| How to survive your first race | | | | yourself in the path of faster runners. It is a similar |
| Once you have chosen a race and have started to | | | | story if you start too far back: you'll waste time and |
| train you will need to prepare a strategy to tackle | | | | energy dodging slower runners as you move forward |
| any obstacles that you may encounter before, during | | | | through the field. Many races have a loose seeding, |
| or after your racing debut. | | | | either with roped-off sections or large signs, which |
| Do your homework | | | | try to divide the field by approximate finishing times. |
| Try to avoid any unnecessary anxiety before the | | | | Pace judgement |
| race. Find out what you can about the course and | | | | In your first few races, it is more important that you |
| the event itself. Make a list of things you need for | | | | finish with a smile on your face and bags of |
| the race - your number, safety pins, racing kit and | | | | enthusiasm for your next race than a new personal |
| shoes, towel, plasters, petroleum jelly, post-race | | | | best. Start slowly and speed up a little in the second |
| snack - and pack your bag the night before. Arrive at | | | | half of the race; most novice racers do exactly the |
| the start of the race with plenty of time to spare. | | | | opposite. Try not to become obsessed with the time |
| Many races attract hundreds, even thousands, of | | | | that it takes you to run each mile or kilometre and |
| runners making queues for parking, registration, | | | | remember that you're there to enjoy the experience |
| baggage drop and the toilets inevitable. If time | | | | and the atmosphere. |
| permits, walk the last section of the course so you | | | | Don't panic |
| will know what to expect in the closing stages. | | | | It is perfectly normal for your mood to fluctuate in a |
| Cold comfort | | | | race. A bad patch is common, although not inevitable. |
| If it's a cold day and you have to make your way to | | | | Instead of becoming demoralized by it, keep going, |
| the start after dropping your bag, wear an old | | | | slowing the pace if you need to, until it passes. If |
| cotton T-shirt that you can discard when the race | | | | necessary remind yourself of all the training sessions |
| begins. Many runners even wear bin liners before a | | | | you've completed in the build up. |
| race. This sounds odd but they are a cheap and easy | | | | Break it up |
| way to stay warm and dry. However, be sure to | | | | It helps if you break the race up into achievable and |
| discard yours responsibly when the gun goes off. | | | | manageable smaller segments, especially if you are |
| Chips please | | | | running further than a 10K. Think about the single mile |
| If you have chosen to make your racing debut at a | | | | or kilometre in front of you and set yourself a mini |
| large race, try to pick one that issues timing chips to | | | | target, rather than focusing on all 13 or 26 miles you |
| entrants. The advantage of running with a chip is that | | | | have to run as a single block, which can feel |
| your official running time starts when you cross the | | | | overwhelming. |
| line, not when the gun goes off; at bigger races the | | | | Support |
| difference can be as much as 10 minutes. As a | | | | If you have identified weak areas in your training, |
| consequence the starts are less frantic and you are | | | | such as the later stages of a distance, ask your |
| more likely to set off at an even pace. | | | | friends and family to support you at that point in the |
| Know your place | | | | race. You will find it hard to give up when you hear |
| Even if the race does not have timing chips, it is | | | | them cheering you on. Don't rely on crowd support |
| worth trying to start in roughly the right place for | | | | though if you are taking part in a smaller race where |
| the time you're aiming for. If you force your way to | | | | you might find yourself running alone for long |
| the front and then set off at a slow jog, you will find | | | | sections of the course. |