As an athlete, it’s important to know yourself.
But to maximise your potential, it’s also necessary to know how your competition is feeling.
Here are some cues you can look for to assess how your competitors are faring – an advantage that can take you swiftly to the finish line.

Pacing changes
You can often learn from running behind another runner.
Is he laboring to stay ahead of you? Are you shortening your stride to avoid tripping him?
Just because you’re running easily at his pace doesn’t mean you should pass immediately.
In blustery conditions, he may be waiting for you to take the lead so that he can draft behind you.

Don’t feel compelled to move in front, as running into the wind can increase your effort by seven per cent or more.
If you’re in the lead late in a race, does your competitor respond to your increase in tempo or do his footsteps fade?
If he falls behind, keep the pace accelerated and end the competition long before the finish.

Poor posture
A breakdown in running form indicates fatigue. As we tire, our shoulders ride up closer to our ears.
Our arms stop pumping with the same power and start swinging closer to the body as we try to conserve energy.

As the hurt sets in, some runners will cock their heads to the side or look down at their feet.
Don’t let your form betray your fatigue: shake out your arms occasionally to bring your shoulders into a more neutral position.
Keep your chin up and eyes looking ahead – not down as if in a death march.

Sometimes just repeating the mantra “run tall” is all it takes to keep your chest up and your hips beneath you in the power running position.