More Support for Aggressive Pre-Race Warm-Up

Fast running in warm-up results in smoother race start.

August 10, 2012

We've written recently about how doing more than just running easily better prepares you for a hard workout or race. A new British study adds more support to the idea, showing that what might seem like an overly aggressive warm-up can improve race performance.

In the study, highly trained middle-distance runners did 800-meter time trials on two occasions. Before both they first jogged for 10 minutes, then did a routine of mobility drills. So far, pretty standard for experienced runners. The difference between the two time trials came in what they did next. Before one, they did two 50-meter striders, or accelerations up to race pace. That, too, is fairly typical for top racers. Before the other time trial, however, they did two 50-meter striders, and then 200 meters at race pace.

Did running so far so fast soon before the time trial tire them out? On the contrary. On average, the runners completed their 800-meter time trial 1.2 seconds faster (2:04.5 compared to 2:05.7) when their warm-up included the hard 200.

While most of us don't have an 800-meter race in our near future, this study nonetheless is valuable. First, it's yet more evidence that if you want to race your best in shorter races (say, half marathon and shorter), your warm-up should prepare you to be operating efficiently at race pace from the start. Following an easy jog with range-of-motion exercises and faster running gets your cardiovascular, muscular and metabolic systems functioning as they'll be doing during your race. In interval workouts, you're probably familiar with the phenomenon of the second or third hard repeat feeling easier than the first one. The sort of warm-up used in this study attempts to duplicate on race day what many runners experience in training.

Second, the study used a middle-distance version of something coaching legend Jack Daniels, author of Daniels Running Formula, has long recommended: What might seem like too long a bout of fast running soon before the start. In the study, the bout was one-quarter of the race distance. Of course, that makes sense when the race distance is 800 meters, but doesn't soon before, say, a 10K. Daniels' typical recommendation is two or three minutes at 10-mile to half marathon race pace, finishing five to 10 minutes before the start. That's long enough to get your energy systems ready to race well, but short enough not to drain you.

As Daniels likes to point out, the longer pre-race hard bout of running often has an additional benefit: It keeps you from going out too quickly in the first mile. Psychologically and physically, you'll be aware you recently ran for a couple minutes at a decent clip. Just like on the second or third repeat of a workout, you'll then probably start at the proper pace, run more efficiently and be better able to make use of your fitness over the full distance of the race.