Running

In my view, even pacing pretty much covers ideal pacing strategy for any distance, with the odd caveat, e.g.

• Whilst all (long distance) races are 90-odd% aerobic, I think it is OK to get some free speed at the start of the race, letting the legs turn over at quicker than average cadence, whilst the heart and lungs catch up. The first 1k is often the quickest split for my 5k/10k races... qualification: we're talking a few seconds here; don't start off so quick (like, 1 mile pace) that you immediately build up lactic acid, and it becomes hard to settle into a rhythm for the rest of the race.
  
• What distances are you well trained for? If you're building up from 5k to 10k and still need to build up training mileage, then what feels like a comfortable pace during parkrun might turn into the wheels falling off around 7/8k into a 10k, in which case it's probably worth starting off more conservatively until you're more used to the distance. On the other hand, if you've come to racing by ticking the marathon off your bucket-list, then maybe you will surprise yourself just how much you can let a 5k or even 10k hurt, in which case maybe you can be bold and try to hold on to a harder pace than feels comfortable.
  
• Finally, people do vary in terms of their ideal pacing and I don't fully understand why I can predict certain people I know starting relatively quicker than others, but for my part my leg speed is relatively slow, compared to my aerobic engine being pretty good, so maybe other people genuinely benefit from a start which is that much quicker than their optimal average pace, and I'll keep spending most of the race trying to catch them. :)