Maximize horizontal velocity. Minimize vertical displacement. Every part of the race is a calculation. During each hurdle, while moving at high speed, athletes have to jump at just the right height to clear the three foot tall obstacle without slowing down. Each hurdle approaches in rapid succession. At full sprint, there’s no time to think; athletes have to rely on the instincts they have trained during practice. One short jump can easily send an athlete crashing to the ground.
Sophomore Jocelyn Rog, who has been hurdling since eighth grade, works consistently on developing proper technique. Rog focuses on the little things. “stretching my hips [and] snapping my trail leg down after each hurdle … sometimes I get caught on a hurdle and it takes me out,” she said.
Most injuries in hurdling happen during these awkward landings, according to the study published by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute “Age and Sex Comparisons in Pediatric Track and Field Hurdle Injuries Seen in Emergency Departments of the US.” These risks highlight the importance of technique, strength training and most of all, consistency in preventing injury.
Rog got injured during her first ever race.
“I got stuck on the last hurdle and basically had to roll to the finish, but it messed up my knees. The track is not too forgiving and is basically like sandpaper or a cheese grater,” she said.
One of the most important parts of hurdling is maintaining three steps between each hurdle. Mess up, and the entire race could be ruined. As fatigue sets in, especially when running a longer event, stride length naturally shortens, forcing athletes to adjust their strides mid-race. Unlike a flat sprint, hurdling has far less room for error because of the obstacles. Every single step must land correctly to avoid losing momentum. Athletes have to practice maintaining consistent strides.
“The hardest part about maintaining a rhythm is taking the right amount of steps in between,” Rog said. “Three steps ensure you keep the rhythm with the same lead leg, while four steps force you to switch legs, disrupting the rhythm and making you think more.”
By the final stretch of the hurdles, the race becomes about endurance. As lactic acid builds and the legs grow heavier, what once felt automatic requires more deliberate effort and mental stamina. Hurdlers have to adapt instantly if the race isn’t going according to plan.
“If my stride gets messed up mid-race, I sometimes just have to embrace it and keep going,” Rog said, “but other times, if I am fully aware, I will do a double four stride to switch back to my fastest lead and trail leg.”
The motion of jumping over the hurdle creates a sort of “whip.” As the athlete jumps over the hurdle, the trailing leg stays behind, with the hip stretched to generate elastic energy like a slingshot, pushing the leg over the hurdle and helping the athlete return to sprinting form as quickly as possible.
Hurdling is ultimately a sport of precision. Compared to other track events, hurdling requires a much more specific rhythm. Each race is a test of consistency because even the smallest mistake can be a dangerous fall. The sport combines both speed and agility, requiring a talented athlete. To truly succeed, a hurdler must be more than fast; they must be exact.
