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	Common Race Mistakes

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Here are some common mistakes made by beginning runners that can jeopardize your race. Just learning about them is your first defense against them. Experiment during your training to ensure you don't experience any of these during your race. See also Tough Run.

• Going out too fast – If you have tapered properly, at the starting line you may feel like a race horse in the starting gate. It takes discipline and patience to go out slow. But if you want to have a good race that’s what you need to do.
  
  Go out like a rabbit, finish like a turtle; go out like a turtle and finish like a rabbit. This is easy to do because you will be excited about the race and everyone around you will be running faster. You may be cold and want to run faster to warm up. But you'll burn out early and suffer through the rest of the race. Consider starting a little further back at a slower pace or even at the back of the pack (this works better in small races) and after the first mile or so slowly (over the next couple of miles) try to catch up with the group you want to pace with. Early in the race they won't be that far in front of you. Try to run negative split, that is run the second half faster than the first half. Run the first have slow and smart and then see how many rabbits you can pass in the second half!
  
  For example, let’s say you are racing in a half marathon and have been training for and want to average 10 minutes per mile for a finish time of about 2:10. If you get caught up in the excitement and adrenaline of the first mile and do it in 9 minutes, you did not put a minute in the bank that you can use if you have to later, you may have sabotaged your whole race. You may not be able to do very many, if any, 10 minute miles for the rest of the race because you stressed your body so early in the race. It is FAR better to run the first mile in 11 minutes. You will feel much better in the second half of the race and probably be able to easily make up that minute.
  
  In a distance race (the longer the distance the more important this is), you want to spend all of your time up to the final kick in your aerobic zone. Running too hard early in a race may put you in a position that you can not recover from. The longer the race the more important it is to stay in your aerobic zone. You want your level of effort to be consistent through the race. Try not to surge as these cost you energy that you will need later in the race. That means if you get to a tough climb, don’t be tempted to power through it. You would be better off power walking up the hill and running down it.
  
  The longer your race the more critical it is that you stay in your aerobic zone. If you are running a marathon and run anaerobic for a couple of miles you will probably suffer through the rest of the miles. It's okay to run anaerobic in the last part of a race, but only the near the end.
• Hydration Not enough / too much – hitting the wall, hitting the port-a-potty
• Nutrition Not enough / too much / different – hitting the wall, digestive discomfort
• Not enough electrolytes – hitting the wall
• Not sticking to your race strategy. Letting your mind and the adrenaline take control.
• Trying something new and having it not work. Experimenting is for training runs.
• ALWAYS respect the distance, no matter how many times you have completed it.

Most people in a race do not have a strategy. They just go out and run. Develop a good race strategy taking into consideration the elevation profile, aid stations, weather (heat, rain, cold), darkness, ... Once you are satisfied with your plan, stick to it. Exercise restraint when you are tempted to deviate from it. If you have a good strategy you will do much better in a race. Don’t be tempted to pass someone you perceive as a weaker runner in a race just because you should. They may have started out way too fast. Run your own race.

One strategy that you might find useful is to pick a critical point in a race about three-fourths of the way to the finish line; maybe just after a big hill or a challenging section or an aid station. The exact location is not so important. It needs to be after the halfway point and not within easy reach of the finish line. Studying the elevation profile of the race may help. During the race, be conservative to that critical point so that you have plenty left in your tank to give it all you’ve got to the finish line. If you are too aggressive early in the race you will be hurting when you get to the critical point and will struggle to finish.

The longer the race the more conservative you should be and the more critical it is that you not overextend or push yourself early in the race.

If you find yourself struggling during a race, try to strike up a conversation with a fellow running. This will distract you and help take your mind off the discomfort of your body.

If you are doing well in a race, maybe you are on track to set a PR, then don’t hold back. Give it all you’ve got so you don’t have any regrets. You don’t want to finish the race and think “I could have run that 20 seconds faster”.