You may even beg for windy weather

If you are serious about wanting a real running advantage on race day, you may spend a lot of money have all the best running stuff.

You can be stacked out with the best shoes, the best nutrition, the lightest sunglasses, etc, etc, etc.

Yet, just about anyone can buy those if they visit their local running store and plunk down some cash.

Your "advantage" slowly begins to disappear every time another pair of shoes or box of nutrition walks out the door.

Now, it is just an arms race to see who can buy the latest stuff the fastest.

Purchased advantages are only temporary.

If you want a lasting advantage that cannot be bought, here is something you should want (or, dare I say, even beg for)...

You want to wake up on race day and see adverse conditions filled with 10+ mph winds blowing race bibs off the starter's table, sweltering heat that makes every breath a struggle, frigid cold accompanied with snow covering the ground, loose surfaces from a heavy rain, and every other unpleasant surprise other runners hope to avoid.

As I have talked about before, these conditions can create "asymmetries" between you and the competition.

The unique conditions offer you the opportunity to use your specific skills to your advantage while the competition struggles through the same conditions.

Your finishing time may be a bit slower in difficult conditions, but your consistent and stunning performances will earn you the reputation of a mentally tough and resilient runner among your running community.

This is more or less a "free" advantage as it only requires you to seek out and train outdoors in difficult conditions.

However, I doubt many runners are going to seize the opportunity.

One of the quickest ways to improve your running skills in these difficult conditions is to collect data, specifically running power data.

Running power can factor in many of these difficult conditions, like wind, and can be adjusted for heat & humidity. This let's you pace wisely on race day when many others are running "blind", as they are without knowledge of their capabilities.

So, should you beg for windy weather and other adverse conditions?

These conditions may not be fun, but they will give you a lasting, clear cut advantage on race day that is proportionate to the amount of skill you have built up.

If you want some help preparing for these conditions, you can get Stryd here: https://store.stryd.com/