The best strategy is Almaz Ayana.
The best strategy is Almaz Ayana.
straightforward.. wrote:
So tired of hearing how good these guys are at "tactics".
Fk that.
The dudes that Centro and Farah beat, many of them had better PRs than the two.
Why not just ignore whatever Centro or Farah are doing, and just try running even splits at their PR pace?
Centro especially won't have what it takes to keep up.
Can someone explain to me why the sit-n-kick tactics of Centro and Farah are working?
Adopt the Bekele or Ritz strategy. You will do just fine
it's fairly obvious wrote:
Run a fast race.
Centro has never won a fast race in his life.
Not.
A.
Single.
One.
Funny that nobody has tried to name a fast race that Centro won lolololol.
Haha. Makes Mo seem really ANNOYING. But he's fking good. Don't hate the player I guess.
LM wrote:
YMMV wrote:
1) be in 12:37 or 26:18 shape
2) a)run 12:37 or 26:18 from the front
b) throw in surges throughout the race and hope for the best
So, first off you have to be in better shape than Mo. If you're not, he holds every card. There is no answer. The best option then is just to sit and follow as efficiently as possible, make the race slower (more unpredictable) and hope that you have some amazing lucky day in the final 200m.
IF you are fitter, then you have more options.
Surges are dumb overall, unless you're significantly better and think you can actually crack the guy. If you're not significantly better, Mo just follows the surge, expending less energy in the draft and is fine. You wasted more energy. Each surge you do, that's repeated over and over. Moreover, surges increases the speed, thus the power needed to overcome wind resistance, and further increase the effect of the draft. If you're strong enough to surge Mo away, you're strong enough to just drop him with a straight pace right from the gun. The only benefit here is if you can mentally crack him by seeing effortless and controlled on the surges.
The only other thing you could do is a true attack like in cycling. Literal sprint, get a gap, be in PR shape and hold it. Hope the other guys won't do the work to close you down and instead slow down deciding who wants to run 12:50 pace that you're trying to run. If you're in close to Mo's shape, there is a small chance this can work, especially if there is infighting. If you're not in at least 12:45-12:50 shape...this has zero chance of ever working. The sprint will take something out of you and slow you down overall. If you're in 12:55 shape and try that you're going to run 13:10 or worse and have guys breathing down your neck.
The best, and only consistent option is just to be fitter than Mo. Come bring sub 12:40 or sub 26:20 game to town and drop him. Still might not be enough though. Drafting, on a good day, I think Mo could follow Bekele around to both of those times.
The best defense is a good offense. Always make the enemy fight on your terms.
Mo did not run in either of the only two fast 5k races in the last decade, but if he had, it's obvious he would not have finished anywhere near the top. None of his performances indicate he could have run low/mid 12:40s. He had great success on the track, so I'm baffled when people try to make excuses for his relatively weak PBs. He is still a winner even if he isn't one of the all-time great performers.
I’m a D2 female runner. Our coach explicitly told us not to visit LetsRun forums.
Great interview with Steve Cram - says Jakob has no chance of WRs this year
Guys between age of 45 and 55 do you think about death or does it seem far away
2024 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion
adizero Road to Records with Yomif Kejelcha, Agnes Ngetich, Hobbs Kessler & many more is Saturday
RENATO can you talk about the preparation of Emile Cairess 2:06