I was never a runner, never did track, or anything like that, but I know that there's plenty of strategy in track and cross country. You have people with different speeds and running styles, placed in different types or races, and different legs of a relay. Sure, you can simplify it by saying "run as fast as you can and do it faster than the other guys", but it's harder when you have four people of different speeds and running styles all competing on the same team in a race.

As for my own running style, I'm much more of a short distance sprinter. It's all I've ever really needed for baseball, since it's essentially a 30yard- 120yard dash at any given time. Unfortunately, I'm trying to train myself to become more of a distance runner, since that's what I'll have to do in whichever academy I get into... sigh.