Long Jump

Long Jump: This event is just high jump on the X-axis. This event is like the "800 meter run" of the field events meaning that everyone ends up doing this field event. This event requires a lot of speed and a good broad jump. The goal is pretty obvious, to see who can jump the longest. The event is usually in the infield or in a separate area away from the track. The long jump area consists of a runway and at the end a worn, withered board that the long jumper has to jump off of, and after that board you have a long patch of uneven sand that you land in. Now if you step a tad bit over this board it's called a fault and your jump is not counted. You get 3 jumps so make sure your steps are down. Now maybe you're thinking why don't they rake the sand so its even? Well I don't know, maybe everyone working long jump is already preoccupied with other things like measuring the jump or spotting the person measuring or maybe even supervising the whole thing. I don't I guess someone will have to investigate one of these days. For the withered board, however, it just gets withered due to exposure to the elements and over time it obtains its gnarly look. I just wish we'd replace it like every two years so it isn't so slippery and dangerous. Also you never know how wide the board is going to be. Some meets the board is like 5 inches wide and at another it's like 2 ft. A good thing remember is the board width changes from place to place so be wary.
Now that I'm done talking about the board let's talk about the technique and approach of long jump. Like high jump, long jump also requires a set of steps that you guess and check on. Once you've found your steps you mark them out with chalk and do a few run-throughs. These are running your steps as fast as you can but instead of jumping you just run into the sand. It's very important once you hit the board to really exaggerate your running movements by maybe making a grunting sound and by stepping aggressively and flailing your arms. All the best athletes do this. I seriously don't know why but it apparently works really well for getting warmed up.
Once you've gotten your steps down and you've ran-through a few times you're ready. When you get to the actual jump at the end it's not all about powering forward. I've heard Laura Dahlquist yell many a time at how you got to get up and out at the same time. I mean saying you need to do both is way easier than actually doing it. When the competition is going on and the pressure is mounting down on you it gets hard to do both. If you're William Spence, Cadillac's best long jumper/sprinter for the 2013-2014 season, this is easy as 1 2 3. When it comes down to it just make sure you relax, say a little prayer and envision Todd Baker yelling these relaxing and soothing words, "Just Jump!"