Middle- and long-distance running tactics

1The fastest runner does not always win

In the men's 1500 m final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, the defending champion, went to the front early and set a hard pace. Three runners stayed close behind him, and on the final straight all three passed him: Cole Hocker of the USA won and Ingebrigtsen finished fourth. Both men were superb athletes; the difference was tactics. Middle-distance (800 m and 1500 m) and long-distance races (3000 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m and road races) are run without lanes for most of the way, so every runner chooses where to run and when to speed up.

2Four race tactics

3Where to run in the pack

• Run on the outside shoulder of the runner ahead, not directly behind or beside the kerb, so you can move out to overtake.
• Overtake on the outside, and on the straights where you can, since passing on a bend adds distance.
• Stay near the front third of the group in the last two laps; the kick usually starts with 200 to 300 m left.
• In long races in the heat, drink at every station from early on, before you feel thirsty.

4Rules that matter

In top competitions the 800 m is run in lanes as far as the breakline, an arced line after the first bend; after it you may cut in towards the kerb. Races of 1500 m and longer start from a curved ("waterfall") line, without lanes. Pushing, obstructing or tripping another runner, or running inside the kerb to save distance, leads to disqualification (World Athletics Technical Rules).

Figure: a standard 400 m track seen from above. The 800 m runners start in lanes at the finish line, run the first bend in their lanes and may leave them at the yellow breakline.