Preperation

Running is ultimately a mental game and all your decisions on a race must be made before a race. Some major questions can be, where is the start and finish, where is our starting position, when do I need to make a move, plus so many more.  Figuring out how your race is going to go is decided long before the race begins, sometimes a few days before. If a runner asks him or herself a question during a race they will probably do the exact opposite.This is why the race must be planned out way ahead of time.
All teams will get to the course early to be able to look at what the course is like, the difference between a major hill or turn can mean a huge difference in someones racing strategy. It is very important to know where the finish is, when someone doesn't know the finish is right over a hill but the person next to them does, the person that knows will know to work hard up the hill. Knowing where turns are and finding the best and easiest way around turns can make or break a race. If there is a left turn at the top of a hill and you don't know that left turn is there, you could easily run on the right and make the race several strides longer then it could be.