Tips on Running RacesThen running races is an amazing way to satisfy your competitive spirit. It isn't just running the race that is important, but the training and preparation that is involved can be even more exhilarating than the actual race. Running races is a great idea to keep up your motivation and training effort. If you are the kind of person who thinks would enjoy several months of regimented exercise and eating habits, pushing your body and soul to their limits, and finally running against hundreds or thousands of competitors to the finish line, then running races is for you. Tips on Running Races #1: Failing to Prepare, .....Benjamin Franklin said it before: "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Preparation is highly important in running races. Not only do you have to know your body's limitations, but you have to prepare it for what it is about to go through, be it a 5k race, a 10k race or a marathon. You would usually pick a 12-, 18- or even 24-week running program and chop it up in training blocks, first focusing on base building and later on adding faster workouts as well. This is called periodization. Tips on Running Races #2: Listen to your bodyA mistake many runners make when preparing for a race is that they underestimate the training effort involved. It is easy enough to say on New Year's Day that you are going to run a marathon that year, not knowing that this requires very dedicated training, including a number of 20-mile runs. when you are underprepared and go into this type of training, you leave your body exposed to the risk of running injuries. It is important to listen to your body, increase your mileage safely and to follow a hard/easy approach. This means that you alternate hard, tough workouts on one day with rest or much easier workouts the next day, giving your body a chance to recover. Tips on Running Races #3: Know What You'll Eat and DrinkWhen running races, especially longer ones, you will be eating and drinking during the race. Make sure you know which drink the race organizers will provide you with. It makes a hell of a difference! I have run races where at certain stops, when I wanted water, we'd get some fizzy drink that did not agree with me. Train with drinking certain sports drinks. When you know that some sports drink is no good for you, then make sure you carry your own or make other arrangements. Same goes for the food you eat during the race: make sure you have trained eating it and see if it agrees with you or not. It is nothing less than bad race preparation if your race goes down the drain because of the food and drink you consume. Tips on Running Races #4: Arrive EarlyAllow yourself enough time to get to the race, store the items you carrying on you, do a relaxed warming up etc. Nothing worse than having to skip your warm-up or not being able to go to the toilet anymore because you got up too late. Tips on Running Races #5: Find out about the CourseMake sure you know the course. Is it hilly, is it a city race (between buildings) or in a more rural environment where the elements (wind especially) might have more influence. nothing worse than planning for a PB, only to find out that the race turns out to be a lot tougher/hillier than you expected it to be. I have been there, and I can tell you it really stuffs up your day! Tips on Running Races #6: Gauge Your AbilityMake sure you have got a good idea of the time you will be able to run your race in. You can do this by incorporating time trials or tune-up races in your running program. It is also wise to include a few goal pace sessions in your running training so you can figure out whether the time you are planning to run is achievable. Tips on Running Races #6: Pace Yourself, Know Your Game PlanWhile running races, you need to make sure you pace yourself. Rely on your training and the fact that you know what your body can and cannot do, and stick to the game plan. Ideally you would have listen to running tip #6 and have done a few tune-up races or time trials so you have a good estimate of the time you'd be able to achieve using a race conversion calculator. Knowing your possible end time allows you to pace yourself. It should then be your goal to go for as even splits as possible. So every mile, whether it is the first, or the fifth, or the tenth, or the twentieth in the race should be run equally fast (not taking into account hills etc.). The amount of people you will pass by in the second part of the race! 80 to 90 percent of your fellow competitors will start off too fast, getting caught up in the excitement of the race. Your race will be so much more enjoyable when you find yourself being able to keep your pace throughout the race, when you pass others in the second part of the race rather than getting passed by. Don't ignore this tip. If there is one thing you take away from this article, it must be to pace yourself. Tips on Running Races #7: Have Multiple GoalsA great tip I picked up from some other website is to have multiple goals on race day. one goal time for when you have an extremely good day, one goal time which you'd still be happy with and one goal time for when you find that things are going horribly wrong. It is important to realize that you can have an off-day, that during the race you suddenly get pains, bowel issues. You don't know which great things your body has got in store for you. Of course, there is much you can do to influence that. I guess it is important to realize that missing your ultimate goal does not necessarily mean the loss of months and months of running training. In the end, you are still part of a tiny majority that put in the work and made the effort to participate in the event. So even when things don't go your way, try to make the best of your racing experience, try to pick up some learnings for next time, try to battle through and compliment yourself afterwards for the character-building exercise you just went through! Tips on Running Races #8: Something about EtiquetteA bit of a bug bear of mine are some of the behaviors witnessed during races. One important thing is to know your place. If you are going to run your 10k in 50 minutes and not in 30-33 minutes as the winner of your race will likely do, then it is only decent to make sure that that person is closer to the starting line than you are. So do not try to be the first at the starting line if you are not going to be the first at the finish line. Try to position yourself fairly in amongs the field. If you are middle of the pack, go line up somewhere in the middle, if you are back of the pack, go to the back, etc. It only makes sense. I am nowhere near elite, more middle of the pack, and the number of people even I pass by during a regular race in the first few kilometres is just incredible. Another one is if "slow starters" run together in a bigger group. I have had situations where I had to try to pass six people running in one line all next to eachother with hardly any room to pass them either on the left hand side or the right hand side. It is quite selfish to position yourself like that, especially when there are hundreds of people behind you faster than you. Keep it in mind, to make sure you make the race enjoyable for everyone around you, not just yourself. Nothing like a race run well after months and months of preparation! I hope the tips provided help you a bit come race day. Wish to get more running tips? Subscribe to the Best Running Tips Newsletter or to my site blog. 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