Forde’s foes offered new opportunity

Sep 17, 2013 Sports

– Courts 10km Classic looms
By Edison Jefford
Cleveland Forde’s distance-running foes will be offered a new opportunity to dethrone the local king of the road at the Courts 10km Road Race Classic on Sunday, after letting an elusive Forde slip from their grasp within seconds of transition pace last weekend.
Undoubtedly Guyana and the Caribbean’s leading distance runner, Forde, pressed his accelerator around the 8km mark last Sunday in another race, leaving both Cleveland Thomas and Nathaniel Giddings unable to compete with his finishing pace.
It is clear by now that Forde relies on his tried and tested strategy

Cleveland Thomas (left), and Nathaniel Giddings, lead Cleveland Forde with Dennis Horatio in foreground last Sunday. However, it was Forde who won the race with Thomas finishing second and Horatio third while Giddings faded to fifth.

that is to use the pacemakers to his advantage early in road races, and keep enough gas in his tank to up the ante in the latter half, which on most occasion leaves his competitors dumbfounded.
What Sunday’s precursor to Sunday’s mega Courts race has done for Forde is to identify clearly who are his likely competitors; Cleveland Thomas, Dennis Horatio, Nathaniel Giddings, Lionel D’Andrade and now Winston Missenger will all challenge Forde at some point on the route this Sunday.
The question is whether Coaches of Forde’s five challengers usually discuss strategy with their athletes following what has become a definite trend for Forde. Road races have become way too comfortable for Forde owed to predictable competition.
It is expected that Police Progressive Youth Club Coach, Lyndon Wilson, who has Horatio and Giddings; Running Brave Athletics Club Coach, Julian Edmonds, who has Thomas, discuss what can be a possible appropriate strategy with their athletes.
As results are showing, those coaches are yet to come up with any plan for their athletes against Forde, who continues to use an old approach for his success. Unfortunately, coaches and athletes alike have little time before Sunday’s race to come up with a plan.
Giddings have been an established pacemaker in 10km road races for the last three years. Forde knows that his early pace will fade in the defining moments of the race; therefore, Forde is quite comfortable to allow Giddings to dictate the first 8km of the race.
Giddings should know by now what ought to be his plan against Forde, even if it means keeping some energy in reserve as Forde does, and allowing Forde to run his own race. Thomas has been at his best recently, but he too must think through his race against Forde.
Giddings seemed extremely comfortable up to the last 2km when he faded from a possible third place finish to fifth. It means that either something is wrong with his closing endurance or he has to monitor his pace along the route so as to finish as strong as possible.
Whatever it is, the point is, it is time to see those more than reputable local distance athletes put more effort into challenging Forde. Maybe, it is just a matter of getting pass psychological jitters, but whatever it is; Sunday offers a real opportunity to challenge Forde.