Pre-race posturing

There are several things that happen at races that runners new to the racing scene might not notice. The next time you head out to a local race, pay attention to the following behavior. It happens no matter what distance you are doing, and it is always entertaining.

Sizing up the competition

If you are enjoying talking to your friends or performing pre-race rituals like stretching, it is easy to miss this, so take a few minutes to observe the people around you. There will always be people who are assessing the competition. They are deciding if you are a threat to their medal hopes and if you are in their age group. They might strike up casual conversations with you as they ask questions like, “Do you know this course?” “How fast do you usually run this distance?”

I was arriving at an ultra I had never done before that day. As my husband and I walked toward the registration table, my husband said, “Oh, someone sees you as a threat.” I responded, “Me?!” I looked up and the three ladies were looking at me with assessing looks. One said, “Yup, she is at all of these.” I found out later that they thought I was someone else. Oh, well.

Boasting

It can happen in the registration line, or while everyone waits to start, but usually it happens in the line for the bathroom. It usually starts like this, “I’m glad we have good weather today because last month I did the Badlands 350 miler through the desert and the weather was brutal.” Someone else will add, “Oh, the weather makes all the difference. When I did my last 48-hour ultra, we had all types of weather.” The poor person who is doing a 5K for the first time begins to feel less than others. Remember that if someone needs to flaunt her feathers that badly, she might not be as amazing as the image she is painting.

Excuses

This is when a runner tells you all the reasons why he will not perform well in today’s race. The excuses include not sleeping well, being ill, or having a strange injury that won’t go away. A runner makes excuses in case his performance is lackluster, and also to convince his competition that he is not a threat, and they should not pay attention to him.

Racing is full of mental head games. When you go to your next race, see if you notice any of the behaviors I mentioned.