Making Strides: Tactics in the 400 Hurdles

The 400 Hurdles is unique in the sense that it plays host to so many different tactics, largely due to the different stride patterns between the hurdles on top of the unique distance that is the 400m which means one cannot sprint flat-out the entire way. The race is made much more interesting by these various tactics, as the lead seems to change hands at least 2 or 3 times in every international race. Furthermore, interest is heightened when we investigate the history of tactics in the event, in the sense that they do not really seem to have developed since the 1980s, I hope to see why this is and whether a return to these tactics is on the cards.

Ed Moses is the obvious place to start for tactics, dominating the event during the late 1970s and 1980s, winning 122 consecutive races spookily spanning 9 years, 9 months and 9 days. Moses was an extremely determined and competitive man, coming from a scientific background his training was immaculately prepared, focusing closely on biomechanics and conditioning (particularly stretching). His tactics, however, were what set him apart from the rest; he was the first man to complete the 400 Hurdles with 13 strides in between every hurdle. This was hugely beneficial for a number of reasons: firstly it allowed him to take every hurdle on his preferred left leg, allowing him to run less distance around the bends as well as alleviating the risk of trailing and secondly it meant he kept his rhythm for the whole race compared to his rivals who would lost precious time changing down to 14 strides often at hurdle 6-8. Despite the success of the technique however, it really has not seemed to have stuck as the winning formula, as I shall show there are plenty of alternative tactics which have been successful to varying degrees.

Athletes such as Kerron Clement and Angelo Taylor found success in the 400 flat as well as the 400m Hurdles, Clement is the current 400m Indoor world record holder with a time of 44.57 and Taylor has a personal best of 44.05 (15^th all time). With excellence like this in the flat event, it’s not a surprise that Taylor won 2 Olympic titles (2000 and 2008) and Clement won 2 World titles (2007 and 2009). Despite these successes, neither Clement nor Taylor used similar tactics to Moses, instead they focused heavily on flat speed, as their 400m times show. Both Taylor and Clement have differentials (400m hurdles time less 400m flat time) of over 3 seconds which suggests that their hurdling was not the same quality as Moses, who’s differential was below 1.5 seconds. One cannot argue with the successes that Clement and Taylor had, however the statistics show that Moses ran faster times much more consistently, where technology (mainly spikes and track surfaces) is surely far superior for modern athletes.

British 400m Hurdler Dai Greene also found success at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, but using a different technique. Dai has a differential of around 2 seconds, which shows his hurdling is strong, however he adopts a 14-stride approach for the start of the race, and then changes down to 15 strides towards the latter stages of the race. Optimal stride patterns may vary depending upon the natural stride length of the athlete, however, as mentioned previously, changing strides during a race can lose the athlete valuable time, although in Dai’s case it did allow him a strong finish. The 14-stride approach does also mean hurdling right leg around the bends, which risks trailing and means the athlete has to run slightly wider around the bend.

What next for 400m Hurdles tactics? The event seems to currently lie stagnant with just 2 times under 47.5 seconds since 2006 and none since 2010 which is staggering considering the latest cutting edge technology which is constantly developing training and competition. Bershawn Jackson’s tactics continue to perplex many, he tends to relax between hurdles 3 and 5 after a fast start, allowing his rivals valuable metres which he isn’t always able to make up with his strong finish. Whether he wins or not, his time would be much faster if he ran a more even race. Perhaps future hopes lie with Nicholas Bett, the Kenyan who rose to prominence after his world championship win this year in 47.79 seconds. Bett’s tactics were a throwback to the great Moses, 13 strides most of the way round (albeit on his preferred right leg) and perhaps we will see him develop this tactic in the years to come.