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How exactly do you race? (Read 1049 times)

JakeKnight


    I know this seems like a blisteringly dumb question: but how exactly do you "race" in a race? I run against the clock and against myself. I'm not fast enough to be actually competitive or start at the front of the pack, where I'd actually be trying to beat other runners. I've never even tried racing one particular person; at best, I might pick out some stranger in a pack and race them, with no idea how fast or slow they might be. I'm guessing most folks here are kind of the same: running against PRs, not against each other. But in discussing elsewhere a future cataclysmic confrontation with a couple uppity girly-girls , I realized I don't actually know HOW to race. I mean even the fundamentals. I have no clue how to do it. There are endless discussions here about training regimens and nutrition and even about maximizing personal efforts ... but not much about how to win a race - even against just a few specific people. So how do you experienced racers do it? How does it change things to be competing specifically against someone, rather than just running your own race? I'm guessing it could have a significant impact, since you'd be reacting to someone else instead of listening to your own body. I'm guessing there are some obvious mistakes to avoid. At some point I hope to be fast enough to actually compete at local races, and in the meantime it might be useful knowledge if I ever have the stupidity courage opportunity to face my arch-rivals nemeses friendly running buddies in an actual race. Any advice on basic racing strategies and tactics? Or a link to a site that discusses them? Thanks.

    E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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    Wingz


    Professional Noob

      Great question/ thread idea, Jake! /eagerly waits to hear magical answers that will make me faster... Big grin

      Roads were made for journeys...

      JakeKnight


        Great question/ thread idea, Jake! /eagerly waits to hear magical answers that will make me faster... Big grin
        That's actually one of the things I'm curious about: would racing someone of comparable (or - yes, Tanya - slightly better) ability make me faster? Or would I end up running slower trying to run at someone else's pace? One thing I know is that sometimes weaker runners beat better runners by being smarter and using better tactics. Or at least that's what the commentators on TV seem to think. How do they do that? And "racing" doesn't necessarily have anything to do with any particular speed: I'm thinking the strategies and tactics would be similar whether its world-class athletes or a group of 8-hour marathoners trying to beat each other to the finish line. I just have no clue how it works. And maybe there are no secrets, but I'll bet there are some things you can do wrong.

        E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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        Dave

          This is going to be a good thread, I hope. I have no clue but I suspect the answer varies alot by the length of the race. I sort of imagine the top marathoners laying our their strategy on pacing and tactics. Deciding whether to go out hard and break the will of their competitors and risk collapsing or sticking behind and drafting their competition only to sprint past at the end (and I'm sure lots of variations on these themes). I used to race bicycles but I pretty much sucked. Looking forward to those faster, more experienced, and craftier than myself to lead us to the promised land Big grin

          I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it.

          dgb2n@yahoo.com

            I have been running for 3 and a half years. I have no shot at winning an entire race unless there are less than 40 runners. I try to get a medal which is usually for the top 3 in my age group. More often than not I don't get a medal but if I get top 5 I accept that as a plus. I am trying to break 20 minutes in a 5k. That is my top goal. Once I break that I don't know if my racing strategy will change. If I see someone my age group in the last mile of a race I tell myself I have to try to pass them before the end. It is very difficult but when I pass them I do so convicingly and I don't remember anyone ever passing me back. I pass them with a good bit of distance left in the race (quarter mile or so) and try to get some distance on them in case they have strong end kick. As far as trying to stay with people faster than me...not really. If someone is 30 seconds faster for a 5k that is too fast a pace to be running out of the gate. I might try to stay within 15 seconds of this person by the end of the race if that makes sense. The main goal is to not run alone. By keeping with pacers it makes 5ks much more manageable.
              This is not one of those things you can learn about on the Internet. And I'm not being a wiseass. And it doesn't matter at all how fast you are. Seriously, the best thing you could do for your running is to find some folks about your speed and race them with some frequency. Find a local 5K series this summer and make it a weekly grudge match. Racing is the simplest form of sport on earth. Your instincts will take over. And it's a blast.

              Runners run

                I try to come up with a goal time before a race, figure the splits and run my own race. Over the last mile to half mile, let go and try to make a push for a PR. Sometimes if I see someone who is a little quicker than me I will try to keep pace as long as it doesn't take me too far off my game plan.
                Trent


                Good Bad & The Monkey

                  This is not one of those things you can't learn about on the Internet
                  Double negative intended?
                    Double negative intended?
                    No. I'm a little fuzzy just now.

                    Runners run


                    The Greatest of All Time

                      I race against the clock. I never ran in high school so I don't know what it's like to be elbow to elbow on a track and strategizing a race. But, if it's a shorter race, i.e. 10K or less and I see someone out in front of me I will try to reel them in and I try to never be passed at all costs. Example, I did a 5K this morning and the conditions were pretty crappy being cold, very windy, and on a gravel path so I knew my time was not going to be great. In fact I ran it with my warm-up jacket on. Not a running technical jacket but a big heavy warm-up. In the gaggle at the starting area I found myself standing next to this guy about my age that 'looked' like a real runner. He had all the gear on, stood about 6', and probably weighed about 155. Before the gun went off he was my target. I didn't care about my time, but if I had this guy in my sights I was going to run him down. The race start was a typical cluster fu*k but at about the 1/2 mile point I saw the back of his jacket about 50 yards in front of me. I ran him down soon after we hit a mile and he went with me because I could hear him breathing over my left shoulder all the way through the second mile. There was no one near us and the closest person in front of me was more than 100 yards away. With about 3/4 mile to go I grabbed another gear and he dropped off as we were running into a really cold and strong head wind. He finished more than 30 seconds behind me, so that was a 'race victory' to me. I don't consider myself to be nearly as competitive these days as I once was, but today felt really good. I wanted it more than he did, or maybe he wasn't even 'racing' against me as I was him. Maybe he didn't even notice me. I don't know, but that fact that he matched my pace when I went by him and drafted for a mile made me think he was trying to beat me. Either way, I think it made me reach a little deeper than maybe I would have. That's how I race.
                      all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

                      Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.
                        Seriously, the best thing you could do for your running is to find some folks about your speed and race them with some frequency. Find a local 5K series this summer and make it a weekly grudge match. Racing is the simplest form of sport on earth. Your instincts will take over. And it's a blast.
                        What he said. If you want to find some runners that race at about your pace, take a look at the folks ahead of you as you cross the three mile mark of a 5K. Reel 'em in or die trying. One of the many things (besides beer at Hookslide Kelly's) that I love about the weekly Good Times 5K series is the standings. You see the same runners wearing the same numbers, and you know who your competition is. The winter's almost over Jake, c'mon up this way and run with us damned Yankees starting on April Fool's Day. MTA: Damned nice job down in New Bedford Mikey, congrats.

                        E.J.
                        Greater Lowell Road Runners
                        Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

                        May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

                        Teresadfp


                        One day at a time

                          Here is what my 15-year-old-son says. He finished a 5k today in 16:56, 12th overall and third in his age group. His time exceeded USATF Age-Group Guidelines. I would recommend finding out what you are able to do for a time in the race you're going to run, and then running the first split according to your goal pace for the entire race. Then you should try to negative split after that. With any luck, it will be easier to PR. If you're struggling to accomplish this, I would suggest looking ahead for someone and then attempting to catch up to them. If your competition inhibits the way you're able to run the race, you might try repeating some kind of chant to stay focused. In the last half mile or so, and especially with 0.1 miles to go, you should begin to kick - the major motivation for this burst in speed is just to finish the race! If you find that it is very easy to put a lot of energy into your kick, you might try running the first part of the race faster the next time.


                          The Greatest of All Time

                            Here is what my 15-year-old-son says. He finished a 5k today in 16:56, 12th overall and third in his age group. His time exceeded USATF Age-Group Guidelines.
                            Temp threadjack...tell your son congratulations for me! That's awesome.
                            all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

                            Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.
                              I've been running for 8 years. I'm not that fast (17:44/36:38), but I can tell you that no matter how much you want to beat someone, you're usually going to do it by running your own race. I'm a slow starter but I run a fast second half. If we run a race and finish five seconds apart, odds are that I probably couldn't see you until halfway or two-thirds into the race. I'm not going to try and chase someone 2 or 3 kilometres into a 10k, I've run enough to know that 10k is a very long distance. In the best race I ever ran, I wanted to beat a couple of friends in a 10k. This was very important to me. Despite that, we started together and they left me behind after about a mile. I caught up to them at 5k, we ran the next kilometre together and then I beat them both by over a minute. They'd gone out way too fast, and 'racing' them all the way would've been idiotic. As for when you get down to the last mile or quarter mile and you're trying to beat someone, you have to know what your capabilities are. If you don't have great speed, and most people don't, I'd turn it into a long, gradual push for home with a decisive break maybe 200 metres out. The trick in racing is knowing when to start that final push. You don't want to go too soon, and you don't want to leave it too late. Each race is different and each person is different. Experience is the best teacher, not a message board. Watch this video of American Bernard Lagat at the World Championships last summer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=P0hkE4qhPrg&feature=related Lagat ran in fourth place for most of the last lap, but he had great positioning on the outside. Ramzi took second, but he might have won if he didn't trapped behind Korir and Kiprop, the two Kenyans, and have to waste time moving outside. Lagat was older than everyone else in that race by at least a few years, and has two Olympic silver medals to go with about a dozen years of international competition. That's the value of experience. Lagat only had the 8th fastest time of the year of the 12 guys in that race. The best way to learn is to start playing around with tactics and see what happens. If you spend a few races learning in the spring and summer, you'll be pleasantly surprised in the fall.
                              rlemert


                                Runner's World had an article earlier this year on how to "blow away the competition" - i.e. exactly the question you're asking. The key take-home message was "know yourself and your competition." You want to go with your strengths as much as possible while forcing your competition to go away from theirs. If your competition is known for having an unbeatable finishing kick you DON'T want the race to come down to the last quarter-mile - your competition will blow your socks off. In this case you might want to go out hard about a mile out from the finish trying to get away from him/her and hope you can hold out till the finish. If you're the one with the kick, though, hang on their shoulder until the last quarter - then let fly. Some other random comments dredged from my limited memory: - When you pass, do so with authority. Make it look like you have plenty of energy to put it in another gear. - Try to 'break contact'. When you get about 10-15 yards ahead of someone they have a tendency to 'give up' on staying with you. - When you're in your final kick, concentrate on pumping your arms! Your legs have been doing all the work for most of the race, so your arms are fairly fresh. They'll be better able to answer your "call to arms" (sorry), and your legs will follow just to maintain your balance.
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