Pacing strategies real life examples

The School 800m

Sports was always my passion at school but I was never particularly talented. My general fitness always helped me in the later stages of any sports match as other kids tired and I could keep going on at the same intensity. If I realised my ability then the school sports day 800m (the longest race ran) should be my best event. In my final year in high school, we had all of two practice 800m races in physical education. Both were a disaster for me. They both commenced with a conservative pace, because this was a long distance! Then with 150-200m to go an almighty sprint would start with the majority of the starters still grouped together. The sprinters were placing high in the event that was meant to be for the endurance athletes, and I was far down the placings. At this early stage of my running, before I really became a runner and was coached, I decided my highest position would be achieved if I adopted the ‘hang on for dear life strategy’. The starter pistol went off and I went for it, straight into the lead of the 20-30 something runners. The race was four times a 200 meter lap. As I completed the first lap, the PE teacher said ‘you are going too fast Alan, you will never keep this up’. Runner’s were dropping constantly, and on the corners I could glance to see that there was perhaps only 5-6 people clinging on. I did keep the pace, well for 700m I did. A good friend of mine overtook me and sprinted for glory, smashing the school record. On the home straight, arms flaying, technique struggling, I got overtaken by another runner, and another to finish in 4th. ‘I told you you went to fast Alan!’ Not in my opinion, that was my best tactic to almost claim a podium, and the school record may not have gone had I not done the pace making for most of the race.

The Great Wilderness Challenge (GWC)

Trail running can be tricky to pace and certainly to run even pacing. Ask anyone who has done the 13 mile GWC if they managed to keep an even pace whilst crossing the 2 mile ‘bog’. My issue with running trails is that if you don’t get your pacing correct at the start then you can be stuck behind runners as they snake the hill in single file with little room to overtake. On my second running of the 7 mile GWC I knew the course well and it was very difficult to overtake over the technical section which consumed the first 3 miles of the race. My tactic was to go straight into the lead, and open up a gap on my competitors who would get stuck behind other runners. It worked! Full report and a picture of me with hair, here.

Despite some slightly wider more manageable tracks available I applied a similar race tactic in the 13 mile GWC to take the race to everyone and lead from the start . Was it correct, would I have finished higher than my best placed 3rd finish? Who knows but in those races I felt I got it correct.

Marathon Madness

The many many failures and disappointing runs I had in shorter races, are all but a distant memory. The one race that still remains clear in my head where I made a mess of the pacing was the Edinburgh marathon. It turned out to be the last race I did as a serious runner. Sub 3 hours was the goal, and even or negative splits was the tactic. The problem was that I didn’t go for 2 hour and 58 minutes, I had in my head that I could do about 2 hours and 52 minutes. That apparently small difference in time meant that I blew up, and suffered more than I have ever suffered in a race. The pacing strategy was probably correct, but the pace wasn’t. You can read the full marathon blog here. There are no pictures of me with hair in this blog, in fact the day before I gave into being bald and shaved my head for the first time!

I sometimes got it right and I sometimes got it wrong as a runner. I don’t know if any runner has managed to get it correct 100% of the time. These experiences as a runner, and the many as a coach of runners, helps me advise each and every client. You must embrace and learn from the bad experiences so that you have way more good experiences. If you are interested in online coaching then contact me today for a chat.