1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hurdle Racing

HURDLE RACING, running races over short distances, at intervals in which a number of hurdles, or fence-like obstacles, must be jumped. This has always been a favourite branch of track athletics, the usual distances being 120 yds., 220 yds. and 440 yds. The 120 yds. hurdle race is run over ten hurdles 3 ft. 6 in. high and 10 yds. apart, with a space of 15 yds. from the start to the first hurdle and a like distance from the last hurdle to the finish. In Great Britain the hurdles are fixed and the race is run on grass; in America the hurdles, although of the same height, are not fixed, and the races are run on the cinder track. The “low hurdle race” of 220 yds. is run over ten hurdles 2 ft. 6. in. high and 20 yds. apart, with like distances between the start and the first hurdle and between the last hurdle and the finish. The record time for the 120 yds. race on grass is 153/5 secs., and on cinders 151/5 secs., both of which were performed by A. C. Kraenzlein, who also holds the record for the 220 yds. low hurdle race, 233/5 secs. For 440 yds. over hurdles the record time is 574/5 secs., by T. M. Donovan, and by J. B. Densham at Kennington Oval in 1907.