Sometime it feels like I am racing alone even though I know there are people in front and behind me. Do I chase down the leader or get swallowed up by the group behind; an article from runningtimes.com.
Tactics: Racing Alone
How do you run your best when you're stuck in no-man's-land
By Gordon Bakoulis
As featured in the June 2010 issue of Running Times Magazine
We race to measure ourselves against others. But what if the others in the race aren't close enough at hand to provide a meaningful measure? What if we wind up running solo--not just for a short stretch but mile after mile? What strategies do we employ to remain competitive, aggressive, and willing to suffer?
That was the scenario for Molly Huddle at the USA Cross Country Championships in February. After aggressively following leader Shalane Flanagan, Huddle drifted back into second place, yet still well in front of the chase pack, a position she held for the remaining three-quarters of the 8K race.
It was a tough--and somewhat risky--way to run a high-stakes race. As far as the chase pack was concerned, Huddle was the target, not Flanagan, who extended her lead throughout and finished untouchable. Many a runner in Huddle's position has been swallowed by the chasers and finished out of the money--which in this case would have been outside the top six who made the team for the world cross country championships.
Read on here.
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