How do elite runners pace themselves and how do they win final sprints? The tactics of the pros can be transferred surprisingly easily to your own training.
Anyone who follows professional races closely sees far more than just extreme speeds. Whether in the gripping deciders of the Diamond League in Brüssel or the extreme climbs of the Mountain Running World Cups in the Italian mountains: the athletes show how crucial the right pacing, the right cadence and mental strength in the final sprint are. These tactics are no secret knowledge – you can use them specifically to make your own runs smarter.
An extremely close finish was seen at the Diamond League final in Brüssel over 800 metres. According to reports from Athletics Weekly and leichtathletik.de, the Swiss runner Audrey Werro and the Dutch runner Femke Broeders-Bol fought a gripping duel. Werro led from the front for almost the entire race and in the end saved a razor-thin lead of just six hundredths of a second across the finish line. Broeders-Bol, who actually prefers to run from the front, had to resort to her plan B and attack from behind. She explained after the race that she was boxed in by the extremely fast pace of the leader and could only accelerate late.
Werro, on the other hand, emphasised that she felt the pressure of her rival charging up behind her and that this very pressure spurred her on not to let up. Over 400 metres hurdles, too, a fraction of a second decided the outcome: German runner Emil Agyekum, in fourth place, missed out on the podium by a tiny three thousandths of a second. What do you learn from this? A final sprint requires absolute concentration. If you notice a competitor catching up during a race, use this presence as a source of mental energy instead of letting it discourage you. In addition, Broeders-Bol's experience shows how important it is to have a plan B ready in case your own preferred pace is blocked from the start.
How to pace yourself on extreme routes is demonstrated by the Mountain Running World Cup in Casto. In the Vertical Nasego there – a pure uphill race over 4.2 kilometres – runners have to tackle 1,000 metres of altitude, according to Athletics Weekly. The special feature: almost half of this altitude gain awaits on the very last kilometre. The terrain becomes so steep there that the athletes sometimes have to use their hands to help. Germany's Nina Engelhard won here after an injury break in an impressive 39:29 minutes.
In the longer Trofeo Nasego over 21.5 kilometres, on the other hand, the profile demands a completely different tactic: the first 10 kilometres are flat and rolling, followed by an extreme, steep climb over 700 metres of altitude and a technically demanding, 4-kilometre-long downhill finish. Such races show that you must adapt your pacing strictly to the route profile. Anyone who overpaces on the first flat kilometres will blow up on the mountain. For your training, this means: scout the route beforehand and pace your energy so that you still have reserves left for the hardest section.
Not every race goes perfectly. Steeplechaser Karl Bebendorf finished ninth in Brüssel after a tactically dominated race over 3000 metres steeplechase. He emphasised that it is precisely the bad days that show how serious you are about the sport. All-rounder Emma Kaul also explained after her German championship title in the heptathlon that the absolutely perfect competition almost never exists. It is much more important to establish a solid basis without major setbacks. So do not let setbacks discourage you – consistency in training is the real key to long-term success.
Your takeaway: Use the presence of competitors as a motivational boost for your finish and pace yourself beforehand exactly according to the route profile.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.