“How do you do 400 Hurdles? You must be mad” (frequently overheard in an athletics setting). Having not trained full time for any other events, it is certainly not my place to comment on the difficulty of the event compared to others, but it is certainly a unique blend of different skillsets from many different events which I believe makes it the most interesting both to watch and to take part in.
The first recorded 400m hurdles race was in Oxford (c.1860)
and there were 12 barriers to negotiate over 440 yards, however the event
became standardised in 1900 for the Olympics: 45 metres to the first hurdle, 35
metres between each and then a gruelling 40 metre run to the finish line.
Originally, if a competitor knocked more than three hurdles over then he was
disqualified – however this rule was removed in 1930 when the authorities
realised it wasn’t actually an advantage to knock over hurdles. The hurdles are
now set at 91.4cm (36 inches) high.
The start of the race takes place out of blocks, which are
mandatory at major championships due to false starting rules, which means
competitors need a strong start around the first bend to position for the first
hurdle. Hurdling is clearly another necessary skill to master, and particularly
important is efficiency – trying to minimize the energy lost over each hurdle;
for this, a small lean with the lead leg and a quick trail leg lever is
required. Due to the anticlockwise bends of the track, it is more efficient to
hurdle left leg lead as this minimizes the distance travelled around the bends –
this also lowers the risk of ‘trailing’, the act of bringing ones trail leg
around the hurdle in order to gain the advantage of not hitting it. The next
important aspect is rhythm, maintaining a stride pattern between each hurdle.
Good rhythm allows the one lap hurdler to take each hurdle in their stride and
not stutter (which costs valuable time and energy), and also to maintain a
stride-pattern for as long as possible, as time can be lost changing down
during a race.
The overarching attribute needed by 400m Hurdlers is what I will
call ‘speed endurance’. I say overarching because, if an athlete doesn’t have
speed endurance then their hurdling and rhythm can quickly disappear towards
the end of the race. Between hurdles 6-8 (220m-290m) athletes will reach the
lactic zone and, to succeed, a 400m Hurdler needs to be able to maintain their
stride pattern rhythm and hurdling technique through this lactic zone using
their speed endurance, which can only be developed through hard graft (running
reps until you drop!). It is this aspect of the event which normally leads to
it being called the ‘mankiller’ (see note 1).
Finally, an aspect that is perhaps overlooked is the mental strength
of the one-lap hurdler. Not only to push through and finish a race strongly when
both body and mind are tired, but more importantly to be patient with training
all aspects of the event, as a 400m Hurdler cannot be built in a day, in fact, it
can even take years to master the event.
Personally, I can only keep getting stronger at each aspect –
my start and my hurdling efficiency continue to improve whilst I continue to
enjoy the challenge of tough speed endurance work due to my mental strength and
desire; and whilst my rhythm on the dancefloor may be lacking (see note 2), I
can only practice my stride pattern over and over to find my race rhythm.
Notes:
1)
Personally neither I nor any of my friends have
ever been killed by 400m Hurdles or 400m Hurdles training, so please take ‘mankiller’
figuratively.
2)
Except when ‘That’s Not Me’ comes on…
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