Three Stepping

[whisper]

Hey I'm a soph girl in high school and I just started hurdling this December but really like them and would like to try and get a lot better at them. In winter... I was a little messed up, I ran a whole lot of sucky races which would include me three stepping one or two and then five stepping the rest and sucking. But towards the end of the season I got a little better and out of the 5 hurdles would three step two or three and four step the rest. Which is alright I guess and my time was a 9.8. But in spring of course we run the 100 hurdles which is 10. I have pretty good form according to my coach and pull through quick and stuff but I don't know I can't get the three step down. He says I can make it and I know I can but I end up not "running" it but kind of bounding in between and only three stepping about 2. Is there anything I can do to improve this and be able to three step the whole race at the end of the season? Thanks.

[great white dope]

Um, I guess if you just want to get your three step down, what you basically have to remebr what to do is to get your lead leg down as fast as possible. If you get it down fast enough, then your trail leg should be level and low enough to the hurdle to just swing it through, It's basically, the faster you get your elg down the more it'll pull your trail leg through. But if you want to get that trail leg to swing around fast and keep running, you need it low and level to the hurdle. Once you get it down, it'l lreally emphasize the idea of just stepping through the hurdle (the quickness of the legs going down and pulling you) as oposed to jumping.

Here, whatch his legs go over and down: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-fppcu-3sf0&search=hurdle

[NVJumper13]

i agree with great white dope that one of the most important things you need to do is get that lead leg down and trail leg through quickly. don't make your first step a two foot step. another problem could be your technique. we have a girl on our team who has the same problem. she can three step the first gap, but loses all her speed because she isn't staying low enough and jumps too close to the hurdle. how tall are you? not that height is an excuse(we've had girls under 5'2" 3-step well), but if you are short and a beginner hurdler you might want to 4-step if 3 is causing you to bound too much. just keep at it and it will get a lot easier, trust me.

[JustFlash]

Height has little to do with it.

In practice something that will help is to move the hurdles a little closer together to make 3-stepping feel more natural. Move them further apart as you go. In practice, if the only way for you to three step is to overstride, even if you don't feel fast doing it go ahead and do it that way. (but if competition, don't, 4-stepping would be better for you until you get it down) Just don't think you can get away with 4-stepping for long, you will never compete with the best girls around you 4-stepping.
As for actualy going over the hurdle, don't be afraid to hurdle a little further from the hurdle than you are used to. Coaches say it all the time "attack" the hurdle. If there is a battle between you and the hurdle, you will win ;) , so don't be afraid to attack it.

back to the height thing. Look at Gail D., arguably the best female (short sprint) hurdler EVER; she's 5'3". We have a couple of guys at my school 6'0 - 6'2, they have the same problem as you do, they can 3 step one or two (or four) in the race but can't really be consistent with it, whereas I'm only 5'7 and have been three-stepping since I was a frosh (when I was 5'6). I'm not trying to toot my horn but my point was, if you are short, just don't let it get to your head.

[WR_Hurdler]

When I started hurdling I had the same problem...Fun isnt it?
You should be taking off from the hurdle at least 5 feet ahead. Depending on how much taller or shorter you are that will vary. Consider how much room that leaves for actually running between them? Not an overwhelming amount. If you come off the hurdle and assume your regular running stride, 3 stepping would be no problem. That is unless youre not going fast enough. Youll need the momentum from the sprinting part to get you over it as well. If your bounding and then trying to get over the hurdle in addition to that 5 feet, youll quickly and quite possibly painfully find out it doesnt work. Once you can get comfortable with it though, you can fall into a rhythm of sorts and sooner or later it will only be natural for you to take 3 steps.

[HurdlesRock]

hey this might be a dead issue, i dont post on this board much. i had the same problem the past two years. i had good form, but i just never could get a whole race. Then one race i got out of the blocks good and i was competing for the lead, and i just went into autopilot. since i run XC i have absolutely no explosiveness, and that is what held me back, i was never running full speed. i would work on your start and your first 8steps to the hurdle, really trying to get up to speed as fast as u can, if u have good form over the hurdles, you should be able to pull that trail leg through and maintain ur speed.