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Can anyone give me some information on 400mH stride length for a 5'10'' 400m hurdler who can hurdle with both legs but likes using left on the corners. In practice I can run 16 to the first 5 hurdles then I change down to 17 until the last hurdle which I take with my right. I have duplicated this 16 steps once in a race when I had a large tailwind at my back, and I have yet to run 16 since. I have run 48.92 400m and at 53.98 400mH. I ran this 400mH time by just taking the taking the first hurdle with my leg and the second with my right and then after that the pace I was running judged what leg I took the hurdle with.

This is very frustrating Can anyone please help.
Does anyone know the strides between hurdles for Flelix Sanchez and Bershawn Jackson? These are hurdlers with a similar height and weight to me.

The problem with your comparisons with Sanchez and Jackson is that they both can run under 1:50 for the 800 meters and under 46 for 400 meters. Being concerned with your stride pattern is important, but what are your splits through the first 5 hurdles? Here are some rules of thumb to help you formulate a model of 400 hurdle consistency:

1.
The time between the first and second hurdles compared to the time between the 9th and 10th hurdles. The difference should be less than 1.0. If it is higher, you went out too fast.

2.
The difference between the 1st 5H and the last 5H. That, too, should be 1.0 or less. A well paced 400H race is the key.

3.
There should be a 2.5 second or less difference between the 1st and 2nd 200's.

All of these things represent a well paced race model. But two hurdlers could run a 15 stride pattern all the way, and even though they are both the same height and weight, one could run 51.00 and the other run 54.00.

Strength and power levels, speed, speed endurance, and hurdle abilities all play important roles in the race. If you can run sub 49, and your hurdle race isn't around 52.00 to 53.00 flat, you need to examine all of the areas I have highlighted. I hope this is of some help to you.

Coach Veney

Thank you for you help, it's appreciated.

Thank you for you help, it's appreciated.