Why do high school runners suck at pacing?

"The only tactic I admire is do or die"

Herb Elliot

"The best race pace is a suicide pace and today is a good day to die."

Steve Prefontaine

I've only run three XC races so far but I'm rather guilty of this

Granted I won all three, but I could probably run a little faster if I weren't opening in 5:08 and coming back in 5:50 for mile 3

This never happens on the track, however. I've never burnt myself out in the first 400 or 800, my 800 splits are almost always within 2 seconds of each other (Except in one DMR where I was purely racing, split 70-77-77-62 to pull third place)

Too bad Wilson Kipsang didn't heed those advices.

Had he gone out in 1:01 flat, he could have broken 2:03. He was such a wimp.

whatsmyname wrote:

While there is some "stupidity" in it, I also think it's more admirable than the cautious way some adults approach their road races. Is it more stupid to go out at 5:15 for mile 1, 5:45 for mile 2, and then just die with a 6:45 in mile 3 vs. doing a nice even 6:00 for all three miles? 17:45 is still faster than 18:00. Sure I do know you don't optimize your time by running so fast early, I also suggest that the cautious adult runner is also sub-optimizing by running too slow early on.

Also, there's competitiveness that adults seem to lose to some extent. These kids want to beat everyone they know whether teammates or kids they know from other schools. Older people seem to be more comfortable with getting beaten. Maybe it's less stupid but also less admirable.

I disagree, but I am not a young guy who thinks he knows everything like you do. Adults know what they are capable of, and have a competitive spirit, despite what you say. I know many adults (over 40) who win the local races. The problem with older people trying to run an even pace is that they are capable of doing it well, but a slow start might be far too slow and make them run a comfortable run instead of a challenging race pace.

To answer the actual question, well, not all high schoolers suck at pacing, but I guess a lot do. It will depend on the maturity of the athlete, and it will depend on what kind of coaching the high schooler is getting.

Here's what I think: all people in a race, with the goal of competing, and not just finishing, should have a goal pace in mind when both training and racing. If, for example, it's the beginning of a season, it's okay for the pace to be faster than what you can currently do, but it should be a pace you think you can hit sometime soon for a race. Then, your training should be geared toward being able to hit that pace in a race. Throughout the season, you should go out at your goal pace...perhaps a bit faster would be okay, as it is tough to totally resist adrenaline. Anyway, the rest of the race, you basically just try to keep pace, and give it all you have for the last mile.

I think there's something to be said about just going out and competing. True, it takes courage to go out and do it, but is it the best and/or smartest way to race? I think that over time, one learns how to go out at a reasonable pace for each race. Obviously you have to compete to some extent - keep your other competitors in mind. But it's smart to know their current race results, and what they're likely to run as well, and whether you would be smart to go catch that guy. Obviously if you feel good with a mile left of a 5k and you are on pace, well, you should pick it up. But one should always have a goal pace for a race. It just doesn't make sense to go out at 5:00 and scratch and claw your way to a 18:00 5k. Or even 17:00 for that matter. If you want to run a 17:00 5k, you should be pretty darn close to 5:28 for the first mile. Simple physiology shows that if you're capable of a 17:00 5k, but not faster, then it will be detrimental to start out much, if any, faster than 5:28 pace.

OK, that was long. But there's more to racing than just being competitive. Know your capabilities, and race accordingly.

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