Call it in the air!

When the coin is tossed before a football game, the team that wins the toss has to decide if they want to receive the opening kickoff and go right on offense. The other option is to “defer” and wait to get the ball to start the second half. Deferment is considered by many coaches as an effective game strategy.

And the same can hold true for running races.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to defer and run another day.

Obviously if you’re injured, taking the time off to heal is the right prescription every time.

But there are other reasons to defer a race.

And this fall I’ve deferred races. Not once, not twice, but thrice.

In August I deferred the Madison Half Marathon; in September it was the Ventura Half Marathon; and yesterday I deferred the Santa Barbara Half Marathon (technically I transferred SB to another racer, but it’s the same principle). Read the rest of this entry →