According to IAAF rules, a 3000-meter steeplechase includes 28 hurdle jumps and seven water jumps. There are no jumps on the first lap. Each subsequent lap includes five jumps, the fourth of which is a water jump. The jumps are evenly distributed throughout each lap.
Unlike standard hurdle events, steeplechasers must go over each hurdle and cannot knock the hurdles down. Men’s hurdles are 914 millimeters (36 inches) high, women’s are 762 mm (30 inches). All hurdles, except at the water jumps, are 3.94 meters (just under 13 feet) wide. Water hurdles, and the water pits themselves, are 3.66 meters (12 feet) wide. The beginning of the water pit is 70 centimeters (2.3 feet) deep and slopes up to a depth of 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) at the far end. So the farther a steeplechaser jumps, the less water he or she encounters.
