Kicker or Frontrunner?

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no one that leads races from the start wins. you need to have a kick in these days championship races, because there's always someone that will be able to keep up with you, especially at 12:50 and then you will get out kicked. It's sad but true, unless you have lots of speed too, it is very hard to win a big race from the front

he beat hall wrote:

no one that leads races from the start wins. you need to have a kick in these days championship races, because there's always someone that will be able to keep up with you, especially at 12:50 and then you will get out kicked. It's sad but true, unless you have lots of speed too, it is very hard to win a big race from the front

This may be true...

But the question was that, all things being equal, would you rather be known as a kicker or a frontrunner?

id definately be a frontrunner, no better feeling than leading a big pack through a fast pace on the track.

frontrunner for sure...

"honest" A 12:50 is a 12:50...if you kicked from the front and nobody caught you or you kicked to pass someone.....dude go rune what is the difference?

MLW wrote:

"honest" A 12:50 is a 12:50...if you kicked from the front and nobody caught you or you kicked to pass someone.....dude go rune what is the difference?

Exactly. If you run the fastest time, you win. Run to your strengths, if you've got more endurance than the rest of the field, then take the field, you got more sprint speed, then just hangon to the lead pack and take it with 200 to go.

Frontrunner- isn't that a gay running club? I think I'll just kick, thanks.

Neither. Sit in the front pack and kick from a long way out, say, 1,000 meters. Negative split that bitch!

It's the same every race. Try and stay with the lead pack then make a surge about 2/3 the way through the race. If they stick with me then just hang with the pack until 200m, then unleash Hell on them.

Many thanks to f-r-o-n-t and jorge for correctly reading the OP and giving good replies...

I hope somebody comes along who can win a world class race from the front. That person will be awesome. I'd love to see someone run from the front with no pacemakers in the Olympic Games and set a world record.

I've always wondered if Bekele had simply gone for the WR and clicked off 60s and 61s from the start in Athens, would El G have been able to hang with him? My guess is no. Any other opinions?

There was such a race: World Champs 1999 5000m. Former 10 000m WR holder Sallah Hissou was known for not having much foot speed (relative to big kickers like Limo, Gebrselassie, etc.) and he took the race around 2000m mark and ran cresscendo race (each lap a little faster). He ran the last lap little under 58s, not very fast by today standards of championship races, but he won. He had splited sub 5min over the last 5 laps- amazing race, and first sub 13 at championship race (I believe).

Another similar was Komen's win at WCH 5000m in 1997. He just ran the sting out of everyone in the last 2000m. How about Ngugi's win in 1988? Richard Chelimo's 10000m win at WCH, very close to WR?

There were plenty of races won by fast front running. The adept just have to be very confident and never doubt or falter.

Thanks. Those were good examples.

But I'm talking straight from the gun. Not 2000m out, I mean almost the whole race run at an even split for their fastest time possible. Like a rabbited race without a rabbit. Also, I'm talking about someone who does it consistently in championship races. Enough that it becomes their trademark, and they can tour Europe without ever needing any strategy, because it's always the same: run the shit out of everyone. That will be a cool person.

It sucks because Youtube doesn't have many of these races you've mentioned, obviously because kick finishes are more thrilling and memorable. But I would be happy if anyone has one of these even paced, long kick video links.

In response to original question: several of my college teammates and I used to discuss the very same question. Most of us were strength guys who had little in the way of a finishing kick. We all thought it was the most honorable to run from/near the front. It worked fairly well for most of us. We had several all-conference performances and even a multiple-time conference champ who employed the run-away-from-the-pack tactic. However, our only national qualifier on the track was a kicker. He was super-talented, but not exactly a dedicated runner. His brutal last lap in a steeplechase got him to nationals after he let another guy lead the first 6.5 laps. Our classic frontrunner was a high-mileage guy who made it to nationals twice in cross because he just ran his guts out to beat theoretically more talented runners. Because of my associations with strength/mileage being equated to good attitudes/work ethic, I've always had an affinity for the frontrunner. Also, it seems like the American attitude. It's almost embedded in our national consciousness. Americans like the idea of the person who works hard and "pulls himself up by the bootstraps." My impressions of English/European attitudes are that they value tact, planning, and intelligence. This may play into people's decisions about which type of runner they would rather be.

Good examples: look at Fire on the Track and Born to Run to see the varying attitudes/methods as exhibited by Pre and Coe.

dfgdrfgdf wrote:

I hope somebody comes along who can win a world class race from the front. That person will be awesome. I'd love to see someone run from the front with no pacemakers in the Olympic Games and set a world record.

I've always wondered if Bekele had simply gone for the WR and clicked off 60s and 61s from the start in Athens, would El G have been able to hang with him? My guess is no. Any other opinions?

Bekele set the WR in a rabbited, fresh race under perfect conditions. In Athens, after running the 10,000 and heats of the 5000, there is no way he could have run within 15 seconds of 12:36. He has a great long kick, but used it up in the 10,000 (unnecessarily) and apparently in a hard workout later in the week. By the time he got to the final, he was toast, and El G hammered him.

No one in the last 60 years has won a world distance championships by leading from the gun in world record time, (except maybe Bikila in the marathon). Ask Ron Clarke about how effective that strategy is.

If the result is the same, I would not care. Why would anyone. Worrying about how you look? I have better things to do in my life than empty posturing.

I lean towards the kick side, especially in master races since few of my fellow master distance runners can match my 27 sec 200m speed. I do like to go out a little faster than my target pace to get some elbow room and get my adrenaline flowing, but I tend to let others lead unless they drop below my race pace.

More honorable to run from the front?? ha! That is only believed by those who consistently try to win races leading from the front and then lose to a kicker. A race is meant to be won - there is no honor code.