300m Hurdles Pacing
How the world's best athletes pace the 300m Hurdles.
Rhythm Over Everything
The 300mH uses the same 45m approach and 35m spacing as the 400mH, but with only 8 hurdles and a 10m finish after H8. Coaches target a consistent stride count throughout — typically 15–17 steps between hurdles for boys, 17–19 for girls. Unlike the 400mH, the best 300mH races don't require a step-count transition. One rhythm, start to finish.
Max Nilsson's 34.83 national record (2024) was the first sub-35 in prep history. He held his rhythm through H6–H8, where most HS hurdlers start to break down.
The 10m Finish
Only 10m separates H8 from the line — the shortest run-in of any hurdle event, roughly 1.1–1.7 seconds. There's no time to recover from a bad last clearance. Coaches teach athletes to attack H8 and sprint straight through.
Pipeline to the 400mH
The 300mH is where most 400mH athletes start. The pacing habits carry over directly — holding rhythm, staying aggressive out of the blocks, not decelerating early. Sydney McLaughlin set the girls' national record (38.90) as a high schooler before going on to break the 400mH world record multiple times.