Pre-Race Warm Ups
This is a lengthy article with some pictures and videos at the bottom. Our athletes are familiar with EVERYTHING on this page.
There are several approaches to how each athlete prepares for their specific race on race day. We’ll outline one approach below that is used by a long-time professional runner and 2-time Olympic Trials competitor.
The Basics
First, here are some basic principles that CTC recommends:
1) Discipline / Habits: Integrate these principles into your training routines - nothing should be “new” to you on race day. You should be the master of your daily routine, nutrition, all of your gear, and the people you allow yourself to be influenced by.
2) Hydration: Hydrate very well each of the days leading up to the meet. We recommend 3/4 - 1 gallon of water, as a minimum, for our athletes each day. Training / living in excessive heat and humidity will likely require more hydration. Hydrate well on race day up to 2 hours before the race. Only sips, as needed, from 2 hours before race until go-time. Example: we don’t want cramping because the athlete drank 32 ounces of water 15 minutes before a race. For an afternoon or evening race, I would finish off about 64 ounces between wake-up time and the 2 hours before race time (assuming the athlete is not sitting outside in the heat / expending lots of energy). Depending on a few factors, we also recommend 32 ounces of Gatorade on a daily basis for electrolyte replacement. Further, we use Endurox R4 regularly after workouts, 5 days per week.
3) Nutrition: Be consistent with your nutrition. Keep records. Over the course of several months you can find the foods and routine that keep you predictably strong and ready to race. Eat a moderate sized, normal meal for you, 10-12 hours before race time. Check out this article by Christian Cushing-Murray - US Master’s 1500m record holder and long time professional runner. He discusses his trusty-old breakfast routine that has worked. well for him.
Be finished with your pre-race snack by 3 hours and 45 minutes before your race - this snack could be something like a moderate / small sized bowl of oatmeal and raisins, maybe a couple eggs, or something similar that you have already experimented with. No milk during this snack - milk is notorious for upsetting athlete’s stomachs during workouts and races if taken too close to start time.
4) Rest: Try to be consistent with your rest and sleeping routine throughout your training season. 8-9 hours of rest at night, along with a nap after a workout works for many athletes. If you cannot sleep the night before a race - no problem. Just read a book and stay in bed. RELAX. Do NOT dwell on the race and stay off your phone. You need low-light and a low-thought distraction. Think about other things. Plenty of runners have won big races even though they had trouble resting the night before.
5) Pre-Race Strategy, Thoughts, and Stress: Highly successful people in nearly all endeavors have specific traits: First, have a great work ethic, consistently healthy habits, and experience & intelligence in the area of specialty. Second, do NOT stress the day of the event - trust in your training, handle the fundamentals, and know that something usually goes wrong… react, solve problems, and move on. Do not stress or dwell on nonsense.
48 Hours Before Race Time: I encourage athletes to review, visualize, and practice the race plan / strategy up to 48 hours before race time. This would also include reviewing your packing list if traveling to a race. We assign very low volume workouts at race pace, depending on the event and athlete.
Lodging: Try to stay in a hotel / room that is reasonably close to the meet venue. You do NOT want traffic 10 miles away from the meet to impact your preparation. Study the area, talk to some folks, and select the right lodging close to the track. Example: In Eugene, OR you can pretty much stay anywhere - small town, accessible. However, in Philadelphia - you could stay 5 miles away in New Jersey and miss your race completely because of traffic - big city, many variables.
24 Hours Before Race Time: Make sure EVERY detail of your race gear and race administration is organized. Limit the number of surprises you experience on race day. If you are bad at this it may be funny at first, but it will eventually hurt you. You can spend about 30 minutes visualizing the race about 24 hours prior to the race, but that is it. If the meet allows, complete your check-in and get your race packet handled the day before the meet. Our workout on this day includes very low volume work at race pace.
Hormone Management: Do not stress about the race the day before and race day. Watch a funny movie, listen to fun music, and chill with some friends. If you DWELL on the stress of the race for hours you are dumping your hormones and numbing your senses - you will likely be flat at race time because you have fried your senses and nerves.
This means, you need to get others to chill out also - parents, friends, spouse, coaches, etc.. Do NOT allow nonsense into your inner circle. Tell these people in advance to comply with your requirements or stay away from you. You are RESPONSIBLE for your success. On race day - you don’t need to be told that cousin Jim has cancer, uncle Bill lost his job, the neighbor’s dog died, etc… People that feel the need to distract you with stressors need to be ejected from your camp. It’s good to have a close friend or relative that shields you from these folks - literally blocks these people from getting to you - the “NO!” guy or gal.
Even during the beginning of the actual race warm-up, I encourage athletes to stay relaxed and fun.
I encourage our athlete to begin the warm-up as scheduled. At about the 35 minute mark before race time: lay on the ground for 2-3 minutes, “flip” the mental switch, and begin to think about competition, strategy, and rage. Now, the body’s hormones can amp you up at the right time and help your performance.
Physical Preparations
If the race time is in the evening or late afternoon: It is okay to do a 10-20 minute jog / walk in the morning with about 5 minutes of light drills. do NOT make yourself tired during this shake-out activity. Example: 5 minute jog, 5 minute walk, 5 minute jog, 5 minute walk, easy drills x 5 minutes. Do NOT do this in heavy heat or sun. Go back to the room, eat, hydrate, and take a nap.
The actual pre-race warm-up is going to be structured in an “easy to hard” schedule, and a “simple to complex” routine.
Detailed Example & Videos
Dana Mecke is a long time US pro and 2 time Olympic Trials competitor. We have prepared a version of her pre-race routine for our readers to study. Each athlete learns unique habits and routines that work for them. Dana is primarily an 800m runner who occasionally runs 1500m races.
2 Hours before race time: Athlete is at the track with all gear organized. This does not mean that Dad is circling the parking lot looking for a spot 2 hours before race time. This means the athlete is inside the venue with all gear in their backpack. Try to use the restroom at the hotel before heading to the track.
1 hour 45 minutes before race time (105 minutes): Athlete understands where check-in is located, knows all warm-up areas, and knows if the meet is on schedule, ahead of schedule, or behind schedule. A coach or parent should help with this task.
90 minutes before race time: Athlete uses the restroom, and then continues to relax. No stressing about the race. Focus on something funny, listen to regular music. Do NOT get amped up yet.
Dana’s Schedule
70 Minutes before race time: 5 minute jog at a SLOW pace. Complete some hip and joint mobility movements. Complete some easy foam rolling. Nothing but small sips of water until race time (you should have already hydrated well as discussed above).
55 Minutes before race time: Begin a 15 minute jog, varying speeds. You can walk a little if needed. The jog ends with some higher speed running.
40 minutes before race time: Complete about 10 minutes of more dynamic sprinting drills and movements. Walking rest between the drills. Warm the body up, but do not exhaust yourself.
Note: This is the point where CTC athletes are directed to sit down and make the mental switch between being relaxed and being competitive. 2-3 total minutes.
30 minutes before race time: 400m at Threshold Pace (about 10-15K race pace).
28 minutes before race time: 2 x 200 at 1500m race pace, and getting slightly faster.
Get checked in when the race allows.
Some people consume gel packs around this point. Make sure it is part of a routine you have tested in practice and other races.
20 minutes before race time: 3-4 x (about) 100m at 800m race pace. Walk and drills between each. do NOT exhaust yourself, but sharpen your skills and performance.
10 minutes before race time: You may be restricted in the pre-race area. Get some 30-50m strides in as you can with a walking rest. Do NOT overdue it and make yourself fatigued.