Cross-Country/Track: Double Surge Tactic When Running in the Lead

Dick Moss, Editor

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 have to 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.

References
1. Eric Anderson, Training Games, TAFNEWS Press, 1994.
2. Jeff Galloway, Cross-Country Running & Racing, Meyer & Meyer Fachverlag und Buchhandel GmbH, 2010.

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