Hurdles

the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint.

Definition of hurdle

1 : a barrier to be jumped in a race.

An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.

2 : hurdles plural : a race in which runners must jump over barriers.   

Hurdle competition is not running and leaping, but making running leaps over the hurdles. You do not jump over the hurdle. Instead, as you reach the hurdle, you lift your legs and tuck them up so that they barely clear the top of the crosspiece.

What do you call a person who takes part in hurdle?

The sport of racing over hurdles is called hurdling.

a person or horse who takes part is called a hurdler.

Basic rules of hurdles

Runners must remain in assigned lanes throughout a race, and, although they may knock hurdles down while running over them, a runner who trails a foot or leg alongside a hurdle or knocks it down with a hand is disqualified. The first hurdler to complete the course is the winner.

What is the hardest track event?

The 400m hurdles is considered to be the most demanding of all track events. In addition to the 400m sprint, which in itself demands full muscular activity, the physical strength and skill to jump over 10 hurdles is also required.

Types of hurdles

Hurdle competition is not running and leaping, but making running leaps over the hurdles. You do not jump over the hurdle. Instead, as you reach the hurdle, you lift your legs and tuck them up so that they barely clear the top of the crosspiece.

Traditionally, there are two types of hurdle races—the 120-yard (110 meter) high hurdle and the 440-yard (403 meter) intermediate hurdle. The hurdles are 42 inches (1.06 meters) high in the 120-yard event and 36 inches (.91 meters) high in the 440-yard event. The distance from the starting line to the À rst hurdle is 49 1/4 yards (45.03 meters). The ten hurdles are placed at 38 1/4-yard (34.9 meter) intervals across the running lanes.

Stages of hurdles

a 100m/110m hurdle race can be divided into three phases:

1. Starting line to the third hurdle (Acceleration)
2. Fourth hurdle to seventh hurdle (Top speed)
3. Eighth hurdle to finish line (Deceleration)

Starting Line to Third Hurdle:

This is the phase of the race in which the athlete is accelerating toward full speed. Often, we think of the “start” as being the approach from the starting blocks to the first hurdle. But the athlete is still accelerating well after the first hurdle. He or she continues to accelerate through the second and third hurdle, and doesn’t reach full speed until the fourth hurdle. Likewise, it is ideal that the hurdler not reach full height until the third hurdle as well. If a hurdler is too tall too early, he or she will reach top speed too soon, and therefore begin to decelerate after the fifth hurdle or sixth hurdle instead of after the seventh hurdle.

Fourth Hurdle to Seventh Hurdle:

Here, the hurdler has reached top speed – has shifted gears, so to speak. If the first phase of the race has gone well, the hurdler now feels like he or she is “rolling,” and the greatest danger lies in the possibility of running up on hurdles and getting too crowded. To master this phase of the race, it’s important to practice over five or six hurdles in practice to get used to the increased speed in order to learn to “dance” between the hurdles. No more than six reps would be advised, because too many reps will decrease the speed and ruin the point of the workout. A lot of the time, this phase of the race is where the better hurdlers pull away from the pack. Their sprinting speed is part of the reason why, as well as their ability to attack the hurdles aggressively without compromising their speed, which is a matter of courage and discipline. Inexperienced hurdlers will slow down to avoid crashing. Hurdlers who lack foot speed and have to stretch their strides to reach the hurdle will generally begin to lose ground in this stage of the race. The lack of foot speed makes it impossible to keep pace, regardless of how good their technique may be. Such hurdlers need to either focus on the long hurdles or do a lot of quickness drills to improve their leg turnover.

Eighth Hurdle to Finish Line:

This is the “uh-oh” stage of the race, when mental breakdowns can occur and technical flaws will be exposed. Reflexes slow down, and hurdlers may lose their ability to react to the barriers. It also becomes more difficult to recover when hitting hurdles. But for the well-prepred hurdler, “uh-oh” doesn’t have to come into the equation. There is no way to avoid decelerating in this stage of the race. The key is to stay relaxed in the uppoer body, to maintain efficient sprinting form between the hurdles, and to maintain efficient hurdling form over the hurdles. Coming off the last hurdle to the finish line, it’s important to make sure you clear the last hurdle before dashing to the finish line. We all know what happened to Gail Devers in 1992, but she’s not the only one that has happened to. With automatic timing and photo finishes, it’s essential to lean into the finish line at the precisely correct moment. I’ll never forget how Terrence Trammell’s lean in the 2004 Olympics earned him a silver medal when he could’ve finished as far back as fourth if he had leaned too late or had ducked down his head instead of pushing his torso forward.

The best hurdlers don’t have a “weak” phase of their race. They get out well, they maintain their speed, they stay in attack mode even when the hurdles are rushing up at them, and they stay relaxed and focused when fatigue sets in. Running a good hurdle race is very, very difficult. It requires constant practice of all the race’s phases. When all the phases come together in a fluid, seamless manner, oh, what a beautiful feeling.

Reference:-  https://hurdlesfirstbeta.com/

See also:- Steeplechase, Relay race