How do you warmup before a race?

If it's 10 k or over I don't bother. Sometimes not for a 5k either.

15-30 minute jog + strides

This depends; what event(s) do you run? Are you a HS or college runner? As a 800/1600/3200 guy (HS sophomore), I generally do 1 mile MINIMUM at least half an hour prior to my race, followed by 3-5 strides (60m-80m) and some dynamic stretches (high knees, quad pulls, that sort of stuff).

I’m a high schooler and I specialize in the mile and 2 mile.

Currently a junior in highschool, this is mainly the warmup that our coach has prescribed for us, plus a little extra jogging that I felt better doing. We modify this depending on weather, if its hot, shorter warmup, cold, longer warmup. Most days, it’ll end up being about 3.5 miles total for me. Not many people on our team do much else other than this, and it seems to work pretty well for everyone.

70 minutes before:

15 minutes jogging

Light activators (lunges, high knees, side bends, etc.)

15 minutes jogging

About 20 minutes out:

Bathroom, water etc.

Spike up

Very light jogging if waiting for teammates

Speed activators (skips, carioca, 6-8 strides, etc.)

I’d be interested to know what other teams have as far as organized warmups. I can’t imagine doing a different workout before an important race, but as state xc last year, an runner at a different school in our conference warmed up with our team.

Should clarify that I have done this warmup for the past three years for 5k xc, and 800-3200 on the track.

This vid kicks ass. He also says you can do it for cooldowns.

Standard, active, dynamic warmup 5-8 mins, no fuss and not much room needed. And it gets your heart warmed up. No static stretching.

You should experiment with warm-ups before each workout. Figure out what works for a big workout, and then do the same for races. There's no point in doing more than that.

Yup. It's different for everyone.

2-3miles jog with good stretching and few striders should get you going!

TheXCrunner wrote:

2-3miles jog with good stretching and few striders should get you going!

That's what everyone says, but how is that supposed to get you into that zone of fearlessness you need to really race your best?

Depends what race you are running?

Generally, my 3200 and 5k guys will do a dynamic warm up followed by an easy 10 minutes and then 2-4 minutes at a threshold pace starting 45 minutes-60 minutes prior to race start. By the time they do dynamics and the run, that gives them 20-25 minutes to lace/spike up, stretch out a little, bathroom break, and a few strides. They seem to run better once the engine is a little hot. I took note of this after performances increased after they had another event under their belt at track meets before racing their next event well.

fkajlkfaf wrote:

TheXCrunner wrote:

2-3miles jog with good stretching and few striders should get you going!

That's what everyone says, but how is that supposed to get you into that zone of fearlessness you need to really race your best?

Lots of coffee and heavy metal, start yelling and slapping yourself too.

Just 5-10 minutes of really slow/almost walking-pace running, along with 2-3 strides of 100m, and some static stretching. Keep walking around after to keep things loose until the race is about to start.

I do anything from 10' - 20' of easy jogging and MAYBE two or three strides (only if I'm worried that my laces aren't tied tightly enough and I feel the need to test them). That's for 10K/HM races. When I raced on the track (800 - 3k) I had a more sophisticated warm up routine including all sorts of drills and strides. If/When I go back to track running I'm going to be more chill - jogging and light strides does the trick. Much more than that and I feel I'm TOO ready and start too fast.

fkajlkfaf wrote:

TheXCrunner wrote:

2-3miles jog with good stretching and few striders should get you going!

That's what everyone says, but how is that supposed to get you into that zone of fearlessness you need to really race your best?

You don't need to be fearless to race your best. Just trust in the work you've done in training and be confident and go out like it. Trying to get into a zone of fearlessness can easily lead to going out way too hard and blowing up in my experience... quiet confidence is better than hype

That's one thing I didn't always get right back in my racing days.

Standard warm-up for a race was:

One hour before start

Jog 15 minutes.

Static stretch/relax for 15 minutes

Dynamic stretches and drills for 15 minutes

Some strides and walking around for the 15 minutes before the start

That often got me out of whack when the race was delayed or if it was really hot.

I probably needed to shorten the warm-up period to 40-45 minutes before race start.

Some of my best races were when I was rushing to get to my T shirt and warm-up pants off right before the start of the race and that brought my heart rate up to be ready for the start.

I've always found it's more mental than anything else. I can do any routine within reason, but if I do it too early I let nerves creep in and I start thinking I'm not prepared.

My best races have always been those where something stupid happens and I'm rushing around to the start line. Usually I try to procrastinate my warmup as long as possible.

Whats most important is making sure I take that pre race poop.

Answering the subject line:

Very carefully.