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A hurdler will tell you that 36-inch barriers are no big deal, really; regular hurdles are half a foot taller. Who cares if these don’t fall over when you kick them, right?
A distance runner will tell you that 3,000 meters is about what they run for a warm-up. They don’t sweat it.
Only a fool would tell you that the 3,000-meter steeplechase is easy. To go nearly two miles at a furious pace with four unforgiving and immovable barriers on the track is definitely something to worry about.
Throw in a formidable fifth barrier with a pool of water on the other side and things start to get interesting in a hurry.
“It’s sort of daunting to distance runners. Looking at the hurdles and then thinking about going over 35 of them, seven that have a water pit, turns most people away,” said junior Miles Bartlett.
Bartlett became the current University of Maine record holder in the event after finishing third at the 2008 conference meet with a time of 8:53.69. The women’s record, set in 2003, stands at 11:09.58.
“The steeplechase requires everything: endurance, speed, good jumping capability and, most importantly, a few loose screws in the head,” he added.
“More than anything,” Bartlett stressed, “the steeplechase takes a high pain tolerance. In any other athletic event you can put your head down, get into a rhythm and keep going. This doesn’t happen in the steeplechase.
“When you hurt in this event, there is no coming back. It’s short enough to be raced fast, but long enough to make the terribly painful stage last a considerable amount of time,” Bartlett said.
Although UMaine’s distance runners have improved tremendously from last season with the additions of freshmen Riley Masters, David Currier, Corey Conner and Hilary Maxim, among others, several of the distance men and women are hesitant to consider the event. Even those who are most comfortable with the length of the race are wary of the toll it takes.
“I think [3,000 meters] is a great distance, but I am so nervous for those hurdles. I feel like I would eat it so hard,” Conner said. “I think I’d like to try it, maybe, but I don’t know if I have the guts for it . those hurdles scare the crap out of me.”
The fifth barrier stands at the same height as the other barriers, but on the other side sits a 12-foot-long pool of water, which slopes upward from nearly 28-inches deep to level with the track.
“The water pit poses a problem that most people wouldn’t think about until they’ve tried it,” Bartlett explained. “The impact of landing on the ground is quite large. It can lead to a feeling of being jammed up during a race, which can lead to decreased leg turnover and slower times.”
Black Bear men and women alike are intimidated by the event for several reasons.
“I’m pretty clumsy and I could only see it as a disaster for me, especially when I got tired and would not have the strength to jump over the barriers,” said junior 5,000-meter runner Jordan Daniel.
“I have this unnatural fear of tripping before one of the jumps and smashing my face,” said junior distance runner Corey Bean. “I doubt I’d be very good at it. There’s a certain natural ability required for the steeplechase that I don’t have, but Miles definitely has it.”
UMaine fielded two male and three female steeplechasers during the 2008 outdoor season. So far in 2009, Bartlett and junior Brendan Carr have returned to steeplechase competition, and they have been joined by freshman Chris McGary.
“It is such a monumental race . more physically demanding than any race I may ever run,” McGary said. “It is a completely different demand from your body . the barriers just get taller every lap.”
Bartlett’s main aim is to lower his record from last season and qualify for the Penn Relays. So far, though the hurdles are lower and the pit is shorter, no UMaine woman has competed in the event.
The steeplechase was created in Ireland, where riders would race horses from a church steeple in one town to a church steeple in another, jumping over creeks and low stone walls along the way. Steeplechasing was adapted for the track in 1860 at Oxford University and has been an Olympic event for men since the Games were revived in 1896. The women’s steeplechase was added to the Olympics just last year.
The current men’s world record is set at 7:53.63, while the women’s record, set in its inaugural Olympic appearance, is 8:58.81.?
While it may not be the most popular event, it certainly commands a great deal of respect from everyone in the track community, including Bartlett.
“As a runner who has run almost every event, played almost every sport and actually competed in the steeplechase, I can tell you as a matter of fact that anyone who says that it’s not the most grueling event either doesn’t know what they’re talking about, or is completely full of it.”
