How to Determine Your Stride Length to the First Hurdle

When you walk leisurely, your stride length is roughly 0.415 of your height if you're male or 0.413 of your height if you're female. When you run toward a set of hurdles, your stride will be significantly larger because you extend your legs to run quickly. Athletes measure their stride lengths during training to track their growing efficiency. Runners tire as a race progresses, and their stride length decreases as lactate builds up within their muscles.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the distance from the starting block to the first hurdle. For this example, imagine that this distance is 30.96 meters.

    • 2

      Count the number of strides that you take as you reach the first hurdle. For this example, imagine that you take 18 steps to reach the hurdle.

    • 3

      Divide the distance by the number of strides: 30.96 ÷ 18 = 1.72. This is your stride length, measured in meters.

    • 4

      Optionally, multiply this answer by 3.3 to convert it to feet: 1.72 --- 3.3 = 5.68 feet. This is equal to 5 feet and 8 inches.