I never realized this (never put much thought into it either) but it sounds hard to be a pacer. I mean a good pacer, of course, since if I want to do something, I want to be good at it, like you obviously do.
If I had you as a pacer, and knew you were aiming at 3:23:30, trying hard to make the splits even, I'd follow you.
I never realized this (never put much thought into it either) but it sounds hard to be a pacer. I mean a good pacer, of course, since if I want to do something, I want to be good at it, like you obviously do. If I had you as a pacer, and knew you were aiming at 3:23:30, trying hard to make the splits even, I'd follow you.
The splits can never be perfectly even, because rare are the courses and the weather patterns that are perfectly even during a race. Effort is what really counts. People put too much emphasis on numbers.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
People put too much emphasis on numbers.
There is a simple reason for that: racing is all about numbers
- Position
- Finishing time
- BQ time...
There is a simple reason for that: racing is all about numbers - Position - Finishing time - BQ time...
Yes, like I said before, what matters is the result. BQ-30, both LTH and myself. Two different ways. Two different types of recoveries. Probably same effort.
Easy for you to say - you have the numbers!
Dave
I recently paced a friend in training for 10 @ his MP. Although it was just at the midrange of my easy pace, it was such a mentally tough workout just to keep pace. Great for you to do this for those racers.
Exactly.
I have paced two 10k's and a half marathon and provided you are running within your means it is mostly mental.
delicate flower
I gotta be honest in that I'm really nervous about this.
I think because of this, you are going to be a great pacer. You're taking your job very seriously, putting in work to make sure you can do it correctly, and are really focused on your task at hand. I doubt all pacers do this. Good luck, LtH!
<3
+1 to Baboon. You'll do a fine job as a pacer because you give a damn.
Like LRB said I think the general rule is to shoot for 30 sec faster than goal. You can always run with him for ~18-20, and assume if you are trained right you will have enough in the tank to pull away & gain the extra time over the rest of the race. But what the hell do I know about running a strong marathon finish.
The guy who runs the pace team I run for likes us to be up to 60 seconds under for full, 30 seconds for half. But with BQ times the way they are, getting in 1.5-2 minutes early isn't such a bad thing.
It makes sense if the point of pace groups is to help you BQ. Is that what most people use pace groups for?
I'll probably try to talk to the folks in the pace group ahead of time and get a sense from them about what they want me to do. If they really want to qualify for Boston, I'll probably need to target 3:23 rather than 3:25. If it's just a matter of running a BQ as opposed to actually going to Boston, then I'll keep with the 3:25.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Mmmmm...beer
Good idea. For my first marathon, my goal was just hitting the number, I already knew I wasn't actually going to run Boston next year due to work. Always good to know your runners goals. Also have to remember that sometimes pacers have a bad day, our 3:15 pacer (who paces professionally and is a 2:40 marathoner) had to drop out at mile 20, but he was honest with us and let us know that we would be on our own.
Hope that everything goes well and your runners have a great race!
-Dave
My running blog
Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!
Since it has taken roughly BQ-1:30 to actually be accepted for Boston with a couple thousand BQ runners being turned away each year, maybe it makes sense for pacers to aim for BQ-1:30 rather than the nominal time.
The pacer I was luckly enough to hook up with a couple of times [9 years ago] always shot for -1:00.
Youth Has No Age. ~ Picasso / 1st road race: Charleston Distance Run 15 Miler - 1974 / profile
That's the only reason I even considered it. Of course pace groups are relatively new to the sport, so the majority of my attempts this wasn't an option. Most of the pace groups begin with 3:00, so the majority that use them are outside of their standard. I believe most use them because that's how they train - in groups - vs solo. Comfort in numbers.