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Running and Racing		 Running Form
Pacing in Races		 Running as a Team Sport A Brief Overview:
Cross Country and Track & Field

Running Form and Pacing in Races

Running Form

Running form is a very important aspect when speaking of this sport. By using great running form while running in races, it can have a major effect on where you finish in the race and whether or not you have a fantastic finishing time.
Running Form

Most runners sometimes use different running forms. Running form varies from country to country. It is almost impossible for anyone to have perfect running form, but there are methods in greatly trying to have a perfect form. Even the elites today do not have this perfect running form.

When dealing with your arms during running, especially races, the greatest thing one can do to have a great form is to:

  1. attempt to keep your arms at a 90 degree angle
  2. as your arms are at this 90 degree angle, you can greatly increase your speed the higher you move your arms without going out of control.
Cross Country

When speaking of the way the shape your body and torso should be while running in races, one should consider the following:

  1. When running, run with your body very straight, as in a shape of straight line.
  2. Your torso or your upper body, should be pushed forward and outward, especially when finishing the race. Remember: The timer or watch stops when the torso crosses the finish line!!!

The way one breaths while running during races can have a great effect on the finishing time of the competitor.

There are several techniques on the ways one should breath while racing:

  1. One technique is to breath deeply but to control your breathing in doing so.
  2. The more uncontrollable your breathing gets while racing, the slower finishing time you may receive.

Pacing in Cross Country

Pacing in Races

Pacing is an important factor in this sport. Depending on the type of race it is (eg. a 5 kilometer run [3.1 miles] in Cross Country compared to the 800 meter run in Track & Field) one will need to learn what times or how fast they should be going, whether we speak of pacing each mile, each half mile, each quarter mile, or even each 200 meters.

The factors we want to examine when speaking of pacing is:
  1. To have each lap or mile in a race be as close or just as fast as every mile or lap throughout the race. For example, if I were to run a 5 kilometer race[3.1] miles, I would try to keep each mile out of the 3 miles as close together as possible, having the first mile trying to become a little faster than the other miles. This, then allows you to have a fantastic finishing time, and possibly a PR (Personal Record) from previous races ran.

  2. You also want to start a race as quick as possible. You want to be in the lead, don't you? If you are able to get ahead of the pack in a race, make sure you do so early, as it will become more difficult to catch up to the pack if you are already too far back.

  3. One can check their pacing and results from racing to try to improve by going to Running websites that cover this great sport. One website that is popular and covers running around each state in America is at Mile Split. Here, you can examine each state across America and find specific results for meets!!
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