Exit and Approach to the First Hurdle in Competition

The difference with the pure sprint start

The heel start in a hurdles race shares fundamentals with the 100m sprint, but has different tactical objectives.

While a sprinter tries to stay low and accelerate progressively for 30 to 40 meters, the hurdler has an immediate physical constraint: the first hurdle, located only 13 meters (in 110mv) from the starting line. This makes it necessary to modify the [drive] phase.

The hurdler must accelerate urgently, but must also raise his center of gravity much earlier.

By the eighth step (usually the take-off step), the athlete must already be in a high and upright body position, ready to attack the barrier.

It is not possible to clear a hurdle efficiently from a crouched posture of pure acceleration; hip height is required to project over the obstacle.

The eight-step pattern

The standard approach to the first hurdle for most athletes consists of 8 steps.

This implies that the leg that is placed on the back heel will be the attack leg.

The sequence is: start, 7 steps of increasing acceleration and an eighth step in preparation for take-off.

This pattern provides a proper balance between speed generation and technical placement.

However, very powerful or tall athletes may feel that 8 steps leave them too close to the fence, forcing them to [trim] their natural stride.

For these cases, it is possible to adjust to a 7-step pattern, which requires reversing the feet on the cleats (attack leg on the front cleat) and generating tremendous power and stride length from the first support.

Cue adjustments for elevation

To facilitate this accelerated transition to a high stance, coaches can make subtle adjustments to the block configuration.

One technique is to raise the inclination of the pedals or slightly delay the position of the blocks relative to the line.

Specifically, raising the front block position one point can help the athlete project his or her hips a little higher from the first impulse.