Over the past 50 years, women’s distance running opportunities have drastically improved. Since the 800-meter race returned to the Olympic Games in 1960, equality is finally being reached with the gradual inclusion of women’s distance events. Until now, one hurdle remained. Next summer in Beijing, women will compete in the Olympic steeplechase for the first time, an event available only to men for over a century. The steeplechase, which combines strength, speed and endurance, originated in England in the mid-1800s. According to Simon Vroemen’s Web site, the idea evolved from the equestrian sport in which men rode horses on a course involving several obstacles. Halifax Wyat, an Exeter College student, held the first steeplechase footrace, which was soon followed by a race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. In 1900, the men’s steeplechase was added to the Paris Olympic Games. Progression in the women’s steeplechase has been much slower. This was mostly due to variations in hurdle height, water jump and race distance specifications. Less than three years ago, in January 2005, the International Association of Athletics Federations finally added the event to its IAAF World rankings. This led to the inclusion of the 3000-meter women’s steeplechase in the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics. Jenny Barringer, 21, a track and cross country runner for the University of Colorado, is a United States Olympic team hopeful. Barringer is the 2007 USA Outdoor champion. She ran a winning time of 9:34.64 at the meet, along with qualifying for this year’s World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Osaka. Although she did not make the final in Osaka, Barringer saw it as a good learning experience for international competition. She went on to win gold at the 2007 DecaNation Championships September 12, running a personal best time of 9:33.95. She said she takes her goals day by day and is currently focused on the remainder of the 2007 cross country season. “When I finished Japan, I went straight into cross country season,” Barringer described. Last year at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Barringer was the runner-up behind Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego. This year, Barringer wants to close the gap. However, she said her biggest goal is to win the team title. Barringer said training year-round has been tough, but the support from her teammates helps. “I hope I’m a positive role model,” Barringer said, “My number-one goal is getting the team there. I really love cross country because of the team aspect.” Prior to college, Barringer started running in elementary school on an after-school team. She then competed in local road races during middle school, but did not train seriously until high school. She claimed she did not commit to hard work until her sophomore year, but her school’s athletic director, Jay Getty, noticed her potential as a freshman. Getty was the cross country coach before he became athletic director, but after that year, he returned to coach Barringer. “I really admire my high school coach,” Barringer said, “He’s someone I look up to.” Getty trained and ran with Barringer for the rest of her high school career, until she joined the Buffaloes. Barringer and Getty remain close friends today, but she said he now lets head CU cross country and track coach, Mark Wetmore, do the coaching. Before her freshman year of college, Barringer had never heard of the steeplechase because she did not have the event at her high school. With Wetmore’s encouragement, she ran her first race at Stanford with a respectable debut time of 10:19. Later that year, she won the national meet and has improved ever since. Barringer thinks she is talented and versatile in many events, but she currently excels at the steeplechase. “There is an element of strength and power in steeplechase,” Barringer explained. In training, steeplechase athletes focus on strength work and additional drills with endurance running. During the off-season, base endurance and strength are built. The endurance days are easy runs and stretching. Strength days include some light jogging and stretching, followed by hill repetitions. Training is enhanced if the athlete competes in cross country during this time. Closer to the track season, drills are incorporated to practice each element of the steeplechase. A 3000-meter race consists of at least 28 barriers and seven water jumps. In order to prepare for the upcoming season, athletes practice hurdle drills, plyometrics and mobility exercises to strengthen their shoulders, core, hips, legs and ankles. According to the Everything Track and Field Web site, once the racing season begins, speed endurance training is emphasized with workouts designed to develop lactate tolerance. Hurdle drills are still practiced, though not necessarily as frequently. The steeplechase is a tactical and often unpredictable race. After the first lap, each lap contains four fixed barriers and a barrier with a water jump. The women’s height for all of the barriers is 76.2 centimeters (30 inches). Due to the “T” shape and weight of the barriers, they do not tip over like other “L” shaped hurdles. Runners can hurdle, step off of or vault the barriers. Most will hurdle the track barriers, but step off of the water jump barrier. The athletes must be prepared to lead with either leg. Barringer said she has seen each technique for clearing a barrier used in a race. “I would advise somebody to find how they are comfortable,” Barringer said. ”Every woman is individual.” The women’s steeplechase is quickly developing as records fall. Barringer said she has big goals for her future running career. “I want to pursue a professional running career,” she said. With the steeplechase as an Olympic event in 2008, the future looks bright for Jenny Barringer and women's athletics. Image Courtesy fast-women.com