When I decided I wanted to partake in the Tryoneer Pioneer challenge, I immediately thought about track and field. Growing up watching legends like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Brianna Rollins dominate in so many events, including hurdles, inspired me to give track and field a go. One of my good friends, senior Rheeya Sudhagar, came to mind as someone who competes in a relatively niche high school sport for the track and field team, and with nearly four years of experience, I knew I’d be able to learn the ropes of hurdling from her.
Early on a chilly Saturday morning, I met up with Sudhagar at the Conestoga track, where she warned me about the lengthy warm-up ahead. We started with a lap around the track before diving straight into dynamic stretches. I was already nervous about how my body would react as I’m not used to repeated, full-body jumping motions, but I pushed through the basics: lunges, leg swings, high knees and hamstring scoops. Then she introduced me to track-specific movements like A-skips and straight-leg bounds. After warming up, it was time for the real challenge: learning the proper form.
Sudhagar set up a series of overlapping hurdles in a tight line to help me practice the basic stepping motion. Right away, she began critiquing my form. I had to learn how to flex the dorsal muscles in my foot to get my lead leg over the hurdle while keeping it straight. I moved on to my trail leg, or my non-dominant left leg, which needed to sweep inward and behind me rather than hop over the hurdle like a ballerina, which was especially frustrating. She taught me to lean into my jump and naturally pump my arms with each step so the motion would feel smoother. When I practiced getting my lead leg over the side of the hurdle, I finally started to feel more confident.
Once I had the basics down, Sudhagar encouraged me to attempt a 30-inch hurdle. First, I tried it slowly, focusing on form, and then with a light jogging start. It took me dozens of tries to remember the proper form: flexing my foot, leaning forward, timing my final step just right before takeoff. But eventually, I cleared the hurdle. At first, I didn’t even realize I’d done it because I was so concentrated on the individual pieces of the motion, but Sudhagar excitedly cheered right away. She even filmed my next attempts in slow motion, helping me recognize habits I needed to fix, like my arms flying up like a bird mid-jump and my lack of forward lean.
By the end of the session, I was honestly shocked I had managed to get over a hurdle at all. Given my lack of jumping experience, I went into the day expecting to fail. The entire process took nearly two hours, and the sheer number of repetitions needed to train each leg’s movement was humbling, but the payoff was worth it. Although most of my muscles in my legs and back were sore after, I gained a new skill and a better appreciation for the patience, technique and determination hurdlers put into every race.
Lauren Pinheiro can be reached at [email protected].
