Visualizing Your Perfect Biathlon Race with Dryfire

by GRP biathlete Tim Cobb

Tim Cobb shooting prone during the recent USBA trials races at the Outdoor Center (credit: Peter Morneault)

Visualization combined with dryfire can be a powerful tool to get ready for your next biathlon race. Personally, this helps me feel good going into a race knowing that I’ve already ran through exactly what I’m going to do in my head. I like to do this the afternoon or evening before a race. If I don’t have a good dryfire space setup it works equally well to hold the rifle in my lap and focus on the trigger.

Before you begin the dryfire visualization it’s good to get re-acquainted with your rifle. First check your mags! Then do some dryfiring prone and standing shooting 5 across, picking a couple key aspects of the shooting stage you want to focus on during the race and during the visualization. If you don’t have space for dryfire just hold the rifle in your lap and focus on the trigger and breathing.

Once you’re feeling comfortable with your rifle, start the visualization. Close your eyes and run through the first lap of the race course thinking through the hills, corners, and transitions that you want to ski well. Take your time with this, if it’s a race course you are very familiar with it may be easy to think through the course while a newer course may take some additional focus and time. 

As you approach the range start thinking about calming yourself down, getting your breathing under control, and remembering the aspects of the shooting you want to focus on. If you have the space to dryfire, open your eyes and dryfire a perfect shooting stage while picturing the range you’ll be on for the race. If you just have the space to hold the rifle in your lap, put your finger on the trigger keeping your eyes closed and mimic your breathing to how you would breathe for a race shooting. After the shooting, close your eyes and run through the rest of the race in your mind. Include 1 or 3 more shooting stages depending on the race. Thinking about how you want to be feeling and what you want to be thinking about at the different stages of your race and take yourself all the way into the finish. Congratulations you have just visualized your perfect race!

This pre-race visualization and dryfire can be a great way to deal with some pre-race nerves, build up your confidence, and feel that you’ve done everything you can to get ready for your race.