Cross-County: Surging Tips

“Surging is a distance running strategy in which you put the pedal to the metal for brief periods or surges.”

1) Learning to Withstand Fast Starts at the beginning of a Cross-Country Race

Cross-country starts are absolute mayhem—especially at the West Virginia High School State Cross Country Championship at Cabell Midland HS in Ona, WV, where you might see as many as 90 to 130 runners sprinting to reach the first narrowing point (baseball field) in good position.

Many runners, used to a more leisurely start in small meets or invitational races, get swept along and quickly die, or start too slowly and never get into position to be competitive.

How can you train your runners for such fast starts? One way is to practice it during longer distance runs.

A. Long Run Start Practice

Your runners first perform a short warmup, so they're loose before they begin their run. Then, as a group, have them start their distance run at a fast, race-like sprint over a designated distance, for example, the length of your football field or a lap of the track. They then settle into a minute or two of their perceived race pace, after which they slow to their normal training pace and finish their run.

B. Progression

A progression will make these faster starts even more effective. The first week, place one pylon 100m from the start line, and another pylon an additional 100m down the course. Instruct your runners to sprint to the first pylon, run at race pace to the second, then settle down into their normal training pace for the rest of the run.

On each subsequent week, increase the distance to the two pylons. Your runners will soon become accustomed to fast starts and will develop the ability to recover as they slow to their normal racing pace.

2) Double Surge Tactic When Running in the Lead

At your last competition, your runners were drafted by competitors for most of the race. They tried picking up the pace on hills and surging at turns, but just couldn't shake their shadows. “What could we have done?” you're asked.

Suggest the Double Surge technique to shake off tailgaters. Here's how it works.

The Double Surge:

Have your runners make a quick, hard surge, then settle back into their regular pace. Then, after a few seconds, surge again.

Most trailing runners must work extremely hard to deal with a leader's surge, but tell themselves that if they hang on, the "surger" will eventually slow down and they can then catch their breath.

The second surge will catch them exactly when they're thinking they can recover - it's a psychological blow that can drop them for good.

3) Surge in Pairs for Better Team Tactics During a Race

Here's a way for two runners to gang up on an opponent on a track or cross-country course. With a bit of teamwork, they can surge side by side past an opponent, or simultaneously pass on both sides of their victim.

How to Perform:

The most effective duo-passing occurs when both teammates pass side by side, instead of one after the other. This gives the opponent less time to react and possibly fight off the second runner.

To coordinate this move, have your athletes practice such duo-passes in advance. Then, during a race, they need merely to establish eye contact with each other, make a quick head movement or other signal, and blast past.

Effect:

A two-runner move can have a devastating psychological effect on opponents—losing two places so quickly is a difficult mental obstacle to overcome.

4) Fartlek Workouts to Teach you how to Surge During a Race

Fartlek is a Swedish word, loosely translated as "speed play." Bill Dellinger, 5,000-meter bronze medalist in the 1964 Olympic Games and who succeeded Coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon, said: "An athlete runs as he feels. A fartlek training session can be the hardest workout a runner does all week, or it can be the easiest." Dellinger adds: "In order to be a good distance runner, you have to build strength and endurance, learn race pace, and practice race tactics. Fartlek training can incorporate all of these essential elements into a single workout." Fartlek teaches you how to surge in the middle of the race to get away from opponents--or hang with them when they attempt to surge on you.

A. Long Fartlek Run

70 to 80-minute Easy Run with Fartlek Workout: Run 8 to 10 times 1 minute at slightly faster than 5K effort with 1-minute recovery jog.

Purpose: To Build Speed - Aerobic Capacity (VO2max).

Fartlek Runs require you to run by effort over pace. For each repetition, run at an approximate effort that you feel matches the effort required. Perform this work out on a rolling course so that some fast running is performed on up hills, some on flat ground and some on down hills. Run slowly between the fast surges.

B. Telephone Pole Fartlek Runs

I have my athletes to run a 1-mile warm-up. Then using a 5-mile course, I put them in small groups, they will do pace variation randomly 10 times using telephone poles as landmarks. Afterwards, they do a 1-mile gentle cool down and stretching.

C. Short Fartlek Run

Run 30 to 45 minutes that involves constant changes of pace at different distances. It is entirely intuitive (similar to tempo runs) and is best run on trails in the woods where you have no idea how far you are running.

After 5 or 10 minutes of gentle jogging at the start, pick up the pace and surge for maybe 10 or 20 or more seconds, then jog for a near equal time until partly recovered, then surge again. These speed bursts could be anywhere from 100 to 400 meters, or longer. They could be up a hill or down a hill or on the flat. They could be at top speed or at the pace you might run a 5,000-meter race or from this tree to that tree.

D. Structured Fartlek Run

Although the fartlek’s popularity is partly due to its flexibility, many runners like to make the workout more structured and give it more of a track interval feel. For example, a structured fartlek might be: 10-15-minute warm-up, 2 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 3 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 4 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 4 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 3 minutes hard, 2:30 easy, 2 minutes hard, 10-15 minutes cool-down. This workout is stated easier by calling it a: 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, with 2:30 rest.

A structured fartlek is great because, since it is run on trails or roads, it gives you the benefits of a track workout while also providing you the chance to run hills.

5) Surge at the End of Your Race

I always tell my athletes that they should always surge at the end of their race. The point at which you should begin your finishing surge depends upon the length of your race. Your actual all-out sprint “aka. finishing kick” should begin with about 200 to 300 meters to go. You will not be able to maintain a sprint pace for much longer than that. But you can begin to surge sooner in some races. In a 5K (3.1 miles) race I like to see a surge start with about 800-meter to the finish.

Remember, you might not be the only runner who surges during a race, so be prepared to react. I wouldn’t be concerned if someone surges too early in a race. Chances are they will come back to you.

Hopefully you find these surging tips helpful. Good luck this XC season!

“Look at the trees in early October and it’s filled with leaves. By late October, half the leaves are gone. Then in November only a few leaves remain. I want to be like those last leaves. I want to be hanging on to the very end, refusing to fall off the pace.”

Submitted by Coach McMillion (08/03/17)