I'm 13 and i'm doing the 1500 steeplechase, any advice?

Question

im not usually a 1500 runner, but i am good at distance hurdles

Answer 1

So you are a 300 hurdler and want to move up to the steeple?

Wow, I take my hat off to you. Since you already know how to hurdle, you'll do fine on those barriers (but it gets a lot tougher when you are fatigued, so be careful not to crack your knee on one — those beasts do not give).

The water barrier is another matter. Ideally, you want to put your lead foot on the cross bar and push out so that your next step lands in about 6-12 inches of water and your third step comes down on the dry track — ideally — but most young steeplers aren't that strong. Chances are you are going to go off the beam and into pretty deep water.

Advice? Don't go swimming! But you will get wet. Your spikes will be full of water. Your thins will be saturated. Don't wear a tee-shirt under your uniform! Wet chothes are heavy!

But the water breaks your fall from the jump, and that's a good thing. Take small steps to get up and out and drive right on.

I like the steeple, even though I never ran it when I was at my best. Even if you are out of the money (not going to place and score points), it's still a great race because you always have a challenge to surmount (there's always one more barrier in front of you to conquer).

Also, if you're moving up from long dashes to the steeple, remember you need to increase your heart/lung ability. That's done by running lots and lots of long workouts called  "continuous aerobic running" (CAR).

If you can't resist the challenge of the steeple, plan wisely for next year. Go on lots of long runs. Find some hills. You need  strength and power for the steeple, so don't neglect your long interval training — repeat 400s and 600s, for instance.

And this fall, cross country is a must. You make me proud, kiddo!