How to Win Every Race

There is a fundamental advantage mortal runners have that often goes unnoticed. BTW, a ‘mortal’ runner is anyone who isn’t running the race and relying on the winnings to pay their bills. Elite runners toe the line focusing on one goal – winning. To do this, they set out to run by their bodies and push hard to keep up or lead their competitors.

Mortal runners don’t set out to win, but rather to achieve a certain finish time or pace. This strategy, more often than not, leads them to failure rather than success. Think of it, if elite runners tied their winnings to running a specific pace and finish time in every race and only running personal records, they would quit and take up another sport.

That’s not how running works friends. Elite runners can win a race, and finish with a slow time. They can also lose the race and set a record! The key is to run like an elite and aim to win every race.

Sometimes this will translate to a new personal record, and other times it may be a slower finish time (heat, wind, hard course). The goal is to finish strong every time.

Winning is about running your strongest performance on the given day and then celebrating afterward.

This brings me to my second point. Mortal runners have an advantage in that we don’t have to run what our competitors next to us are running. An elite has no choice but to lead or follow the lead pack. Their every move depends on the runners next to them.

Mortals, on the other hand, can pace themselves from the start, take it out slowly, and gradually increase the effort along the way. This – is – the – way – to win and set personal records! Running the second half of the course faster than the first leads to personal and world records. The good news is – you have full control over that from the very first step to the last. Read how to pace yourself from within and by color here.

So as you race this season, set yourself up for the win, pace from within, and celebrate every finish line. Every race is an opportunity to evolve your running performance.