Racing Strategy Number Uno

There are a plethora of racing strategies that one can learn over the years, but I believe there is one that is the most important to learn. This strategy would be to embrace your competition to bring out your best. How do you embrace your competition? The best way is to run with a group or behind someone that is of like ability or slightly better for most of the race. The race would go something like this.

1. The first 100-200 meters, i.e. the first straightaway, get out at a solid pace! Not an all out sprint, but faster than race pace. This puts you into a good position. If you never get into a good position from the start, it is vary hard to establish that position in the middle of the race.
2. After the start where you get yourself into a good position, you need to find someone that you can run behind. Sometimes you actually know who this might be and other times it might be someone you are not familiar with. This person or group needs to be running at a pace you are meant to be running or slightly faster. Don't get caught behind someone that is running to slow or is running way to fast.
   
3. As the race develops, i.e. between the start and the finish of the race, you might need to find someone new to latch onto if the person you have been behind is slowing down. This means you might need to pass the person you have been following and work your way up to someone that is not slowing down. As you stick with someone, a great thing to focus on is their back, feet, or arms. Just focus on that object and listen to your body. If you can pick up the pace, pass this person and find someone new. If you can't pick up the pace, stick to that person.
   
4. For a 5k the finish is the last mile of the race. It is NOT the final straightaway where you can see the finish. At this point in the race it's important to really start to push yourself. For most this is 5-7 minutes of really intense running. Within the last mile you need to start picking people off and always work towards the next person ahead of you. In the final straightaway keep picking the pace up and sprint through the finish.

On the cross country course where there are a lot of runners in one race this is the number one race strategy to perform at your maximum. On the track where there are less runners, there are different strategies to work on, i.e. negative splits, even splits, leading, etc. Going into your cross country races, put time aside and focus on how to race your competition. Leave times/splits for practice where you will learn what that pace feels like.

I can say from first hand experience that if you go into your races with this mindset you will more times than not perform well and even beyond your current fitness.

Leave times/splits for practice and embrace your competition on race day!