The 10-Mile Commandments: Army Ten-Miler

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THERE'S SOMETHING UNIQUELY APPEALING about a 10-mile run -- just ask the 26,000 people who will be lining up this Sunday for the Army Ten-Miler. "It's challenging because it's not your regular 5K or 10K, but it's not so daunting as a marathon or a half-marathon. You can do it without being wiped out afterwards," explains Alisa Harvey, who makes it sound so simple because she's won the race four times.

While other folks might not be as speedy as Harvey, she thinks just about anybody has the ability to complete the course. But it could help to get some advice from her and from two-time Olympian runner Meredith Rainey Valmon, who are offering pre-race expo clinics this Friday and Saturday (at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel — see Armytenmiler.com for details).

Proper pacing is key to the Harvey strategy. "It's a very exciting, very macho, very raw race, and people go out too fast. And little by little, I pass all of them," she says.

For beginners, Harvey recommends figuring out your max mile speed, then slowing down by a minute or two per mile. It's a bit late to start copying her training regimen — mile repeats with rest in between — but a visit to the track can help you get a better sense of the feel of running at your desired pace. Even so, you're likely to accelerate faster than you realize on race day. "You must wear a watch or you'll be in oblivion," she advises.

If you've kept a conservative pace at first, as you get into the second half of the race, you're free to smoke the competition. "At mile seven, I put on the burners and try to pick up the pace. I'm headed home," Harvey says.

Of course, the energy wouldn't be there if she forgot to drink water. "If you haven't had anything by mile seven, it's too late. You're out there in the sun, your sweat is going and you're out of fluid," she says.

Even Valmon, who stresses that she's in it for fun now that running's not her job, still takes her hydration seriously. "Starting three days in advance, I'm making sure I drink eight to 10 glasses of water throughout the course of the day," she says.

And she gobbles down a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and fruit. "The protein holds you longer, and the fruit and bread are a quick energy source," she says.

Both women rest up during the days before an event so they can attain what Harvey calls her "deep-down fresh." But Valmon sets aside plenty of time for selecting her outfit. "I will definitely not pick out any old thing the night before. It has to be something that will put me in the right mind-set. It has to be something I look good in because if you look good, you feel better. And it has to be something that will be comfortable for the whole race," she says.

That requires studying the weather report, but usually opting for fewer clothes than you'd think. "It's an early morning race, so you're cold, but the race warms up quickly," Harvey says. "Tank tops will do it for most of the runners."

Not the secret tip you were hoping for to cream the competition? Valmon has one more: "Something I had to learn was that pain, which we normally shy away from, we need to embrace. The chest burns, legs feel heavy kind of pain. You can't get better without going to that place."

And that's a trip that's much longer than 10 miles.

Photo by Joel Richardson/The Washington Post; Rich Lipski/The Washington Post