wearing a watch during a race

i wear a watch, but i dont use it. I just like having it on

football is overrated wrote:

I just wanted to ask how many people run with watches and how many don't? I normally do but I found it especially annoying last Saturday when I kept looking at the time and couldn't pull myself away from it. I want to try not wearing it but I'm also afraid without splits I might fall off pace. If anyone has any insight that'd be great. Thanks.

If it's an X-C race or a road race where you're there purely to compete, do NOT wear a watch.

If it's a road race with mile or km markers, do NOT wear a watch. It is useless to look at a watch at 23:36 into a race and be given zero feedback about where that puts you. Just wait for the next mile marker.

If it is a track race, recruit a teammate, relative, or a little kid to stand at key spots and shout you your splits. Or have a coach do it, or look at the clock if they provide one. Otherwise, there's really no need to wear a watch in any race.

I NEVER wear a watch racing - but that's just a personal ritual thing for me. I've actually chucked the watch at my coach's head while standing on the starting line because I forgot to take it off before that. Do you run in a lot of races that don't give split times? That would be the only reason a watch would really be necessary, I think.

Well for the races we run for XC we rarely get split times, only at conference meets and regionals (I don't come near making it to nationals). Tomorrow is a inconsequential meet so I think I'll give not wearing a watch a try to see how it feels.

Follow your heart...Run like an animal

I never did in college but, now as a masters runner, I do wear a Nike Triax. If it is a race 10k or longer, I like hitting my split button and checking it after the race. If the course does not have mile markers, I still will look at my watch as it gives me a guestimate on how much longer til the finish. It is also a good indicator whether I have gone out too fast or too slow.

I'm in college too... I guess it's usually my coach giving us our splits - I thought that was pretty standard.

Wearing of a watch during any race , psychologically prevents you from running to your true potential...go by how you feel, not what the watch says. You may find that it is actually holding you back.

K8...our coach is pretty hands off...I only started running my junior year (last year) and if I had chosen a college based on a coach, it would definitely not have been him. But we I do see coaches giving splits a lot...lucky

i wear a watch but dont use it i just liek wearing it, its comfortable since im used to training in it it feels liek you are naked if yo utake it off just for a race

i wear one but sometimes don't even start it, and if i do i only look at it at the end of the race since alot of races don't have finish clocks(or i just don't notice them) and i like to know my time right away without having to wait for results.

8k cross is a bit long for me so I wear it to make it feel more like a tempo for the first two miles, after that I don't look at it.

this whole thread deserves a bump

I agree with your post. I am a master runner and I like to study the splits after the race and see how it compares with previous runs on that course and overall performance. Sometimes I might glance at the time during a run. And yes it is useful when there are no mile markers to know how much further you have to go.

You can have just in case and no one forces you to look at it.

You wear a watch in practice so that you can hit your times accurately and get a feel for it. Do it enough times and you can hit the split you want without worrying about it. I like wearing my watch for races to get the split times so that I can look at them later. I don't look at the watch at all during the race.

Every runner in Track & News in the lead of the Boston Marathon is wearing a watch. I noticed that earlier today. I don't like athletes wearing a watch for a track race.

Yeah, it seems like wearing a watch for a marathon would be a good idea, but for anything 10K or under, you should be able to feel your pace. If not, do more workouts to teach yourself.

I do just cause I always wear a sports watch. sometimes I will use it even for a very short race if I haven't raced in a while and I'm worried I've completely lost the ability to pace myself.

ITs bad luck to where a watchduring a race didn't you know that