Racing strategy help

Most of my best races came from negative splits. If you think you're in shape to hold 5:45s, try going out in 5:50ish. You'll be able to pick it up.

As a point of reference, you shouldn't really think "this is getting hard" until 1.75-2 miles in. At least, that's what always worked for me.

Is this a race on the track or cross country? If track, then negative splits as suggested above are the way to go.

If cross country, it really depends on the course - for example, if the course has a big up- or downhill in the first mile, that will definitely cause your first mile time to vary accordingly. Also, is time your only consideration or are you also looking to place in the top 5, 10, 20, etc.? How the course is laid out can also effect race strategy - a course I ran in HS started on a track infield, then at the end of the straight took a 90 degree turn around a fence, with 3 of those concrete or metal posts to prevent vehicle traffic on the track. If you didn't get out fast in the first 120m you were stuck in a mass of bodies trying to negotiate the turn without getting de-groined by the posts. The point being, XC has many more variables than simply negative splitting.

yes its a hilly cross country course, its a team time trial, so it won't be a bunch of bodies, but top 7 is the goal, and I know everyone is going to go out hard, so I don't think sticking with the pack of kids trying to get 7th is best, I was thinking take it out slow- 5:50ish pace and then pick it up and pass them in the 2nd mile.

How many XC races have you run?

If you haven't run many XC races or missed last year, just try a 5:50 start.

If you have run more than a handful and have never gone out at the equivalent of 5:50 compared to 18:00, then this would be a good time to try it. It really doesn't matter if you are top 7 in September.

If you have run lots of XC races, and tried even pacing before and it hasn't worked, most likely you need to know more about what kind of shape you are actually in, more about how the course runs and more about your competition.

That means the first race of the year is not the one to try even pacing just use it to get an idea of where you stand.

yes, ive run cross country races before. last year I ran 17:40 as my best 5k with a 5:30 start, but I think starting out slower would be better. The splits were like 5:30, 5:50, 5:50, and then the last bit.

I'd start between 5:50 & 6-Flat and have the goals of no one passing me after 2 miles and not to stop passing people until I'm in the top-7.

You finish knowing you have a little more to give which will give you confidence during subsequent training and racing experiences.

Right because it doesnt matter who is top 7 in august, so its better to start slow and know I can do more than start in top 7 and die slowly

BeReal wrote:

EugenetheCarefulAxeWielder wrote:

Is this a race on the track or cross country? If track, then negative splits as suggested above are the way to go.

If cross country, it really depends on the course...

yes its a hilly cross country course, its a team time trial, so it won't be a bunch of bodies, but top 7 is the goal, and I know everyone is going to go out hard, so I don't think sticking with the pack of kids trying to get 7th is best, I was thinking take it out slow- 5:50ish pace and then pick it up and pass them in the 2nd mile.

I'd still like to know more about the course - does everyone start fast because the first mile is mostly downhill? If the last mile is significantly uphill, passing people may be difficult if you give them too much of a head start. What do the top runners usually split for mile/2mile/finish on the course? Maybe try to hit the mile 20 seconds or so behind the leaders. If the first mile is mostly downhill, you can run pretty fast without really exerting much effort so the real thing is to stay within reach of top 7 so you can make your move on them later in the race.

I'm not sure, ive never run the course before, but I know that it's slow, im not sure about hills, I know there is a large hill but its only for 2 or 3 min, unless we do 2 loops which would make 6 running up hill but very steep and then down hill quite a bit.

Would you say 20 seconds behind the guys I'm trying to catch or the leaders?

Hills are my strength I think, like I always kill hill workouts, I'm not very fast (I have a slow turn over), but I can beat them up hills would going up hill be a good place to make moves or would I just wear myself out?