It’s also the part of the race where you establish your rhythm and tempo. For the first hurdle, elite males will take as few as twenty strides, but the key is to take a number of strides that will allow you to establish a quick turnover and to take off from a comfortable distance., “The most valuable skill you can teach a developing hurdler is the ability to alternate lead legs over consecutive hurdles,” according to the late Ralph Lindeman from the Air Force Academy, a coach who was a noted hurdle authority., The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lanes the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly spaced around the , According to WARBURTON (1985), one of the most important parts of a 400m hurdler’s technical skill is the ability to hurdle confidently with either leg leading over the hurdle, because it enables a smooth transition in stride pattern during the course of a race, thus preventing the unnecessarily fatiguing problem of over or under-striding., The Lead Leg The lead leg is the first leg to clear the hurdle. The Lead Leg action is initiated by a strong knee drive until the knee just exceeds the height of the hurdle. At this point the lower leg extends directly in front of the athlete to clear the hurdle., Proper sleep, nutrition, water intake, ice baths, foam rolling, and stretching(daily) are key components to effective recovery and better performances. Recovery (cont) The 300 and 400 hurdles are mostly anaerobic events. In fact, the breakdown seems to *90% anaerobic and *10% aerobic..