Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

When training high school athletes for the 300IH - is it recommended to have them count their steps between hurdles?

Any pros or cons to this concept?

yes it is.

cockysprinter - 07 June 2007 11:00 PM

yes it is.

Agreed!  I personally think that the intermediates are one area where you want neurological sterotyping...set rythm patterns.  Counting steps assists the athlete in establishing these rhythms and stride patterns.  1,2,3,4...12,13,14,over!

Thanks for the feedback…

My daughter ran the 300IH for the first time last season - and when I look back at the videos of several of her races - she was all over the place on stride counts (and lead legs naturally).

I suggested to her to try to get into a consistent stride count and rhythm - at least early in the race to help her be more consistent and to help her anticpate her lead leg more effectively.

She struggled to run this race consistently - either running the front half too fast (only to fade the last 50-75M) - or pacing herself too much and then having to chase her opponents down the final stretch.  Either way her times were about the same - within a 10th or two.

Unfortunately - they really never practice or model this race at practice - so she tends to "wing it"…

Thanks again for the feedback and confirming what I suspected.

I know this thread is old, but if anyone is searching this post in the future it may be nice to have another opinion in this thread.

I disagree. I have found that most high school athletes can not stick with the same stride pattern from one race to the next. If the athlete can hurdle well with both legs and attacks the hurdle there is no benefit from counting strides. There are a lot of variables that can throw a stride pattern out of whack for a HS athlete â?? wind, rain, better competition or getting in better shape to name a few. If you could work with the HS athlete 9 months out of the year like a collegiate athlete they may be able to stick with a stride pattern. What I am saying is that MOST HS athletes cannot do this. A HS athlete that knows how to hurdle well with both legs can run the 300h and never stutter before the hurdles. They can also run consistent races.

I'm with you, JedS.  For most HS hurdlers, I think it is much more profitable to teach them to hurdle with either leg. 

JedS - 20 November 2007 10:39 AM

I know this thread is old, but if anyone is searching this post in the future it may be nice to have another opinion in this thread.

I disagree. I have found that most high school athletes can not stick with the same stride pattern from one race to the next. If the athlete can hurdle well with both legs and attacks the hurdle there is no benefit from counting strides. There are a lot of variables that can throw a stride pattern out of whack for a HS athlete – wind, rain, better competition or getting in better shape to name a few. If you could work with the HS athlete 9 months out of the year like a collegiate athlete they may be able to stick with a stride pattern. What I am saying is that MOST HS athletes cannot do this. A HS athlete that knows how to hurdle well with both legs can run the 300h and never stutter before the hurdles. They can also run consistent races.

Ideally, having a race stride pattern and knowing how to hurdle with both legs is the best way go. Good races have good race strategies. Stride patterns are necessary in order to know when an athlete should increase their strides during a race so they don't stutter. Although, teaching someone to hurdle with two legs can be more time consuming than teaching them race strategy.

Yes, conditions will change because weather is unpredictable. There is weather.com and you can check winds in advance and use race strategy to talk about different possibilities for the race.

JedS - 20 November 2007 10:39 AM

I know this thread is old, but if anyone is searching this post in the future it may be nice to have another opinion in this thread.

I disagree. I have found that most high school athletes can not stick with the same stride pattern from one race to the next. If the athlete can hurdle well with both legs and attacks the hurdle there is no benefit from counting strides. There are a lot of variables that can throw a stride pattern out of whack for a HS athlete â?? wind, rain, better competition or getting in better shape to name a few. If you could work with the HS athlete 9 months out of the year like a collegiate athlete they may be able to stick with a stride pattern. What I am saying is that MOST HS athletes cannot do this. A HS athlete that knows how to hurdle well with both legs can run the 300h and never stutter before the hurdles. They can also run consistent races.

for those that arent fast it might work, but if you want to run the 300 fast i suggest counting steps.

Counting is ideal on any level.  It is a good tool to learn early on.  Be aware some athletes can do it naturally and others have to learn how to count.  You will also run into those that just are not comfortable counting, it is a distraction and they lose focus on actually running.
Generally, what you will get is counting in practice and just a blind run in the races, which is okay as long as they have the rhythm of their race and know what leg they are supposed to take each hurdle with. 

I have worked with athletes that count and that don’t count with equally good results. The most important thing is that you are proficient in using either lead leg. In high school athletes there are too many variables to get the count right all the time, it is more important to be able to clear the hurdles without loss of speed, using either lead leg.

I also like to coach (HS) athletes to count.  I like the rhythm that counting can instill in their minds.  Yet, I also agree with Coach that there are way too many variables (like wind, temperature, warm up, etc.) to rely on the count each and every time.  So being able to clear the hurdle with either leg without the loss of speed should be the main focus.