I was working at the lake cabin one morning lamenting the end of both the high school and collegiate track and field seasons when I received a text from Reece Vega, a leading sprint/hurdle coach from North Dakota State University. Coah Vega wanted to talk about the differences in training between male and female sprint hurdlers and short sprinters. I texted back that I would give it some thought, and we could talk the following day. I told him that it would be a short conversation because I trained both groups the same. The conversation, however, wasn´t short, which is very typical of the trianing talks between Coach Vega and me. Not short at all. I was lengthy because after really not taking the time to ponder the topic at any length, I quickly realized that I trained men and qomen quite differently even though they trained and competed in the same disciplines. Vega, who was an assistant coach at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, prior to moving to NDSU, is very well acquainted with my training phlosophy, and he knew that I trained the two sexes differently. Like usual, he was excited to exchange and share numerous ideas and thoughts on training like we do on a regular basis. The sharing and networking of ideas concerning training is essential for coaches. I am incredibly grateful that coaches like Loren Seagrave, Gary Winckler, Dan Pfaff, Brent McFarlane, Tom Tellez, and Jim Bush were all willing to spend time and pass on information to me as a young coach who knew very little. Seagrave, Pfaff, Tellez and Winckler were all kind enough to do clinics over the years at the University of Mary. There is no substitute for soaking up knowledge from the masters of our trade. I am always reminded of the quote by the American journalist Margaret Fuller when I think of sharing knowledge: "If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it." An excellent way to put it. The objective of this article is to present some of the major training differences between men´s and women´s sprint hurdlers and short sprinters based on what I, and really, we (I always detest the word 'I' in athletics) employed at the University of Mary. Out training was nothin complex or profound. Our training was a process that worked for many, many athletes and it produced successful results over a long period of time. That, in my mind, is a hallmark of a great program.
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