“Be Alert and Aware”
Being alert and aware is like basketballers – while being focussed on the task and physically relaxed, you are “switched on” - aware of what is happening around you at all times.
Being alert and aware is like cyclists - in a race you must know what the other runners are doing, so that you can instantly respond if one of them tries to make a break.
As a competitive runner – you should be ever alert for your own opportunity to break away and make the winning run home.
Responding rapidly to the changing demands of a race, and dictating the fortunes of those you are racing, means both an alertness of mind and the ability position yourself to vary pace at any time.
By positioning I mean, not just running “one-out-on-back” or the equivalent, but also running with a style which enables you to change pace and take off when needed.
Like being actively “up-on-the-toes”, “hips forward”, “fast feet”. Being alert is a “form principle”, because it is your posture which facilitates alertness.
Of course, conditioning comes into it too - you must be fast to do this. And you must be able to recover from such surges and be fit enough to repeat them.
Practise surging in training and use surges in all your races. Use arms and breathing effectively to surge fast and long.
"Form"; "conditioning"; and the other big factor is the psychological one. It helps when you are confident that you will out-run the others, and it helps even more if you have convinced the others that you are the one to watch.
When others know you that you are able to surge at will, harder than anyone else, you can dominate a race, even when you are not leading. Your presence in the pack is enough.
On the other hand, if you are beaten every time despite these tactics, it’s still fun surging and breaking up the rhythm of the “plodders”. You know yourself, if some faster runner is “running the straights, jogging the bends” in a race, it can be quite annoying. So have a think about how surging will help you in an all-out race.
Some of those plodders are really good; we all know runners who run at the same pace all the time and seem to ignore your tactics. But they are so predictable; if you are alert and aware, you should somehow be able to work out how to beat them.
Have fun!
Form Principle #8 - Be Alert and Aware
Being alert and aware is like basketballers – while being focussed on the task and physically relaxed, you are “switched on” - aware of what is happening around you at all times.
Being alert and aware is like cyclists - in a race you must know what the other runners are doing, so that you can instantly respond if one of them tries to make a break.
As a competitive runner – you should be ever alert for your own opportunity to break away and make the winning run home.
Responding rapidly to the changing demands of a race, and dictating the fortunes of those you are racing, means both an alertness of mind and the ability position yourself to vary pace at any time.
By positioning I mean, not just running “one-out-on-back” or the equivalent, but also running with a style which enables you to change pace and take off when needed.
Like being actively “up-on-the-toes”, “hips forward”, “fast feet”. Being alert is a “form principle”, because it is your posture which facilitates alertness.
Of course, conditioning comes into it too - you must be fast to do this. And you must be able to recover from such surges and be fit enough to repeat them.
Practise surging in training and use surges in all your races. Use arms and breathing effectively to surge fast and long.
"Form"; "conditioning"; and the other big factor is the psychological one. It helps when you are confident that you will out-run the others, and it helps even more if you have convinced the others that you are the one to watch.
When others know you that you are able to surge at will, harder than anyone else, you can dominate a race, even when you are not leading. Your presence in the pack is enough.
On the other hand, if you are beaten every time despite these tactics, it’s still fun surging and breaking up the rhythm of the “plodders”. You know yourself, if some faster runner is “running the straights, jogging the bends” in a race, it can be quite annoying. So have a think about how surging will help you in an all-out race.
Some of those plodders are really good; we all know runners who run at the same pace all the time and seem to ignore your tactics. But they are so predictable; if you are alert and aware, you should somehow be able to work out how to beat them.
Have fun!
Form Principle #8 - Be Alert and Aware
