Strategy ?

In reading through a recap of the Griak meet on Dyestat I thought the following detail was interesting:
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This race went out a bit quicker than Mead was used to, given the deceptively slow course. “I thought the guys would eventually slow down and that I could make it to the front,” he said.
He did that at the mile, passed in 4:59, with a group of about 10 with him. Then between 1.5 and 1.75 Mead started pulling away. “I didn’t really pick it up,” he said. “I just opened up my stride on the down hills.”

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Learning how to run downhill can help you run faster. Too many people shorten up their stride on the downhills because they are afraid to go too fast. If you are going to surge in a race, why not do it on the downhill ?