Seems like Oguri's schedule was so loaded that she forgot to pace herself.
At first glance, seems like umamusune racing is just running around in circles, but each race, each track has its own set of strategies to formulate and nuances to prepare for.
Love how the manga really leans into the mental aspect of this brutal sport. It can be like tennis where it becomes a war of attrition and mental strength or like a 100 meter dash where you have to let it all out in a single excruciating burst.
Running at the highest level is brutal. Hell, even your regular jog can be brutal.
I wanna run regularly again. This just reminded me of that time I jogged to my absolute limit in high school and I could just feel my entire body being so lightweight I could fly. It was honestly scary, felt like I could easily lose control, but man it was such an amazing feeling like I was flying through that track. Never felt that again in my years of irregular running. That's why I can buy the zone being a thing.
Crazy how horsegirl media makes me wanna run regularly again and chase that high.