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Aren't marathon runners mostly competing against others in the same race, so if they can all slow down, they all will? Some of the olympic races seemed like a f
by averagewall 9y ago
Aren't marathon runners mostly competing against others in the same race, so if they can all slow down, they all will? Some of the olympic races seemed like a farce with runners right next to each other - obviously adjusting their pace according to each other, not trying to set a record.
- alistairSH 9y agoThat's certainly true, and pacing can play a huge role in longer races. But, that also assumes that top runners are willing to out-sprint their competitors somewhere approaching the finish-line (not necessarily a full-on sprint, but even the last 5k of a marathon). We see this regularly in cycling, where aerodynamics and drafting play a huge role (and races are frequently 5+ hours). I'm not sure the same holds true for running, where even the longest race (marathon) is 3 hours and the draft is much less of a concern.
- mannykannot 9y agoI think that applies to the top runners, who are competing with a few other specific individuals, but a typical marathon runner will be competing against the clock, if anything. In a race in which no participant is paying any attention to any of the other competitors, they will each still end up running with others going at about the same speed, assuming their pace does not fluctuate erratically (which it doesn't - especially in longer races, where almost all participants have practiced enough that they have an intuitive knowledge of what they can realistically expect to achieve.)