Discussion: Start fast?

I have read on a number of sites that at the beginning of a race we all have up to seven seconds worth of ATP muscle energy that may be used by running very fast for 7 seconds at the start of a race. This ATP energy is only available at the start so you might as well use it or lose it.

Does anyone here sprint out of the start to try to take advantage of this ATP energy source?

I tend to start slow so as to not run in the wrong direction ;-)

Would all of this ATP energy be tapped out after a 15 minute warm-up jog?

Beast it out of the start box, saving a valuable 10 seconds..... Only to get horribly lost and lose 1 min on the first control...

Part one of your guide on how not to orienteer!

It seems to be a common cross country running coach's tactic where sprinting ahead of the field at the start, before the course bottle necks could prove to be a significant advantage, whether by ATP or not.

When i was a budding young buck in the NSW junior sqaud in the early 1990's the elder Junior(is that possible) male member of the squad one Mr Grant Bluett told me the golden rule of orienteering is to look good running from the start and into the finish. Not sure that he subscribed to the 7 seconds of running your hardest from the start though.

The ATP-CP system is the only one which can produce energy almost instantaneously at the start of an exercise bout. It will be used briefly before the lactic acid and aerobic systems can kick in at the start of any race.

Running maximally to get the most distance out of your limited ATP stores in the muscle won't get you very much further, but getting your 'seven seconds' (which is just an average figure anyway) slightly wrong and allowing for the fact that after 3-5 seconds your LA system starts helping out and producing lactic acid, (which takes a good few minutes recovery to remove) it sounds like a good way to make sure you fel rubbish very early in your race.

i reckon some of the M10 runners get a fair use out of it running from the start. But their course is usually only 1.5km long anyway.

I actually ran some reasonably controlled tests of this (using myself as the test subject) about 10 years ago to determine the optimal starting strategy for a running race when competing for time rather than place. My thought was that you might be able to get away with a slightly faster pace in the very early stages of a race before settling into the pace for the race. The empirical data didn't support such tactics and I found that running the first few hundred meters considerably slower than race pace yeilded the best results in the later stages of the event. This is completely consistent with the way the elite runners pace themselves (excepting overriding concerns like the XC bottlenecks noted above), so it came as no surprise. It did make it easier to actually do it, knowning I'd proven the value of holding back at the start in at least my own case. I almost always run negative splits in running races now.

I suspect you are probably using this ATP energy during your warmup. A proper warmup will put you at the start line with your aerobic system ready to continue working at maximum efficiency. A common mistake is to warmup too little and/or then cool off too much before starting (sometimes this is hard to avoid in packed road race start areas though).

Eric, I would be interested to hear what type of warmup you used during your tests. Given your conclusion, It seems like you would be able to run a few hundred meters considerably slower than race pace, then start the race, and run the whole thing at "race pace" for a faster result. unless you were on the track or had some other way of knowing your actual speed, maybe you only felt like you were running much slower than your average race pace at the beginning. I know it's common to have to hold back during the initial minute or so to just keep at race pace due to excitement/freshness.

Yes, the excitement of a race can blow your pacing plans. Regular readers of my log know that I always do a dial in workout 3 days before the race (typically 8x400@race pace). I've found this is very helpful in reminding you of exactly what you're trying to run and avoid the unpleasant surprise of cruising past the first mile marker 30 seconds early (or, if that does happen, having the confidence to know that the mile marker is probably misplaced and not panic).

I didn't do too much variance on warmups. Here's the basic drill I've used for years:

Jog for 15-30 minutes (shorter the race, longer the jog).
Hang out, stretch, pee/poop, change into race shoes (10-15 minutes).
6x50 fast and controlled, go on 2 minutes.
Jog over to start getting there about 10 minutes ahead of the gun.
Walk around, take off warmups, mental prep.
If the start is late, do some more easy jogging.
When it looks like the start will be in about 5 minutes, run a couple easy striders and then take appropriate place in field (I usually start fairly near the front in local races. If it's a really big event, I try to respect any indicated seeding unless it's obvious that I'd be putting myself too far back by doing so.

When I do this right, my pulse at the gun is usually around 90 and pops up to 120 almost immediately. Running the first 400 in 1:45 gets it up to 130-140 and from there I can safely move to race pace. For races in the 10K range, that's only giving away 10 seconds off true race pace. Seems like a fair price to guarantee a good second half.

BTW, I've found this routine works just fine for O-meets as well. The only difference is that I don't hit the gas after the first couple minutes. Instead, I continue at the firm opening pace until I'm absolutely sure I can go faster without losing map contact. Typically, that doesn't happen. It would be nice to run O-meets at 10K effort, but unless it's really open terrain, I just can't read the map at that speed.

Using a Forerunner (set on average pace) in road races has confirmed Ken's speculation, at least for me. Even when I think I'm holding back over the first couple hundred meters, I'm always going well under my race pace (unless impeded by other runners). So is everyone else, since my place doesn't change much as I slow down.

There are two points in a race when I consistently pass people. The first comes between 800m and 1 mile (when I'm ramping up my pace and others are dropping back to theirs) and around 3/4 of the distance when all the people who took it out to fast are dying lwhereas I'm running negative splits (not very negative, mind you, but just the fact that I'm not going slower means I'll pick off a fair number of folks).

After many years of watching some fine HS runners at indoor tracks, those 5 second sprints to take advantage of your ATP stores is a reasonable tactic. On indoor 200m tracks, it's important to establish position and not get caught in the pack. If you are seeded high (you are lined up near the rail) you need to go out fast, so you can stay on the inside of the curve which is right there after the start line.
I will say that Samantha was really good at this.

Useless tactic for O though.

Some may not know that ATP-PC will also be there to give you your finishing kick too, and brief surges mid-run... but does need time to replenish. It's not a case of 'use it once and it's gone'. Reminds me of the old C2S days when I'd run a steady 12k and these little kids would bolt past me and then 100m ahead walk for a bit and you'd pass them again... then they'd bolt past etc. It was quite a milestone when I ran one year and stayed ahead of them!

Sprint start is common tactic for Jukola's first leg. And not a bad tactic at all, it's not so fun if all usable trails and paths are blocked by hundreds of slow runners on your way to first controls.

i ALWAYS mess up when i rush out of the start!

well if you pick up the map look at which way to go THEN start running you will be able to start fast as reading doesnt use great deals of energy imo. also i saw someone say that you dont start a running race 'all out' well i dont start all out but in a typical field of 100+ i usualy go 20-30sec faster for the 1st 1km than my goal split time just so i dont have people im trying to pass for the next 4km

@ Eric - I would rather hope that you meant "Positive" splits?

i.e. The first half slower than the last?

They are actually called negative splits. It is positive to have a negative split but also negative to have a positive split.

Because with negative splits you are subtracting time off from your last split.