In the Tokyo International Marathon 1984, a little-known Japanese athlete Yamada Motochi unexpectedly won the gold medal, defeating the favorites to win. People said he was just lucky, but two years later, in the Italian International Marathon, Yamada won the championship again.
“Before each race, I look around at whole course and check it carefully. I mark some important points; for example, the first point is a bank, the second point is a tree, and the third point is a red house. I break down the whole marathon course into many small goals. When the race begins, I sprint 100 meters towards the first goal – the bank. When I reach the bank, I run towards the second goal–the tree–at the same speed.”
The reason he was able to win each marathon was that he established a number of short-term goals before the finish line–the final goal.