Know Thy Course: Why You Need to Run on Your Race Course
Do some running on your race course so you have an advantage against your competition
If we’ve seen anything in the running world over the last 2+ weeks, it’s that the leaders of races have gone off course.
In Atlanta, at the USATF half marathon champs, the top three/four ladies went almost a kilometer off course at arguably the most pivotal time in the race. It’s well-documented what eventually happened to course marshals, but it doesn’t take away the fact that the top three ladies were robbed of their glory, prize money (hopefully this has been fixed), and arguably the biggest opportunity for the ladies to represent the great US of A in the Road Running World Championships.
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In LA, the top male runner was less than a 1/4 mile from victory when a flag-toting lady ran alongside him. This had to have confused him, and in the next breath, he’s running off course following the lead vehicle who was getting out of the way of the finish line.
I’m not in the LA runner’s shoes, but I think it’s safe to say that his albeit short detour cost him the victory.
We can (but we aren’t going to) get into a debate on whose responsibility it is that the race leaders of two big races - USATF half marathon champs and the LA Marathon - both ran off course.
Is it the race management’s responsibility to make sure cones are out correctly? For signs to be properly placed? For lead vehicles to know the course? Yes, yes, and yes.
Is it the race leader’s responsibility to know the whole course and every single turn? That’s a more nuanced debate.
While some of you might argue that, yeah, it is the race leader’s responsibility, I’d argue that you’ve probably never been in the front of a race before.
Sure, they should know the course, but if you’re led off course by the RACE VEHICLE, you more often than not, follow that vehicle.
Since most of us are never going to be following the race vehicle at the next US Championships, it’s still important for us to know the course we’re running on.
Why Knowing the Course Helps [Even as Someone Who’s Not Winning the Race]
Before I get into why it’s good to know the course, here’s the best way for you to get a lay of the land for your next race.
If the race is local to you, run it during training. If the race is a long one, break it up over multiple training sessions.
If the race is not local to you and you’ve just come onto the course, run a bit of the course in your pre-meet run and/or run the last 2 miles of the course as your warmup. This is the best that you can do, and it’s better than not running the course.
Now, onto why knowing the course is good for all of us:
Saving mental energy - Knowing where hills, turns, and water stops are saves us some mental anguish, all of which we can use to crush our PRs
Prepare for an attack - Knowing the layout of the last mile can give you a jump on when you’d like to start your push towards the finish line, so you can…
Unleash your kick - we all * at the runner who saves way too much and sprints the final 100 meters. Instead, use that energy over the last kilometer.
Prevents getting lost - this is a no-brainer. Unless you like running more…
Running tangents saves time - This is a true story: Shalane Flanagan and I were running neck and neck together at the Philly Half Marathon (I’ve forgotten the year; orange drifit shirt year) and I knew the course while she probably didn’t as much as I did. Well, guess who reminded Shalane [future NYC Marathon champion] to use the tangents to catch her nearest competitor.
It sucks making a wrong turn in a race, especially when you’re leading. Ask Kev McDonnell what that’s like? How else do you think I’d ever be able to beat the future Broad Street champion in a 5k?
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