Why does everyone act like drafting in a road race doesn't matter?

Because more people think they have a shot at running away on the road or CC.

Road and Cross have the option to go around a corner and surge without the competition realizing it. Much easier to break away.

I always draft off runners in road races when given the chance, especially if it is windy. Not only do they physically block the wind, but I find that running right behind someone mentally wears them down.

A few years ago I ran a rectangular 4 mile race. The "backstretch" is 1.5 miles and always into the wind. I tucked in for a bit and then I would catch another group and tuck in behind them. Did this until the turn. After the turn to head to the finish I had the wind at my back the last 1.5 miles of the race. I believe I ran faster than if there was no wind at all as I was about 10 seconds faster per mile than I thought I could run and I had been running a lot of races.

Some lead to take control of the pace. There's a British runner who even does this in track races too. ;)

In road racing it is kind of uncool if there are a few of you working together to make up distance on a pack ahead or whatever, and one guy stays behind and doesn't take his turn at the lead, and then kicks. It has happened to me and a few guys were pissed after. There is no rule against it, just like talking during someone's swing in golf. But it is bad etiquette.

Now, on the track, it is part of the race to tuck in and kick. And, if you are in a road race, and tuck in behind a guy and there is no apparent turn at taking the point, then so be it. but, only on these rare occasions have I witnessed and even been a part of some runners taking turns at the point to help the group.

Way to draft off grandma, loser.

Mick not Lovin wrote:

In road racing it is kind of uncool if there are a few of you working together to make up distance on a pack ahead or whatever, and one guy stays behind and doesn't take his turn at the lead, and then kicks. It has happened to me and a few guys were pissed after. There is no rule against it, just like talking during someone's swing in golf. But it is bad etiquette.

Now, on the track, it is part of the race to tuck in and kick. And, if you are in a road race, and tuck in behind a guy and there is no apparent turn at taking the point, then so be it. but, only on these rare occasions have I witnessed and even been a part of some runners taking turns at the point to help the group.

I agree with this statement. In track it's strategy, in road racing it's almost bad etiquette and other runners will really dislike you. In track there's only so much space in lane one, which provides the shorter distance to the finish. On the road you can easily run 5-6 abreast and all hit good tangents still, except for on turns of course.

But usually in longer road races if someone is habitually drafting off one or two other runners they will eventually ask the drafter to take their turn. If they don't then there is usually a heated exchange after the race.

It gets more spread out in road races.

If you break away, the person in second is not drafting off of anyone.

My 8k PR is easily my best PR. The day I ran it, I thought 2620ish would be a good result. It was cold and windy, so I even thought 2630 would be a good result.

I ran the race with a good friend who was more talented than me, but had problems pacing in shorter races. I would go off with the leaders, hit 1/2 mile in 220, and then fade.

So before the race, I told him to let me take it out, and we would work together.

The race starts, and I have to yell at my bud to hold back. We hit the mile in 505, and he took over. The race was out and back, and almost as soon as my friend took over the lead, I started to feel it. He pulled for 3-4 minutes, then I took over. He could feel the pace dip, so he retook the lead after only 1-2 minutes.

We hit the turn around in 1300. I tried to take the lead but couldn't, and instead sat in his draft. There was a tailwind on the way in, so we both sped up. My friend was second in 2539, and I was third in 2543.

I went back later in the day with my bike to ride the course, and it was 4.98 miles. I even looked up the usatf certification to see that it was marked correctly, and it was.

Long story short, if you sit behind someone when there's a tailwind, then use the tailwind at the turn, you can have a big PR.

To this day, I don't really consider it a PR though. It feels like cheating.

I agree with all of this assuming the pack is battling for like 6th place or something. If it is the lead pack and going for the win, then all bets are off.

pure beauty from 2 mins onward:

http://youtu.be/hp_KxzO7-W4

how to deal wrote:

pure beauty from 2 mins onward:

http://youtu.be/hp_KxzO7-W4

+1

The slower you're moving, the less wind resistance matters. It's better to make a break going uphill in cycling. Longer distances and soft surfaces also slow you down.

In large races, it is very difficult to jostle for position. If the NYC Marathon runners decided to go out really slowly they would get swallowed up by sub-elites. But when you put 9 people on the line in a championship final, everybody can run slowly and stay right in the position they want.

HardLoper wrote:

But when you put 9 people on the line in a championship final, everybody can run slowly and stay right in the position they want.

Championship distance final that is. See 2013 USA 5,000m.

This is when you surge and try to dump the drafter no?