Why I Can finish High On Regions 10k Course

Three reasons why I will finish high at regions. I will be:
1) Mentally Prepared
2) Physically Prepared
3) Execute my Gameplan

People let the distance scare them especially if they are mid-distance runners-i.e. 800/1500 runners. The distance is overwhelming for them. It is roughly 6.5-12.5 times longer than their ideal racing distance. They get out that first mile with the leaders, and if they are capable of sticking with the leaders thats fine, but most are not capable of staying with the leaders. They have this deep desire to be in a good position early in the race, thinking that once they get into that position they just have to hold that position for the rest or the race. Well...99% of the time they don't hold that position. Why is that? Because they are not mentally prepared for the race distance. Most of them get out that first mile then think "Oh..no I got out hard at a pace that I cannot hold for another 5.2 miles to go." So what do they do? They do what their body and their mind tells them to do: they slow down to a pace in the middle miles that is far slower than the pace they should be running at. Physically, lets talk about what they did wrong by getting out fast that first mile. They created irreperable damage that is going to make their performance in the race suffer. Now I want to emphasize that the runners I am talking about are runners that are not good enough to finish in the top 20 runners at Regions 10k. These are the runners that are outside of the top 20-more middle of the pack to back of the pack runners. These runners take off that first mile and go into oxygen debt and start accumulating too much lactic acid too early. No matter what they do past that first mile, they have already ruined their race, because they are not talented enough to keep up with the leaders and their bodies can't handle it. These are the runners that I plan on passing at regions this coming year. Runners that are falling back. My advice for those runners.

Get mentally prepared! Understand that you are running a 10K. Run the first half of the race conservatively. You will find out that when you try to run the first half conservatively, you will be able to have a solid second half. That is where the race starts in the 10k, halfway through it, so save your aggression for the second half of the race and don't waste it on the start.

Get physically prepared! Don't skimp out on those long runs, tempos, VO2 workouts. You are going to need all of those to be physically prepared for a 10K on a xc course.

Execute your Gameplan! Go ahead, and come up with a game plan. Walk/Run the course the day before or a couple days before. Make sure you have every part of the course in your head in terms of where the mile or kilometer markers are. Break the course into segments:
First, you should always know at what part of the course you should kick from. I hate the word kick. It means picking up the pace to a sprint at the end of a race. It is my belief that if you run a race right, you have exerted so much throughout the race that you have nothing left. All you can hope to do is maintain the pace you have been running throughout the race to the finish. Anyway, you should pick a part of the course close to the finish. Once you get to that part of the course in the race, use whatever you have left and try to expend it by the time you get to the finish. Most likely you won't have anything left if you ran it right, but if you do have anything left when you get to that point in the race you better use it.
Second, try to think about where you want to be at throughout the segments you come up with. For example, first 1/3 of the race you might want to be in the top 80 runners. In the second 1/3 of the race your goal may be to pass 30 runners. In the final 1/3 of the race your goal may be to pass another 15 runners. Now here comes the criticism. People will read this and ask, "How can I know what place I am in during the first 1/3 of the race?" My answer is you don't know. just go out and run conservatively. think good-better-best for each of the 3 segments of the race respectively. But having a goal to pass X number of runners the second 1/3 of the race is a worthwhile goal, and passing another X number runners in the final 1/3 would be great.