I think this is an excellent point that bears repeating (which is why I did). There is always more than one way to run any contest in Hero Quest, and determining how you want to deal with the event narratively will help you determine which rules approach to take. If you can't, for example, decide how you would describe the contest in terms of an extended contest, then it is probably not appropriate to run the contest this way (I'd be hard pressed to deal with the 100m Sprint as an extended contest, for instance...)
Having said that, I think for a reasonably straightforward race, the Carryover method avoids the complexity of a full extended contest between multiple opponenents, but still allows more "drama" than just a single simple contest. The "stages" can include both preparation ("walking the course", as already suggested, as well as preparing physically and mentally for the challenge), "natural" obstacles (Bruce's obstacle course, rough or muddy ground) as well as "stages" within the race itself - Reaching the first bend, the gate in the wall, the first lap or whatever.
Now all I have to do is work out how to allow a player to attempt to nobble the opposition without automatically putting themselves out of contention too...
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