"Donovan Rebbechi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:David Geesaman said:At least as a distance runner I had the opportunity to spike the
heels
of anyone dumb enough to really cut me off, or if they tried to gradually
elbow in I would punch them HARD in the back of their upper arm. (If you
time it for when their elbow is coming back toward you, they get a very
painful message).
I don't know of any self-regulation possible in the 110s except to be
ahead of them.
What distances did you run, and which ones were the worst in terms of
jostling
? The mile/1500 races look especially rough because it's long enough for
packs
to jostle strategically for position -- no-one wants to be the rabbit, but
everyone wants to be close to the front, yet it's not long enough for the
pack
to fragment. At my level (4:48 mile) the pack breaks up even in short
races,
and half the competitors are wearing flats anyway. In the mile, I can run
behind the main pack and then just run past them when the time is right
(even
on indoor track). But that only works because the pack isn't very big.
Donovan Rebbechi
Off the start, it's always the same - whoever takes the position, owns
the position. I found that two things were always important: head up on the
start and go when you see gunsmoke (tremendously important in
cross-country), and hold your elbows somewhat wide. Beginners often try to
take as little space as possible and squeeze in when the waterfall start
cuts for the first corner - this is a huge mistake. If you're going to
squeeze in, do it and then widen those arms to make some space. Keep the
elbows a little wide and hands high. Nothing wrong with stabilizing
yourself by a hand on another runner's shoulder if you're getting cramped.
It depended on the race size and the closeness. All middle and long
distance events could get rough. In middle distance and relays, the
jostling was less body and pushing, and more about not having room to
stretch out and stride. The good news is that they are moving closer to
their full speed and so changes in pace aren't a major factor. The bad news
is that just a clipped foot or broken stride at full speed can take a person
out of contention on the bell lap.
Wearing spikes only makes the results more severe - a trip will more
often result in a fall, and contact will more often result in bleeding.
Stepping on the rail in spikes is also much worse than in flats, assuming
you don't turn your ankle. Wearing flats tends to allow for more contact
that doesn't lead to someone taking a fall.
I was mostly a 3k/5k/10k guy, and I found that pack 'cycling' was
common: this is where if you're on the inside, someone comes up on the
outside to the front, and settles in. Then the guy in back does the same,
and it ends up being a big "Indian Run" (I know that's a not-PC name, but
it's the only name I know for it). It's quite tiring when you're in the
middle because you get crowded all around and in big races the pack is 2
wide plus the guys trying to move up on the outside - so if you're on the
rail, you don't have much you can do. The alternative is to sprint like
crazy to get ahead of the pack, run 3 or 4 abreast, or fall behind and move
up when the pack stretches out. The last is the best option in 5ks and
10ks, but you have to be very attentive that you don't lose contact with the
ones in front when it finally stretches out. I remember the Penn Relays
collegiate 5k was the worst I've ever dealt with: they put like 75 guys on
the track at once and when the staggered start groups merged, it was a sea
of confusion for a good 2k. That's a long time to be stuck in traffic, and
since I'm 6'-1" with a longer stride, I think I got cut off more than most.
When things finally spread out, I was worn out.
Keeping guys from pushing you sideways in any race isn't hard to avoid -
I just widen my elbows and hold my ground. If they run me into the rail I
take a couple of steps inside the rail to catch my balance and try to jump
back in and force my way into lane one again, pushing the offender out of my
way. Officials I know generally will rule in my favor, since I was clearly
run off the track and made an effort to get back immediately. If your
pushing is done with forearms it looks less offensive.
The main conflicts IMO are when the pack isn't too dense and someone
starts cutting into the small buffer of space between you and the person
you're following. Usually I found I could ride them off with my arm so they
would recognize my presence, or say something. If giving a verbal warning,
make it loud so any bystanders or officials hear it too. If he persisted on
cutting me off gradually, I would reach out for the back of his left elbow
and push it forward, so he couldn't pump that arm. That works very well to
throw off their rhythm and their reflex is to make some space. The tricep
punch is a semi-combative last resort and can be made very slyly in your
natural running motion.
Dave
