Looking for tips on how people manage to control their pace in races, particularly at the start of the race.

It took me a long time to learn ( in training runs ) not to sprint of at the start and then burn out way too fast. I'm guessing ( well not guessing really ) that at the race start there will be loads of people who will set off much faster than me. I'm going to have to be real carefull not to get carried away and try and keep up.

On the other hand, as I have only ever run solo to date, I am guessing that when you run in a race you tend to tun faster anyway.

Any tips ?

Richard

Yes you will run faster....adrenalin kicks in as well as testosterone!

You do have to take it steady and build up your pace...negative splits... or you'll burn out and maybe fail to finish the race. Don't worry about anyone else...just run your own race. Start at the back. That way you can gradually go pass people until you find a group of runners that are running a speed you are comfortable with and then you can stay with them until you are ready to move ahead to the next group.
Not always that easy of course and I'm as guilty as others when it comes to " Do as I say,
not what I do"!

Steve, what do you think about this ? I ran my first 10K in Edinburgh in May. I had put a lot of training in, and was confident I could better the 55 min estimate I'd put down on the entry form. A girl with us who was an experienced runner insisted we didn't start too far back to avoid getting boxed in. I was a bit doubtful, thinking I don't belong here as I looked around the pretty experienced crew around me, but it worked out OK, and contributer to me getting under 50 mins that day. At the next 10K I did I ended up way back (late loo visit) and found the first 1k incredibly frustrating as I couldn't get into my stride until the field spread a bit. I suppose it maybe depends on the numbers running and how much much space there is at the start.

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Don

Going back to the original question. What I have done is to measure out on GMAPS PEDOMETER an exact 2.5km circuit (including a rather nasty hill) which starts and finishes at my front door. I choose my pace and number of laps and try to make each one the same. This means I must conserve enough energy to finish as fast as I started. It seems to work for me as my total time for 10k training runs is dropping quite fast.

Looking forward to testing it all out in a race.

Looked up the GMAPS Pedometer!!!!can you explain how to use this ...I can find my location but can't seem to get the thing to mark my route!!!!i've been at it for ages please help!!!

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NELLIE

Nellie,
Once you've found your location, click the "Start Recording" button over on the left. It will then change to say "recording". Now move the mouse to your start point on the map and double click the left button. This will set your first marker, just carry on adding markers as you plot out the route. On the left you can watch the distance increase as you go, and can toggle between miles / kilometres. Remeber to save your route so you can reload in the future if you want to adjust it.

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Don

Be prepared for disappointment if you use it !!, a month before my race I used Gmap to check my 10 mile route - imagine my surprise when I found out I'd only been running 7 miles. I guess I should have known really as my per mile times were that of an Elite runner !! :eek:

Wonder if it depends on area? Using it on my routes in Glasgow it's pretty much spot on, maybe safer to test out over a known distance.

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Don

Thanks ... I wasn't double clicking!!!!

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NELLIE

This doesn't surprise me. I've found over the years that people tend to overestimate the distance they cover in regular runs. I work on time and allow 8mins per mile which generaly means I underestimate distance.

This can be a problem in races with big fields and narrow streets/tracks. The longer the race the less the problem will effect you as you have time to "catch up". Cross country races can be difficult as they often send you along grass verges, where there can be single file only, and over styles, both of which can and do slow you up somewhat annoyingly!
If you are feeling good and confident then doing what you did in Edinburgh is a good way of pushing yourself to a fast time.