Ashton Eaton will take a break from the 10-eventer next year to rest after three intense Worlds/Olympic seasons. He does plan to defend his World Indoor heptathlon title in March, but then look for the Duck alum in a new event outdoors. Yes, even though the 25-yearold never has run it before, he’ll move to—the 400 hurdles. Says coach Harry Marra, “To set the record straight, here’s the deal: fun! It will make for great targeted 400 training outdoors that will have tremendous carryover to his 400/1500 skills come 2015–16 in the decathlon.” Marra adds, “Will he have a complete year of preparation for the 400 hurdles? No. We will target it starting in [late March] and go from there. It’ll be fun. “However, he will be pole vaulting, long jumping and running the 100 and 110 hurdles in selected outdoor meets too. The season will continue as long as he wishes.” Says Eaton, “I’m good at the 400 and the hurdles are athletic, so I thought, ‘Let’s try the 400 hurdles.’ [But] I also really want to get into that pole vault action.”
