Runners before a race have been known for some weird starting habits. Every sport has a superstition, but track runners have more personalized starts. Some people will start with a warm-up up they always do, some will eat a snack, or some will smack their legs. Everyone does something different to help them get ready to go as fast as they can. Warm-ups are one of the most crucial aspects of the pre-race. If you don’t warm up, you risk a slower time and worse injury. “I try to be mentally prepared for the race and not tense. I try to stay active with my warm-up, make sure I am ready for the race to start. I always make sure I do acceleration warm-ups to make sure I am ready for the race,” Peyton Thaing said.
Making sure to stretch to be ready for the burst of speed is something everyone can relate to. Even the people who do other sports. Some people have other starts, like having the chance to calm themselves before running like hell was let loose. Although sometimes people don’t have a ritual like slapping their leg or doing a jump, before the blocks. Honestly, everyone else does some ritual to get into the blocks, so usually I just stretch into the blocks, then the race starts,” Armand Porcincula said.
Even though not having a ritual is just as okay as having one, sometimes the little routine to help set your mind for the race helps more than people realize. “Before the race, I breathe really hard and get pretty nervous. Especially right before the blocks. After I set the blocks, I get behind them and I slowly crawl back into the block after moving in front to get into the start position. Only for the 100 and 200. In the 400, I must wait for the guy to pass me the button. I do a little stretch before he gets there, and I slap my legs just to get it going. I look behind and wait for him to cross this tape as a marker for when I need to start running. After that, it’s all trust. It’s a lot of stress and nerves, but it’s really exciting,” Raphael Rivera said.
Making sure you are centered before the race can drastically improve your chances of running faster than if you were nervous. These little exercises these runners do to make sure they are ready may seem small or insignificant, but in reality, they help immensely. Doing the warm-ups and making sure you are calm before the race is the final step you take before the actual race. It’s their final chance to get into the headspace to run. “For relays, I make sure to push out hard and keep looking forward,” Thaing said.