DPS article

Steeplechase is a track event in which you require a unique blend of multiple talents. As a steepler, you will need the finishing speed of a sprinter, the stamina of a cross-country runner and the strength and flexibility of a 400m hurdler. Because of the specificity of this event, you need to develop large amounts of strength, skill and flexibility. These skills can be developed in a variety of different ways, from strengthening and conditioning sessions in the gym to develop strength, mobility work to aid your flexibility over time and technical sessions to perfect you barrier hurdling and water-jump technique.

One of the first phases of beginning to learn how to steeplechase, is to learn how to hurdle. This should be done in the speed endurance phase of training over the winter. Technique, volume and rhythm are the key aspects of this phase. Muscle memory drills can be done in relatively high volumes, twice a week at most. These drills should be combined with wall drills and actual hurdling similar to that used by intermediate specialised hurdlers.

Rhythm hurdling is most effective after a long run, an example of this would be to run 4 miles at a moderate pace, and at the end of the run, come on to the track and run a steady 800m with 4 hurdles per lap. This will enable the athlete to feel how they would during a really steeple race. The lactic acid in the athletes legs will show the trueness of their hurdling technique. Intermediate hurdles should be used for this as the athlete will be very fatigued and these hurdles will fall over when hit, however a steeplechase barrier will not! The coach should emphasise an early take off on approach to each hurdle, to enable enough clearance room when hurdling proper barrier, this also keeps your hip line as flat as possible over the hurdle/barrier. The athletes lead leg should be on it’s way down as the athlete goes over the hurdle. This will insure consistent rhythm so the athlete spends less time in the air.

Phase two of steeplechase training will feature in the next issue of Running Kernow. Here we will talk about the importance of mind-set when competing.

Heading: Thrill of the chase.


Pull quote: "Rhythm hurdling is most effective after a long run"

Model, crew and equipment list

For my images I will use athletes from my athletics club as my models. I will ask everyone for their permission  to take their photograph before the competition begins. I will be taking all of the images and I will use the cannon 5D mark 3 to take my images on. I may also use a reflector and flash to aid the lighting of the images.

Location list

For my location, I would like to use the track as a backdrop for all of my images. However, I think I will use different tracks, as It will give the magazine more variety. The track I will have my photo-shoot at, will be Par athletics track. I do however have some images from the Allianz stadium in Copthal, which I have previously taken and would like to use in my magazine. I think location plays a big part in a photo-shoot as the background makes a picture. With track images however, it is hard to get a good background as you cannot move the track. I will try my vest to choose the best spot however it may prove difficult as moving images are hard to capture.

Shot list

For my front cover image, I would like an image like the one to the left of this text. I think a long shot is best as it fills the whole page nicely. I like this image as it shows the track and the background view. The main focus of the image is the athlete, which is the theme of the magazine. The colour the athlete is wearing has set the colour palette for the front cover, I would like to do something like this with my magazine as my club colour is burgundy which is one of the colour in my chosen colour palette.

My contents image will feature one athlete. I like this image and think I will try to get a low angled long shot of a sprint start for mine. I like the action of the shot and I would like to capture this for my image. I think a picture like this will show the intensity of the sport and the effort of a start. I think this angle and shot type will also give the page a creative flare.

A wide-angle image like this, would feature well on my double page spread as it shows the whole water, giving the reader an idea for the event. I have chosen steeplechase for my main double page spread article because I think I can get a really good image of this particular part of the race. I like the way the water is a big part of the image, and I feel you can be very creative with there image you take.

Mood Board

This is my mood board for my magazine, I have chosen a burgundy and green/yellow colour palette and a simple sans-serif font. I have included some images of what I would like my front cover to look like (Running times magazine) I like the masthead of this magazine as i think it is very eye-catching. The 'Glamour' contents page is similar to something I would do as I like the idea of just one main image, however I may include a few minor images. The two black and white double page spread images at the bottom of the page, are very similar to the idea I have had for my double page spread, however I will feature only one main image for this. In conclusion, I think I have created a very simple, yet effective house style for my magazine and I believe it will work well for all of my pages. This colour palette fits with Hebdige's theory of 'youth as trouble' and 'youth as fun.' This is because the colours are bright and bold which is trouble to look at, yet the youths will see the colours as fun and inviting.

Final masthead

This is my final masthead design, after asking many people, I decided to go for a simple, yet bold design. I like this font because it grabs the reader's attention. For my magazine I think that I will keep the colour this way around, however I do think it would look just as good with 'RUNNING' in black and 'KERNOW' in white. I have used black and white as it links to the colours of the Cornish flag which is a black and white cross. I think this minimalistic detail gives the magazine a hidden effect that you have to read in to, to understand.

Font styles

Front cover:

For my front cover, I will use very simple sans-serif font to make my text easy for my audience to read. My masthead will be in a font called 'Cleanwork'. This font is a military style font but is popular with sports and running magazines in particular. I think that having all of my coverlines and minor text in a regular sans-serif font will make my masthead stand out and draw my audience's attention to my magazine. All text will be in upper case, as that is the style of the font I have chosen to use. My magazine has a laid back style and my aim is for it to be an easy read, without overcomplicating coverlines or too many colours on the page.
I will take inspiration from the title below for my masthead.

Contents page:

My contents will feature the same sans-serif font as my front cover. This is to keep withy laid back, easy-to-read theme. I would like to use different colours for the first part of my headlines to the descriptions to give you a clear separation between each headline. I will feature a subscription box in the bottom left hand corner with a contact number and some text in the same font about how to have your magazine delivered etc. The font used will be in upper case as that is the style of the font I have chosen to use. I would like to match my font with the one used on my font cover as I want my magazine to flow throughout each page. I woukld like to use a simple font like the example below for my contents page.

Double page spread:

The font on this page will be slightly different to the others in the sense that it will be in black and white, with possible some of the same green used on previous pages. This is because I intend to use a black and white image to give my double page spread a more dramatic feel. The font itself will again be in upper case as it is the same one used on my front cover and double page spread. My headline will be a different font as I would like to make it unique and interesting for the reader. I think the font will look good because my article is going to be small as that is what the people in my survey decided. A font like the one displayed below would give my DPS a creative different look to the rest of the magazine and will make my title stand out.