How do I race my 3000m?

I'll take any help

Just come through the mile 10-15 seconds slower than your pr and then run off that. Or, work out what you need to go through the mile for an 8:50 and run as evenly as possible. You should feel good through the mile but it will start to hurt after that.

As for the 1500 45 min later just recover as best you can.

fxhjb wrote:

Just come through the mile 10-15 seconds slower than your pr and then run off that. Or, work out what you need to go through the mile for an 8:50 and run as evenly as possible. You should feel good through the mile but it will start to hurt after that.

As for the 1500 45 min later just recover as best you can.

Thanks! I think I need like a 4:45 mile to get 8:50

4:45s = 9:30.

- 35 sec closing = 8:55.

Depends on who you're racing really. If you're in a race where you know it will likely be much faster than 8:50 for the winner or you're probably the fastest in the race, then I'd probably try to even split it so if you're feeling good with a few laps to go you can ratchet up the pace a little lap by lap. This seems to work well when done right, some examples would be some of the BTC races over the winter chasing Olympic qualifiers or the two Oregon guys at the indoor NCAA meet. In the 1500 Cole Hocker knew he could run faster than everyone else so he just kept the pace fast and slowly ratcheted up the pace over the last several laps to drop all the slower runners an avoid an upset. If you think you are evenly matched though with the other top few guys, just race but use the 8:50 even split race plan to help you monitor the early pace and know if you should just tuck in and follow or you should ignore everyone else and just move to the front and hit your splits.

If this is a team event like a conference meet or state meet where you are trying to help your team place high and every point counts, you might want to take a slightly different approach. Knowing you'd consider 8:50 a good race, know the pace to hit 8:50 but focus on putting yourself in position to get the most points. In the case where 8:50 might win, just put yourself in front and avoid pushing the pace too early to anything faster than your goal pace, but cover the surges of others within reason. If 8:50 might net your team just a couple points, avoid going out too hard but stay in contact with the first 8 runners. Knowing you're pacing will enable you to better judge the early effort. The key is to be in a position over the last couple laps to get in front of as many other people as possible.

Going out hard with the leaders and dying doesn't do that, it's why in cross country you don't see the NAU guys going for the win at nationals but playing the odds that if they run smart, a good race will give them the highest probability of a good team score rather than going for the low probability great race and risk a more likely bad team score.

Lastly, if you find yourself going faster than planned early in the race but feel good don't panic. Just take a deep breath, then settle into a nice sustainable rhythm, listen to your body and ignore the clock.

Sham 69 wrote:

4:45s = 9:30.

This is a 3000m so just under a mile

Thanks! This will help quite a bit. It's just a normal race and I'm running unattached, but I believe i may be the fastest in the field so I'll have to wait and see.

Am I right to assume the 1500 is your specialty? Which race, if any, are you hoping to do best in. If you want to really pop a good 3000, I'd go for it and let the chips fall where they may in the 1500. Good luck.

oldburgrunner wrote:

Am I right to assume the 1500 is your specialty? Which race, if any, are you hoping to do best in. If you want to really pop a good 3000, I'd go for it and let the chips fall where they may in the 1500. Good luck.

3000m is my event, I've just never raced one. I've raced 3200m before, but I've heard the 3000m is different.