Formula Run
Summary
A PB focused event at the 1k loop outside the emirates arena in Glasgow. The event format was a 5k heat followed by a 3k final for the top 10 men and top ten women from each of the two heats. My 5k PB coming in to the event was 17:48 set on a hilly parkrun so I expected to beat this time on the flat course. My 3k PB is 09:59 set on a very flat fast course so I did not expect to beat this.
Preparation
I was still within the fitness peak from the half marathon I ran in October so I did some 5k specific training and skipped the long runs, followed by a short taper.
Race Day
It's easy to warm up around the loop even with the other events going on as there is a path that doesn't cross any roads. I did my own warm up before the pre race warm up. The weather during the pre race warm up was awful and that delayed the start of the race plus put a lot of standing water on the track.
5k
It is typical of these races for everyone to set off too hot, I tried to allow my pace not to rise too much and at the end of the first lap I must have been very near the tail of the race and I worried that I might not qualify for the 3k. I felt good at this PB pace though, and wasn't working too hard. I spent the next several laps catching people and increasing the effort. I paced a strong negative split and was close to catching 4th, 3rd and 2nd, they came back to me so much on the final lap I believe I would have passed them if the race had been a little longer. I think I could have started my final effort sooner but it's easy to say that afterwards when it isn't hurting any more.
3k
There was quite a bit of waiting around for the 3k final. Unfortunately quite a few people didn't wait around to take part in this so the field was quite sparse. I hadn't brought enough to eat either so was quite hungry by this point. Running a 3k shortly after a 5k is brutal but I still ran close to my PB and I might have got closer to my PB on a similar course.
The pacing for the 3k was similar to the 5k, everyone went off much too fast and I was dead last for the first lap. I managed to work my way up to 6th in the end with a big positive split but by this point I was definitely ready to be done. My Coros footpod which had been reliable in the 5k was probably too wet by this point and was giving me garbage data so I just relied on feel and the clock at the start/finish line to guide me which did make the pacing much worse.
I ended up 4 seconds off my PB which I can't complain about, this would probably have been a PB if I was fresh. My PB was set at 3k on the green which is a flat straight course, with only the cone turn around slowing you down so beating this on a course with turns after a 5k seemed unlikely and that proved to be the case.
Splits (5k - 17:16 gun time)
1: 03:32 2: 03:31 3: 03:28 4: 03:24 5: 03:20
Splits (3k 10:03 gun time)
1: 03:16 2: 03:23 3: 03:24
Result
I signficantly improved on my 5k PB, bringing my 5k in line with my 3k VDOT so in that regard the result was what I expected, I would have been disappointed with a slower result and a faster one would have been very unlikely.
I do think I could have gone a bit faster if the people around me were better at pacing, they all overcooked the start and then every person I caught was falling off the pace so I couldn't work with them. Instead I had to rely on catching people as motivation to keep working and was never able to switch off.
Final Thoughts
I think Formula Run was a great idea, and most of the execution was excellent - it felt a lot like a track meet, and it was easy to spectate the events. Having pace graded events meant I didn't have to work through the congestion thats been an issue at most of the races I've attended this year as slower runners are keen to start near the front. Having the potential for a PB and the ego boost of qualifying for the 3k was good motivation to push.
I'm sure they'll learn from running this first event, obviously the 3k was insufficient incentive for most runners as only 1/4 of the qualifying runners took part in the final event. Having the slower races earlier in the day meant many of the participants had left before the later races too which thinned out the crowd.
Finally, I think faster runners can warm themselves up before an event, so it makes sense to ditch the group warm up for these runners. Since warm up timing can be awkward its important that races start on time although I'm not overly precious about this.
Overall this was an excellent event and I am glad I took part as the final race for the year.