tactics for beating a guy better than me at 3000m

Your best is 27 second slower over 3000m? I don't think theres much you can do unless you can stay really close until the last 200m.

slow the pace down, preferrably by getting someone else in the race to do it or try hitting the front in the middle of the race and start walking if you have to. If it's slow enough, you should be able to outkick him.

If the pace isn't that slow, you'll be forced to have to surprise him from the back by making a huge surge somewhere near the finish and hopefully you get a big enough gap on him before he's realized what has happened and you're close enough to the finish line that you can hold on.

Run 8:58 and you will beat him don't worry about tactics just run faster, train smarter use your God given talent and hard work to run 8:45. Then he will be on letsrun talking about "there's a guy i want to try and beat and even if i don't i want to make it as hard as possible for him to win".

middle guy wrote:

I've got the better speed and would beat him in 100,200,400. We are equal at 800 but then he has better endurance.

Well, I have run 29:28 for the 10k, and 14:16 for the 5k.

I bet half of my graduating college class could have beat me in a 100 meter race.

You have to understand that you are racing a 3k, don't even come on here with "I could beat him at the 100m."

You might as well tell me that you can beat him at checkers.

If he is going to let others lead, then get a teammate to go out and take the pace at 9:30. He will likely stick to that pace for the majority of the race since it is close to his PR. If he goes early, go with him.

If he goes with 200-400 to go, and you don't beat him, then he is the better runner and you need to improve.

Improve your aerobic fitness ...

With 2000 to go, sprint ahead of him and then do a cartwheel and "accidentally" nail him in the balls. Then bite his balls.

-Nathan Johnson

Well this seems way to obvious. All you can do is sit on him and make NO surges and conserve energy. Sit and kick my boy!

Maybe you could sing him a song or something to lull into running with you like half a lap back? Then, you bus' out your 200 speed.Dude, he OWNS you, the guy is nearly 30 seconds ahead of you in a race that isn't even 2 miles.Go sit in a quiet room with your watch, and let 27 seconds go by ... it is an eternity. Even if you could bust out a 25 second last 200 and he could only run even pace, barring a shotgun blast to the gut, you aren't going to beat him unless you get in better shape.

Obvious Answer Guy wrote:

Well this seems way to obvious. All you can do is sit on him and make NO surges and conserve energy. Sit and kick my boy!

Here's what you do... just when you think you've lost it... excellerate for 100m settle back in pace and do that off and on as long as possible.

The only chance he will have of beating this guy is if he sticks to nice even splits to PR around 9:15-20 and you get someone to take the guy out in like 2:15-18 for the then with that pace he will slow to about 2:30 for the 800 hitting the 16 at 4:45 then he can dog the next 1400 in 4:30-5 while you catch him in the last 100 running while running pretty even splits of 74.5's

Take the lead and set a pretty slow, but not terribly slow, pace. If he passes you, just keep taking the lead before the turns and slow way down. Try to make him run a 9:15, and hope you have a great kick that day. No matter what you do, you're going to have to PR to beat him.

There are no tactics that will allow you to beat him. You have to train until you are better than him. If you were within 10 seconds of him, you could hope for a slow pace and try to outkick him, but with a pr almost 30 seconds slower than him you can't beat him in the last 200 of a 3k even if you go through the 2800 dead even. It doesn't matter that you can beat him in an open 200. This would be a poor strategy in any case because the pace that the race goes out in is largely out of your hands. You can choose not to push the pace yourself, but if someone else goes out hard and the field goes with them you're done. The bottom line is that if you race and he runs 9:00 and you run 9:27 he will win regaurdless of where you surged or how far out you kicked from. You just need to get to the point where you can run 8:50 if you want to beat him.

you can do it but only with help. namely, you need 2 teammates to sacrifice themselves, one to push the early pace beyond your target's capabilities, and one to rabbit you to a pr. not everyone runs close to their pr's every race. you need to make sure that he doesn't, but that you do. forcing him to go out at 8:40 pace may slow him to within range of your new pr.

poulter wrote:

you can do it but only with help. namely, you need 2 teammates to sacrifice themselves, one to push the early pace beyond your target's capabilities, and one to rabbit you to a pr. not everyone runs close to their pr's every race. you need to make sure that he doesn't, but that you do. forcing him to go out at 8:40 pace may slow him to within range of your new pr.

You are assuming that this opponent is a total moron. You know the people that you race against on a regular basis. If some 10 minute guy suddenly takes off at 8:40 pace no one in the race is going to go with him. If you're at a local 5k and some guy who you race against multiple times every year goes out in 4:50 when he's never cracked 17:00 would you just take off after him? I hope you're smarter than that. Also, do you really expect two of his teammates to sacrifice their own races for this little scheme?

Here's the thing - in order for you to outkick him, you're going to have to be pretty fresh, because you know he'll be VERY fresh.

The race is going to have to be around 10 flat If it's a 30 seconds slower than your pr, and a minute slower than his pr, you'll both have a ton left in the tank. Then your speed might get him.

Anything faster than 10 and you're toast.

thanks for the helpful and funny posts lol.

...break his legs the night before the race....

I\'VE THE BEST SOLUTION:

Just do it \"the landis style\", take \'a beer\' one night before the big day, and you\'ll even OWN the 8:30 guys!!

you must not have run in high school. of course i assumed he's a moron. 95% of them are morons.