Running a 5K Race

You have been training for the 5k race for weeks. Your all hyped up and ready for the challenge. You’re eager to see how you match up against the other runners.  Its easy to get carried away and imagine yourself standing on the winner’s podium at the end of the race, being showered with praise and glory. It you do, that’s where things start to go wrong. Remember who you are. You are a good runner, able to run at a competitive pace and turn in a reasonable time at the end of the race. If you push yourself too hard and try to match the performance of the professional or semi pro runners who may be in the race, you will burn out, could hurt yourself and when you find them beating you, the fun may go out of running. Don’t forget that you are running to 5k for fun, exercise and to be able to see where you stand amongst your peers, not the pros.

The first thing you need to remember is that there is an etiquette to be observed at the starting line.  The pros will be in front, which is their rightful place. Why should they, who are the fastest runners, have to pick their way through a bunch of slower amateurs? It slows them down, will affect their race plan and does not benefit the slower runners in any way. Your place, as an amateur runner, it towards the back of the grid. You’re not going to come in first so what the professionals do does not concern you – let them speed off into the distance. Being in the back of the grid means there will be less of a crowd around you at the start of the 5k and you can run at your own pace.

Don’t worry about who overtakes you or whom you overtake during the race. That’s not important. Trying to keep up with people who don’t look like they should be faster than you and burning yourself out is not going to help you. Run at the pace you have been practicing at. What is important is not what happens during the race but being able to finish it and see where you stand amongst the other amateurs of your age group and fitness levels. This will give you a benchmark by which to measure your own performance.

During your training you should count your paces per minute or, if that is difficult, find songs that match your pace and listen to them. If you like to let your mind wander as you run, get a heart beat monitor and a set pace to match your heart beat. Stick to this during your training and also during the race . Let the others bolt off the starting line like the devils are after them. Do your own thing and soon you will find yourself passing the puffing and panting runners who got carried away with the excitement of the race and forgot the basics of running and what they are running for.