CC racing strategy?

If this sectionals you should have know what the course would be. You should have trained your runners to be prepared for the faast pace that will take them into the woods. This is there first chance to move on to regions and should have been prepared for such a fast 1st mile. This has happened to some of the kids I help with and they get shut out at the woods and can't make up that time once them come out.

Good luck tonight.

70 runners doesn't seem like too many runners, and usually the race will be reasonably spread out by the mile mark. Additionally, the last mile is a lot of time to catch people. I think the best way to deal with it is to jog that part of the course before the race just so your runners are aware of the tight turns... maybe advise a quick surge going into the woods but nothing too severe. Just my opinion.

tell them to use their heads and run smart

Tell them to be in position by the end of the mile, run smooth and controlled in the woods, then HAMMER that last mile. People will go out hard, die in the woods, and come back to them in the last mile.

The reason a lot of high school runners won't make up the ground on the 3rd mile is because they will try to run the first mile waaaaay too fast. 70 runners is a tiny field, unless every single one of them is about the same ability level. Just tell your runners to go out at an even pace, try to pass some people in the woods, and then eat up the field once they get out of the woods. If it's like every other high school race I've seen, the field will dramatically slow during the last mile.

Of course this all assumes you've actually trained your team to run fast. No strategy will save you if you haven't.

Benfield 409 wrote:

If this sectionals you should have know what the course would be. You should have trained your runners to be prepared for the faast pace that will take them into the woods. This is there first chance to move on to regions and should have been prepared for such a fast 1st mile. This has happened to some of the kids I help with and they get shut out at the woods and can't make up that time once them come out.

Good luck tonight.

We have been on the course before. I prefer that they run even paces, but I just don't feel that is going to work well on this course. I have a couple of guys that go out too slow for such a course in my opinion. On the other hand, one guy I know for sure will likely blow up if I tell him to go out hard. I am trying to take a more even handed approach. Maybe the best thing to do, is just give them the places (which I have done)that I want them to finish at and tell them where they are at starting at the 800m. I usually don't see big changes in position after the first mile. Maybe + or - 5 positions tops for most in this field.

themanontherun wrote:

Tell them to be in position by the end of the mile, run smooth and controlled in the woods, then HAMMER that last mile. People will go out hard, die in the woods, and come back to them in the last mile.

That's what I was thinking too. I hope it works.

Doesn't matter the course or the competitors. If running to get a good time, one must get out strong, settle into a good pace, and finish faster. Noakes, along with others, analyzed the 1k splits of the 5k and 10k world record runs and found that the fastest 2 kilometers were the last and the first. They made this same conclusion (go out faster, run pace, finish fast). I think that this is especially true in cross because you can fall too far behind too easily.

Don't take this advice as saying 'hammer' the first mile and then hold on for dear life. I just mean get out 10 seconds faster than pace the first mile, specifically the first 1k.

Also, it sounds like you have variety of personalities on your team so coach them as such. Just because you tell the whole team to get out a bit fast, it doesn't mean that you don't pull the one kid aside and give him more specific instructions (don't blow your whole wad on the first mile). Coach your team, but also give individual instruction....