Today's WSJ has a huge feature story on how to win road races and triathlons: sit at your computer and scout out events where there is no competition. For some pathetic souls, that apparently means driving hundreds of miles away and jumping into races to beat joggers at fun runs. Just about the only thing this article doesn't say is to train harder and run more.
True its a little lame but good runners have been doing the same thing for ages looking for easy prize money. I doubt there is anyone on here who has been competing on a decent level for a while that has not gone to a race just because it might mean a few extra $ for running essentially a workout. Hell, the Road Race Management directory (aka "the Road Whore manual") is considered required reading for many elites for that very reason.