To those of you who have raced the steeplechase...

the steeple is awesome. But you cant be afraid, you have to attack the hurdles with the most aggression on the water barrier. it may be hard at first if you are stuck in the middle of a pack. Best thing is to either jump to the front of the race and hold on, run in lane 2, or find you way in an open space where you can see the barrier coming until you get better at jumping in traffic. Steeplechase is fun.... way fun.

For those who remember the term "rigor mortis"--as applied to running--the motto is: "There is no rig like steeplechase rig." Going out faster than you should is a bad idea in most distance races, but in the steeple the result is not that slowly-sinking feeling. It's more like stepping into rapidly-hardening cement.

A lot of people get success by cultivating a feeling of "flowing" through the race. This sort of contradicts the earlier poster who talked about attacking each hurdle. (I'm not counting the water jump, where coming into the barrier with a little acceleration does help.)

A good specific workout for the race is 800s over four hurdles per lap (doesn't have to be the barriers--regular intermediate-height hurdles are fine) and skipping the water jump. This really develops a sense of pace and smooth flow. Decent recoveries between reps.

Full disclosure: Although I trained for the steeple, I was injured (career-ender) before I ever got to race one. My remarks above come from my experience in watching, training for, and coaching others in the race.

lane 2 ? I would say If you are a bit nervous about the barriers.... count on moving WAY out for the first lap and a half. Depending on the size of the race, I'm talking maybe lane 4 or lane 5. After that you'll be able to slide down into the inside lanes. Attack the barriers and stepping on the barrier ....is OK. Have FUN!!

i second jean's opinion that there is no rig like a steeplechase rig. The first time I ran one I went out conservatively (extremely) and started picking it up after the first k. This allowed me to run a pretty decent time - close to the ic4a standard - on my first attempt. My second attempt, however, I was bound and determined to get that standard and I went out close to regional standard pace and with 800 to go rigged hard and bit it in the water jump. Moral of the story: it's going to hurt bad with 1k to 800m to go no matter what you do, but if you rig it's all she wrote.

As for event specific stuff, we never do much in terms of workouts over the hurdles. The pace you run at is relatively slow and therefore it is difficult to get quality in. We do workouts on the flat and end with back and forths. Do a stride with a hurdle-turn around and do a stride over another hurdle. And we do that over and over. Lots of L7 stretching. More strides over a sequence of hurdles. Lots of L7 stretching. Some plyos.

Be sure to add hurdle drills to your routine, at least 3 times a week. This would just include the basic drills you see hurdlers do. Just some hurdle-specific motion to get your hips and such into the motion and flexible.

Steeplechase fan wrote:

What is it like? Are you scared during the race? Do you have nightmares about breaking your face the night before? What event specific work do you do to prepare? Having experienced the event, do you feel that the steeplechase should be a legit event or is it more of a roller derby bloodsport sort of thing? If the latter, do you feel that it has pay-per-view potential? Does it occur to you often that a simple mistep could mean totally thrashing several of your competitors and possibly ruining their careers? Thank you in advance for any replies. Real steeplechasers only please...

If you are athletic then the steeple is no big deal (although exhausting in a different was from a 1500 or 3k.). If you are like a lot of my teammates that I always consider thoroughbreds (i.e. skinny and generally weak, but can run forever) who are not agile then I can see why it would be a nightmare.

Yes, it's important to have good coordination, athleticism and body control. I've talked to people who think that because they can jump they'd make good steeplechasers. Not true, because even at the water barrier you aren't really 'jumping' but mostly having a strong push off the face of the barrier.

Jersey is right, the water barrier isn't about having the explosiveness of a longjumper. I have a pathetic vertical and the water jump is my strongest point. The steeple as a whole, and the water jump specifically, is all about conserving energy and maintaining flow. That's why you see many steeplers whose form over hurdles isn't that superb; they're just trying to maintain momentum. The same holds true for the water jump; you don't need to jump as far as possible; rather you should focus on jumping in a way that helps you maintain your flow and keep from having to re-accelerate coming out of the pit.

Probably not a good event to try if you're injury-prone or have lower leg/foot issues. It's pretty easy to get banged up in steeple if you race it too often during the season. That being said, it's a great race for athletic-type runners.

I learned to "step" the hurdle with a light tap with one foot instead of actually hurdling it. Seemed to save me some energy for the rest of the race. I wasn't great, but I certainly enjoyed the race. There is no give to a steeple hurdle. They hurt like hell if you hit one.

Soft Cast wrote:

...it's a great race for athletic-type runners.

Which is why I still think Alan Webb could be great in the steeple (though even better in triathlon, but that's a different rant): He's just a solid, strong athlete for whom 8:00 pace (for the flat 3000) is ridiculously comfortable.

I'd love to see him give it a go, but I suppose it would have to wait until 2010--this year, there's too much at stake (income-wise).

Jeepers is right. So many steeplechasers at the college level have no hurdle form, but are relavtively successful because they're strong between barriers. IMO rookie girl steeplers make the race look miserable.

I ran it last year. It can really screw up your lower legs if they're not prepared. I had to take off 4 months for plantar fasciitis because of it, and some of my teammates have had the same problem. Because of this, it is very important you stretch and strengthen your feet and calf muscles as much as possible.

Hurdling can cause you to pull a hamstring too, so you want to try to increase flexibility in your hams.

Of course any hurdling drills will help.

As for the race, it's actually much easier to do safely than one would think. In order to hurdle correctly, you have to be running at 70s/400m pace or faster, so most beginners have to accelerate into the barriers, especially the water jump.

If you're the class of the field, you probably want to go ot the front of the race, but otherwise the back of the pack is actually a good place to be. People really fade after 2k, and it's very easy to pick them off.

When you start to get tired in the steeple, you wuld swear that the barriers are growing taller. You need to be able to race at different paces. Yes attack the barriers and the water jump. It will seem like a lot of starting and stopping as opposed to the steady pace you can get into for a 5k. And don't daydream or that nex hurdle will be on you beofre you know it.

Doesn't take the fastest runner or the tallest or most athletic to be successful. But I loved running it because the fans will stick around to watch the steeple, hoping for a wipe out.

And, someone is bound to wipeout at the water barrier - early in the race when it's crowded or later when people get exhausted. I've never been afraid of falling or tripping, I worry more about the inexperienced hacks at the start of the race. It can get pretty cluttered with everyone jockeying for running room. I just want to protect my space and have a relatively clear view of the barriers.

You also have to be comfortable with a healthy amount of incidental contact not disrupting your rhythm or concentration. I had the pleasure of racing quite a few steeples in California in my college career and raced a lot of the same group of guys over a period of several years. With the knowledge that the people in your pack are just trying to put in their best race and stay out of trouble, the steadying hand on your arm over a barrier or pushing a competitor out a bit coming into a barrier so everyone gets over cleanly becomes just another element of the race and not a distraction or interference with your race. The "brotherhood of the steeple" really was one of the fun parts of my college racing.

Well said. Our guy steeplechasers in college had good comraderie with other steeplers in the conference. On the girl's side it felt like there were two extremes - the ones who were scared and wanted it to be over, and the ones who prefer to run you over. Obviously I'm generalizing. Although, it's easy to draw a line between the two when you look at results. I probably lean towards the side of being a little chippy when I race, but only to protect space. I would NEVER try to take someone out.

Steeplechase fan wrote:

Are you scared during the race? Do you have nightmares about breaking your face the night before?

Scared? Nightmares? That's all I need to know to tell you that the SC is not your event. In fact, distance running in general is probably not your forte.

You might consider selling Girl Scout cookies or something of that nature to satisfy your competitive urges. (I am assuming you are a female. Either that or a neutered male.)

Thank you all of you so much for the replies so far. I didn't expect there would be so many of you with such awesome replies. It sounds like many of you bring more of an American football/boxing mentality to the race which is so cool imo. Do you guys and gals tend to have more experience playing other sports than the 1500-10k athletes?