The usual hurdle race distance is 120 yards, with 10 flights of hurdles 3ft. 6in. high and 10 yards apart. This gives a run of 15 yards at both ends. The quickest way of getting over them is by taking them in stride, or technically bucking them. If the ground is firm and level, this can be done, and three strides will take the jumper from hurdle to hurdle, the fourth taking him over. Should the ground be uneven, slippery or heavy, great care is required in bucking them. Touching the top bar will inevitably be followed by a fall or a stumble sufficient to put the jumper out of the race. In bucking, the spring is taken from one leg, and the alight comes on the other; so that the jump, instead of being an actual interruption of the regular strides, as happens when the spring and the alight come on the same leg, is merely an exaggerated stride. The advantage of bucking is apparent to anyone who has tried both systems under favorable circumstances, and who is strong enough to bear the strain which the high hurdles require. The lower the hurdles are, the greater is the superiority of bucking over jumping. To acquire the art of taking the hurdles in stride, practice over jumps about 2ft. 6in. high, at the proper distance apart, until the style is learnt.

HARRY VAUGHAN, The Famous English Long-distance Walker.