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The marathon case is interesting. The top two runners in a marathon keep pace with each other, both know that they're holding some energy in reserve for the fi
by Buttons840 2y ago
The marathon case is interesting.
The top two runners in a marathon keep pace with each other, both know that they're holding some energy in reserve for the final sprint. Perhaps one sprinter could try to push themself a little faster throughout the entire race, but I suspect the consequences of running a little over your optimal pace are worse than running a little under your optimal pace, so they err on the side of running a little under their optimal pace and save energy for the final sprint.
- febusravenga 2y agoYeah, it's interesting to see techniques from short track (skates) or bike track to be used in so extremely different type of run. But after some thought, it's obvious that any long distance run can be divided into phases with different characteristcs and strategies can be built on top of it.
- toyg 2y agoLong-distance running races pre-date cycling and skating by decades. If anything, it's strategies from running that inevitably find their way into more modern sports.
- toyg 2y agoThis is why world records in long-distance running are not typically achieved at big events, where winning is all that matters. They are usually attempted at smaller events, coordinating with other runners ("hares") to achieve the perfect pace, without having to worry about the result (hares will typically drop out throughout the race). If you want to see what happens when the favourites run a little too hard a little too early, check out the 1500m final: Ingebrigtsen and Kerr were supposed to slug it out between themselves, but they both pushed too early (Ingebrigtsen unwisely pulling from the front most of the time), so they got to the sprint too tired to match the surging Hocker.