GET OUT FAST, GO TO WORK, OPEN UP and GO
Race strategy is something that needs to be trained for. After reading this article, if you are a High School runner and believe that you are going to be able to change the way in which you run overnight; think again. You will end up killing your season. This is something you will need to work hard at next summer when you begin training for the 2011 Cross Country season.
At the Academy we train all season with one goal in mind; to be race-ready for Nationals. Regardless of the race we train to this specific strategy. Get out fast, go to work, open up and go. This ideology is embedded into my racer’s psyches, so much so that they wake up in the middle of the night reciting it.
Last year while I was out coaching on the course at Sunken Meadow, I observed a strong runner who has dominated the competition in the past struggle with the new competition. This new competition took the pace out hard and as the race went on, this athlete began to fade. I had overheard his running coach murmur to the parents that “he went out too fast.” I thought to myself, “if this kid just got blown away and had went out any slower he may have got lapped.” The end-all-be-all is that he didn’t train properly to be successful in a big race.
I break a race up into 3 sections and if you watch any Cross Country Race at Sunken Meadow, you will see what I mean.
Phase 1 - Get out Fast
I don’t care who you are, if you are not in the Top 10 coming out of the mouse hole at Sunken Meadow in any race you have almost zero shot at winning that race. 80 – 90% of the top ten is decided by the mouse hole. I cannot remember where a kid came from 30th place at the mouse hole to win a race at Sunken Meadow. I hear kids all the time say, “I sit back and then pick people off as the race goes on.” Every time I hear that strategy referenced, I get the “nails on a chalkboard” feeling. I often wonder if that athlete thinks about how many places he/she actually gave up sitting back at the start of the race.
If you are a competitive cross country runner and desire success, you need to train from day one to GET OUT FAST! To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, my 12 year old girl’s team (who I would put up against 90% of the varsity girls teams on Long Island) has a legitimate shot to become the 1st Long Island team ever to win a Cross Country National Championship. This team will race 3000m at Nationals. Every girl on the team has a goal to P.R. in the one mile mark of the 3000m by Nationals. If they do that and then fade, then I didn’t do my job as a coach to get them ready.
Let’s take a look back to Sunken Meadow. The gun goes off and the adrenaline rushes as you run past the bridge heading out past the finish line. Once you get beyond the crowd it gets very quiet. You get to the gate as you make the turn to head into the back half of the moat. This ¼ mile strip defines the Top 10. For most, this is a time to relax into the flow of the race. (Mistake #1) The Top runners will work this area to the picnic area. Remember, the first part of the race is to the mouse hole, not the gate so work it all the way through the moat. You will be surprised at how many people you can pass along the back part of the moat.
Phase #2 – GO TO WORK
You hear the roar of the crowd as you approach the picnic area. Adrenaline kicks back in as you get up that short hill and turn left. One hundred meters later, silence. Here’s where it’s time to GO TO WORK. This is the section of the race course where the runners who got out slow will try to make their move. This is also the place where most races are won. From the exit of the mouse hole to the top of Cardiac is the GO TO WORK phase. This separates the runners from the wannabees. The runners in the front look to extend out and spread the field. To be successful, running downhill is just as critical as running uphill. The majority of high school runners do not know how to properly run downhill as evidenced by the sight and sound of their heels smashing into the ground along the descent. Not only does this practice slow you, but it also makes you work harder. Strong runners will get up on the balls of their feet, increase hip turnover, and trust the fact that they have been walking upright since about 12 months old. If you run downhill as opposed to resisting the descent you will find yourself less tired, with more energy and you will most likely beat everyone down to the bottom of the hill.
At the Academy, we do just as many downhill intervals as we do uphill. They are just as important but hardly ever trained the same. It is very important that good form is maintained when running up and down hills. It requires a different running form and needs to be practiced. At Sunken Meadow our team will constantly train from the bottom of the picnic area to the point where you can turn left to go down to the mouse hole and to the gate. We do this repeatedly using uphill running form, downhill running form, and regular running form. It is a great workout point and works out to between 800 – 1000 meters.
In talking with many runners it amazes me what their strategies are for the Phase 2 area of their race. Many will tell me that they work going up the snake and recover when coming down. Some will say that they don’t work the uphill in the picnic area so that they will have something left for Cardiac. If you learn properly to run up and down hills, you can make up a ton of time and event set yourself up for glory. This brings us to Phase 3.
Phase 3 – OPEN UP and GO
Here it is. This phase separates the lions from the lambs. You get to the top of Cardiac, there’s about a mile to go, your legs feel like jelly. Here is where 90% of all high school runners try to recover. (Mistake #2) The next time you are racing down Cardiac I want you to listen to how hard your feet are slamming into the ground. This strategy is like striking a punching bag 100 times with the same clenched fist. Can you imagine how exhausting and strenuous that is? Think about how tired your legs are getting while slamming into the surface as you are in turn slowing yourself down and wasting valuable energy going down the hill. This is where learning to properly run downhill really pays dividends. Remember, in this last mile you will have two areas conducive for an adrenaline rush. The first section is when coming through the picnic area and the second section is coming down the stretch. The crowd will carry you if you remain relaxed. The fastest runners in the world make running look effortless because of how relaxed and tense free they are. It is critical that you work from the top of Cardiac to the picnic area and from the mouse hole to the gate. If you want to know where races are decided, look at these two areas. Runners tend to slow down when it gets quiet. It is a natural reaction that takes a lot of training to undo. I tell all of my runners that at this phase maintaining proper form, relaxing the body and increasing hip turnover are the keys to running successfully through phase 3. There is no rest period, instead you must rely on proper form so that when you get to the bottom of Cardiac, not only will you have gotten there faster, but you will have exerted far less energy in doing so. Open up and GO!
Very rarely is race strategy discussed to this degree at the high school level. Some coaches cover it, other don’t understand it. Coaching is no longer riding in the car on distance runs or holding the stopwatch with a clipboard. You don’t need a clipboard to know when your runners are running well during intervals. 95% of all runners have poor running form. You see them leaning forward going up hills and leaning back on down hills. The human body is an amazing thing when used properly. Proper running form and race strategy are two areas that are too often neglected and a major contributing factor in why times are not improving. You can look, but you won’t find speed on a clipboard.
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