Know the Rules, Know the Course

This is the third article in a series of tips and hacks to help you go 10% faster in your next race. For some athletes, implementing just one of these tips will net you a 10% gain. For others, combining the tips in these articles will produce that 10% improvement at your next race.

Like the last 10% Faster tip I posted (Don’t Skip the Race Day Warm Up), this tip seems obvious.

But many races have been lost, and many personal records have been missed, because the athlete didn’t have the race rules and/or course firmly cemented in their mind prior to the race. Firmly. CEMENTED.

In an ideal situation you should KNOW exactly what your race’s rules are and exactly where the course goes.

Know Your Race Rules

Can you draft in your race? If so, what craft can you follow? How closely can you follow and not be considered drafting? Do you have to carry your paddle across the finish line (almost always, yes, but many athletes have had to run back to retrieve paddles left behind)? Do you have to carry your board across the line? Where does your race number need to be displayed?

Helpful Tips to Know the Rules and Avoid Penalties

1. Study the latest available WPA Event Rules and Guidelines. Most races will (mostly) follow the guidelines laid out here.
2. Review race specific rules. These will normally be posted on the event web site/page. Try to know the rules for your event so well that you would feel confident answering questions from other paddlers on race day.
3. Attend the pre-race meeting. And actually pay attention. 🙂 Your sport is a dynamic sport where conditions like wind, tide sandbars and kraken (hey, it’s possible) can cause last minute changes, so be sure to listen closely at the racers’ meeting.

Know the Course

We highly recommend that you learn the race course for your A-priority race early in your training cycle (during your Base phase of training, ideally, and definitely prior to starting your Build phases).

Don’t wait until a few days before the race. You will be training for this race, and it will help if you are training with the course in mind (look for more information about this in a later “10% Faster” post.).

Helpful Tips to Avoid Getting Lost

By the time race day rolls around, you should be confident enough in your knowledge of the course that if the paddler in front of you makes takes the wrong path, you’re not even tempted to follow.

1. Study the race map provided by the event organizers.
2. Use the Google. Pull up Google maps or Google Earth and study the course map. Look for potential problems, like splits on the course where you could potentially make a wrong turn.
3. Preview the course. If you can’t paddle all of the course, at least paddle some prior to race day, at the potential problem areas you have identified during your earlier research, like inlets, turns, etc.

If in doubt, ASK.

As a paddle athlete, you’re part of one of the friendliest and most helpful communities in the world. If you have questions about the course or rules, just ask. Your competitors and fellow racers (most of them, anyways) will be more than willing to share knowledge and tips about the course. Packet pickup and pre-race gatherings are a great place to do this.

By taking a few steps to ensure you know the course and the race rules, you’ll race confidently on race day. That alone will help your time. No need to waste time getting lost, racking up time penalties, or fighting kracken. Hey, it could happen.