Originally Posted by
exRunner
Rude - no.
A rather inefficient expenditure of energy - yes.
Go blowing past me at the end and it tells me you are a beginner. You should have been ahead of me the entire time. Plus, making tired muscles go fast is a good way to get hurt.
Which raises the question of the guy who finishes this way sandbagging. If it comes off as taking it easy just to pass others at the last minute than I'd say yes it is rude. If on the other hand someone is inexperienced it is reasonable to take things a bit easy and build at the end. Far better to have a bit left for a 'sprint' finish than to bonk. Since the OP is thinking Marathon I'd say 300 meters is waiting a bit long. Start building a mile out and build really slowly.
Especially do not throw your hands up in victory.
The more I think about it the more I think that unless you are in a pack that is seperated from the rest of the field (either at the front or just because of how things break up) that if yuo are blowing by others it is apt to seem you are a jerk who was sandbagging. If instead you start early enough and build you will pass more people and have a faster time and it will only seem that you paced yuorself a bit to slow early. If in a seperated pack then it is reasonable to try to be the first from the pack, but gain if yuo just blow the rest away it may quite reasonably seem you were sandbagging.