Slow & Steady Always Wins the Race
Brooke Curran, a 43 year old lady from Alexandria, just recently ran a marathon in Antarctica. She was the top female finisher because she was fit, had trained, but most of all, in my opinion, she had a strategy. She decided to walk up the steep hills and by mile 16 or 17, she decided to make her move while the rest of the pack had worn themselves out.
Just recently, I was coaching my 9 year old son to run or should I say "win" an 800 meter race on the McLean Youth Track Team. I ran this race in high school, used the same strategy as Brooke, and then taught my son how to use it last week:
Do not wear yourself out, stay with the pack but towards the back, and on the final lap, start speeding up and finally break into a full sprint (or at least as much as you have left) for the last 200 meters. The strategy works as you still have energy left because you paced yourself, no one knows what a strong athlete you are, and then you blow them out of the water as your mind tells the body to sprint to win!
Now, if we all could remember, that slow and steady always wins the race with a kick at the end!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/alexandrias-brooke-curran-on-winning-the-antarctica-marathon/2012/04/02/gIQAfhWbrS_story.html?wpisrc=nl_health
