No Obstacle

One of the first things I learned running the hurdles in high school was that the goal wasn’t to jump over the hurdles but run over them. That is, ideally you cleared the hurdles in a fluid motion that hardly slowed your momentum. This was easier to do in the sprints where you took only three strides between hurdles. Once the starter gun sounded, there was no time to think. Thinking is rarely of any use in a race. All that went through my mind in the sprints was, “1-2-3-UP, 1-2-3-UP, 1-2-3-UP.”

It was different in the longer races where there were thirteen strides between the hurdles. Well, hopefully there were thirteen. If my attention drifted and my stride shortened a little, I’d be too close or too far from the hurdle and then there was nothing else to do but actually jump it. If you jumped more than one, you’d lost. That was embarrassing. Out there in the sun hopping over the hurdles like a rank beginner, all your training and speed and strength absolutely useless because your mind went somewhere other than the race for a few seconds.

I don’t think it was an accident that I chose to run the hurdles. Having a race filled with obstacles at regular intervals I had to clear made sense to me. Also, I looked upon the hurdles as my advantage. How fluidly you cleared them, more than your raw speed, determined whether you won or lost. I always assumed that if the hurdles were removed, most of the guys I beat would have finished before me.

In those days, each school was expected to bring their own hurdles to meets. I’d drag four onto the bus, and then carry them off once we arrived. As I wandered onto the track, I’d look around for my competitors, the only other guys with their own obstacles in hand. Someone else always set them up, which was good. That way, the race had the illusion of a challenge placed before you, rather than something you chose, carried, and depended on for victory.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence.
You can find William at: williamkenower.com