junior Championships and also at the British Public Schools Championships the hurdle race is I 20 yds. over ten flights of 36 ins. hurdles. I will deal with the spacing of the obstacles when discussing hurdling technique for each racing distance. Comparative performances for various classes. of championships in England, in international matches, and at the_Olympic Games are given in the table opposite. There are some further general considerations before we discuss each of the three types of hurdle race in detail. What has been said in Chapters XIV and XV concerning starting holds good for hurdlers, with some few reservations. The sprinter, who has no obstacles to negotiate in the course of the 278