I'm working on USATFs in Review and in discussing the men's 1500 I've mentioned that sit and kick races don't favor the favorite.
But making yourself the sacrificial lamb doesn't work well either. So the question is if you were coaching Andrew Wheating, what would you have advised him to do?
Run faster.
Just because you're tall doesnt mean you should run in lane 3.
wejo wrote:
...sit and kick races don't favor the favorite...
A sit and kick race favors the favorite if the favorite is Bernard Lagat or another super talented kicker.
If Wheating has been spending a lot more time on strength than speed (which I assume he has in saving his peak for Degu), then he should have pushed after a 700.
Well, the first thing would have been race to the finish. Watch the vid, he eases up with 30m to go. Big mistake.
Bottom line is you can run as fast as you can run. (Duh right?) Lead or follow, if you are in 3:34 shape, you go out and do it with even splits and a decent, not monumental kick. So I tell Wheating same thing I tell all my athletes. Divide your pace into 200s and hit that for every 200. If you have to lead, do it. If you can follow, do it. Wheating should have been hitting 29 second 200s for the entire race. Does anyone here really believe he was going to come through 1200 in 2:54, close in 40 and get fourth? He may have lost to Lagat but he gets second with that strategy in that field ten times out of ten when the race is run in June.
Aim for a spot and run confidently. This is real life and racing is simply one part; he did what has worked for him most of his life and it looks like he will still be going. Not much more to ask than try.
I think the best strategy is to assert yourself in second or third place from the beginning and maintain that position religiously as the race unfolds. If someone goes around you, you go right back around them. If it ends up slow, you'll be in one of the best positions to kick like Centro and Lagat were. A big guy like Wheating should be able to maintain whatever position he wants (not getting pushed around).
^^^^
This - He should have tucked right in behind the leader and being the largest guy in the field, held his position like an animal.
Get dispensation to excavate one lane of the track and flood it. I make le serious point. He's got a long upper body for a middle distance runner. Looks more like a swimmer.
Run the 800
Stay out of trouble, push the middle 500-700 meters and kick with all you've got the last 300 and you'll win 3 out of 4 times against domestic competition. 20/20 hind set,bro
he should have gone sooner, in my opinion, like at 600m to go. but then maybe he didn't have the fitness for that, so who knows?
steve "red" wrote:
Stay out of trouble, push the middle 500-700 meters and kick with all you've got the last 300 and you'll win 3 out of 4 times against domestic competition. 20/20 hind set,bro
That's pretty much the El Guerrouj tactic I guess.
Honestly it's surprising to me that a former 800m runner would have trouble in a slow 1500m race. I think he just didn't have it that day and probably did as well as he could have. Maybe he just wasn't psyched up enough for the sprint -- can you compare it to his past races?
He tactically didnt run that bad. Stayed off the rail, moved at an ok time- was in a good position with 300 to go- just couldnt close. Often tall people take longer to get started but he has shown ability to finish/turn over in the past. I think he ran an ok race- in the post race interview he said he had been injured for a month which I vaguely remember hearing about. He clearly did not have the last gear he needed no matter what tactics he used. Just needs to get sharper.
Its like the first responder said- the best tactics and strategy would have been to run faster.
LOL, hind set.
he didn't have terrible tactics, but that was a seriosuly slow race. Andrew could've kicked off of a much harder pace, better than anyone else in the field but Lagat. I think Andrew should've pushed the pace. Centro and Manzano wouldn't have been able to get him if the pace was faster. He didn't have to be the "sacrificial lamb" all he had to do is take Lagat with him and seperate just a little from the rest of the field. He didn't have the same speed as those guys for 100-150 meters, but he most certaintly could have outkicked most of those guys for 400 if the pace had been stronger. If they ran 3:39-41 andrew could've had 2nd
Run curves on the rail. Definitely don't count on outkicking guys who are running 52-second pace from lane 2.
Steve Cram's 1983 world championship race in Helsinki is a model of how to win that type of race. A tall runner wins a race that goes out in 2:07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyHiAWvVgK4
1. stay in lane 1 and out of trouble in the back the first half of the race.
2. Get in position start moving on the backstretch at 800m. Be ready to take the lead if necessary, or just off the lead if your move has jumpstarted the race. In any event the racing starts at 600- "long drive for home" gear at this point.
3. Pull the trigger on that final gear with 200 to go- now we are in overdrive.
Cram probably spent 80% less time in lane 2 than Wheating did in his race. Still, Wheating didn't run too badly considering he lost to Centro, a 3:26 guy, and a 3:32 guy.
Run Faster and stay to the left
In this meet, he should have pushed the pace. He, Lagat, and Centro are a level above the field in terms of fitness.