Racing for the win

Looks like you answered your own question. Don't start out too fast for you. Most HS kids start too fast. Keep them in sight and if you reel them in, you'll be able to pass them with strength while they are fighting to hold on.

Hs running guy wrote:

My league meet is coming up and there is 2-3 kids that have been consistently in front of me during races. I want to try to go for the win, however I'm debating on what the best way to do it is. Should I try to stick with them the whole race? Run my own first mile at a reasonable pace and then try to catch them? Or run within striking distance of them until mile 2. Running the first mile with them would most likely put me under 5 for my first mile and I'm afraid that going out to fast would kill me. However, I also don't want to start to far behind them and be out of the race. What should I do?

Your strategy depends on two things:

1. Your strengths

2. Their weaknesses

If they are stronger kickers than you your strategy has to be to dictate the pace and create a fast enough race that you will either be so far ahead of them that they can't catch you or you have tired them out so they do not have enough energy left to kick at the end.

If you have a stronger kick stick with them as best you can then out kick them at the end.

If you can't do either you need to face the fact that they are better and faster than you and you need to settle for 3rd.

How far in front of you have they been?

10 or 15 seconds, okay we have something to talk about. 30 or 40 or 50 seconds, not so much.

The point of the first mile is to not get trampled.

http://newhampshirecrosscountry.com/2016/10/03/senior-to-freshman-liz-danis-3/

You can waste a lot of energy during the first part of the first mile. Most championship courses will let you get an early deficit back between 0.5 and 1.5 miles. Do not start off with the leaders but make sure you are part of the lead pack by 1.5 miles.

Remember, even though she got trampled,

http://newhampshirecrosscountry.com/2016/10/03/senior-to-freshman-liz-danis-3/

she still finished within 6 seconds of her previous race time and the earlier race was a very flat course.

You don't have to move into contention until the middle mile.

Go out harder than usual and try to stay with them.

You may be afraid that going out too fast would kill you but you will never learn your limits until you push them.

You may learn that you can hold the pace better than you thought.

And if not, you will know more about yourself and how to adjust the next time.

Obviously running within striking distance is the best strategy BUT...

IF this isn't the last crack you have at them I would just "give yourself permission" to go out too fast and run with them until you fall off and die, or maybe you beat them.

Maybe you do go out too fast and by mile 2.5 you are toast. Well you learned your limits. So what, you go after them at the regional meet and take a more rational approach.

&YGasdd98yw4ruh wrote:

How far in front of you have they been?

10 or 15 seconds, okay we have something to talk about. 30 or 40 or 50 seconds, not so much.

The point of the first mile is to not get trampled.

http://newhampshirecrosscountry.com/2016/10/03/senior-to-freshman-liz-danis-3/

You can waste a lot of energy during the first part of the first mile. Most championship courses will let you get an early deficit back between 0.5 and 1.5 miles. Do not start off with the leaders but make sure you are part of the lead pack by 1.5 miles.

At the beginning of the season they were 20-40 seconds faster than me. We haven't raced each other in 3-4 weeks. However I believe I have closed the gap a considerable amount. The first mile I won't have to worry about getting trampled, there is only like 6 people in the race that have run under 17 before so even starting off at say a 5:05 mile wouldn't put me that far back in the race. I feel like starting to slow I would lose the leaders though.

20 to 40 seconds better than you!!! You think you have improved but in 3-4 weeks I wonder how you know that if you haven't raced them in 3 or 4 weeks??

If they are on your team and you are basing your assessment on practices you are in for a surprise because they may not be trying that hard in practice.

Sorry son...you have no chance to bridge that gap!!

If you are hanging with them DO NOT take the lead.

DO NOT take the lead with a mile to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 1/2 mile to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 1/4 mile to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 200m to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 100m to go.

DO take the lead with 10m to go.

Surprise is your ally. It's probably unlikely that you are going to run away from them. And, they will hold back and hold back and only use what they need.

Stay within striking distance but let them or him be convinced that you are barely hanging on.

Then strike when they have no time to react.

Let us know how it goes.

They aren't on my team but I've been monitoring there times. Yes I know all xc courses aren't the same but I've also been looking at who's been finishing near them in each race. I've been improving more than they have.

Bump

Time to chill bud, or you will get too wrapped up in this result defining you.

Be excited, but also sit back, and relax.

Get lots of sleep.

Don't race your workouts up to the event.

Definitely back-off and be fresh.

Get yourself to feeling fast and light.

Hs running guy wrote:

They aren't on my team but I've been monitoring there times. Yes I know all xc courses aren't the same but I've also been looking at who's been finishing near them in each race. I've been improving more than they have.

Elite Parent wrote:

20 to 40 seconds better than you!!! You think you have improved but in 3-4 weeks I wonder how you know that if you haven't raced them in 3 or 4 weeks??

If they are on your team and you are basing your assessment on practices you are in for a surprise because they may not be trying that hard in practice.

Sorry son...you have no chance to bridge that gap!!

Why have they been running and not you?

20 to 40 second deficit is huge. We are talking about 150 to 250m behind the winner!! These boys are in another league and 3-4 weeks of training is not enough to improve that much.

Enjoy the experience of running finishing 3rd in a XC race is a fantastic accomplishment. If you equate success with winning you will be disappointed.

Reboot runner wrote:

If you are hanging with them DO NOT take the lead.

DO NOT take the lead with a mile to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 1/2 mile to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 1/4 mile to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 200m to go.

DO NOT take the lead with 100m to go.

DO take the lead with 10m to go.

Surprise is your ally. It's probably unlikely that you are going to run away from them. And, they will hold back and hold back and only use what they need.

Stay within striking distance but let them or him be convinced that you are barely hanging on.

Then strike when they have no time to react.

Let us know how it goes.

Actually it's ok to take the lead at any of these points.

But when you do, make it a hard move and break them.

Its really hard for someone to handle being passed hard when they are hurting.

A gradually move they can hang with.

You will have to make the call about when and how to take the lead.

I like surprise and I like passing hard when they are hurting but neither is easy to pull off and both rely on ONE crazy hard push to the finish line that you decide when to unleash.

I think we can agree that if there are only about 6 or 8 of you in the lead pack, you don't need to go hard from the line, just start at a steady pace. Then slowly move up to the lead pack at the mile. Then hang on them until you decide to throw down your ONE big move.

RunDoc

you sound like a RW penguin runner. "hey just be happy to be out there enjoying the pretty sunshine and fall weather!"

No no no no.... this is about competition. I'm glad to see young people that want to sack up and race hard. Too many are just running XC so they can put something on a college CV.

Go out and race, and race hard son. Take it to em.

All these suggestions are mute points when this young man isn't even in the fight for the finish.

He's 200m behind so that means he does not have the pace to keep up in the middle of the race let alone for the finishing sprint.

He needs to significantly improve his aerobic capacity (which takes more than 3 weeks) to stay in the hunt AND he probably needs to improve his anaerobic ability to fight off the lactic build up he is going to suffer trying to keep up with these superior athletes.

He sounds like he has the heart but does he have the natural ability and the physical ability???

I say no not yet.

PS> Why have you not raced when these athletes in the same school series have?? Tat would be nice to know.

I think he's trolling

El Hefe wrote:

All these suggestions are mute points when this young man isn't even in the fight for the finish.

He's 200m behind so that means he does not have the pace to keep up in the middle of the race let alone for the finishing sprint.

He needs to significantly improve his aerobic capacity (which takes more than 3 weeks) to stay in the hunt AND he probably needs to improve his anaerobic ability to fight off the lactic build up he is going to suffer trying to keep up with these superior athletes.

He sounds like he has the heart but does he have the natural ability and the physical ability???

I say no not yet.

PS> Why have you not raced when these athletes in the same school series have?? Tat would be nice to know.

I think he's trolling

I've raced, just not in the same meets as them

I ended up getting 4th.

I took the first mile pretty hard, there was pretty much a single file line of the first 4 runners, and I was about 5-10 meters from the leader. Right before the first mile there's a pretty big hill (the course is a two loop course so I go up it again) and I came across the mile at 5:10. When we got to the downhill part of the hill the lead 3 runners had about at 10-20m lead. I closed the gap before the second mile and crossed the 2 mile at 10:34 and was about 5-10m back and then after that the leader took off, and the other kids followed. I tried to push but I was pretty dead and I ended up losing the most ground at the hill (which is about 600-800 from the finish) I ended up running a 16:48, the 1st kid ran 16:29, 2nd 16:34, and 3rd 16:38.

I race against these kids next week in our district meet so im going to try and change my strategy a little, and not run more than like 2-3 meters behind the leader and just try and hang on.