Once in competition, monitor your body signals to see if your pace is right. If your legs feel very heavy or your breathing is labored at an early stage, you should probably back off. Try to race under control. If you struggle too early, your form will get ragged, making you work even harder. The ideal way to compete is at an even pace.
Many runners go out too fast from the start and lose ground as the race goes on.
More-experienced runners can experiment with attacking certain parts of the course and responding to surges by the top runners. Since cross-country is different from track, there are many variables that affect strategy, such as hills, turns and rough surfaces. If you're good enough to contend for the victory, be careful to save a little energy for your kick at the end. But don't outsmart yourself. You don't want to have so much left that you feel fresh at the end.