Whether it's a sprint, middle distance or half marathon: race tactics decide between victory and defeat. Here is how you can use the pacing strategies of the world's best for your own training.
Anyone who just blindly runs off when running is wasting valuable potential. A look at the absolute top performances of the athletics pros at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest and the big road races of the season shows this. Whether on short sprint distances, the middle distance or in the half marathon: the right race tactics and smart pacing are often more decisive than pure muscle power. The strategies of the world-class athletes can be transferred to your own training surprisingly easily.
How important it is to still have reserves at the decisive moment was demonstrated by US sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in Budapest. After her victory over 100 metres, she also triumphed over 200 metres in one of the fastest times in history (21.47 seconds), according to Athletics Weekly. Her secret? In the semi-finals, she deliberately held back to save energy. This tactic paid off fully in the final when she pulled past her competitor in the last 100 metres.
On longer distances, too, the right timing is everything. British world-class runner Josh Kerr secured the title over 1,500 metres with an extremely controlled performance. He did not let himself get nervous in the dense field, always stayed within striking distance and only accelerated mercilessly in the last 200 metres (in 26.02 seconds). At the Great North Run over the half marathon distance, the American Zouhair Talbi showed a similar pattern: he ran shoulder to shoulder with the competition for a long time and only delivered the decisive blow for victory in the final miles with an enormous increase in pace.
A completely different approach that can also lead to success is running boldly at the front – but only if you can also control the pace. German runner Robert Farken chose an offensive tactic over 1,500 metres and led the field over the first two laps. In the end, he had to pay tribute to the high pace and finished eleventh after a stumble, but emphasised according to leichtathletik.de that he learns from exactly such experiences in order to keep up with the world's best in the long term.
How not to let yourself be rattled by the competition at all was shown by hurdler Emil Agyekum. Although former world record holder Karsten Warholm caught up with him by the second hurdle in the 400 metres hurdles final, the Berlin native stayed cool. He focused exclusively on his own rhythm and pulled through his stride as planned. The result: a new German record of 47.10 seconds and fourth place in a world-class field.
The pros show that running is not just about going full throttle from the start. For your own training and your next competitions, you can derive the following tactics:
Your takeaway: Don't get carried away by the pace of others at the start, but trust in your own rhythm and save energy for a strong finish.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.