Marathon Training and Discussions

1

Pacemakers? (Read 436 times)

    Hallo,

     

    I've ran 6 marathons so far and 2 of the last 3 I was following the 3h15' "pacemaker". Last May in Hannover (Germany) they were doing an awesome job, running very constantly from begin to end, but this year, in Antwerp (Belgium) it was quite the opposite, it looked to me as if their goal was to break the WR. We started doing km's at 4'10 - 4'20". On the km 9 I let them go, and still. My HM time was 1h34 (x2 = 3h08') and the pace makers were already out of sight!!

    Thinking about my next marathons, I'd appreciate your feedback about which is the "usual" strategy of the pacemakers, whether to keep a constant pace from beginning to end, or just "kill" everyone on the first HM and then have a relaxing second HM ... with whoever remains on the pace group.

    Thanks in advance

    Targets 1) No injuries 2) Keep having fun 3) Some kind of PR

      In my opinion general purpose pace makers should run pretty much a constant pace. IME the ones at the Paris Marathon do a pretty good job. For the slower target paces they factor in a little bit of time to pause a bit at each aid station so that people can get food/drink on board. 

      LedLincoln


      not bad for mile 25

        I'm going to try a pace group for the first time this Sunday.  I'll let you know how it goes.

         

        Their strategy is a bit complex, and I think it's a good one.  What do you think?

          I'm going to try a pace group for the first time this Sunday.  I'll let you know how it goes.

           

          Their strategy is a bit complex, and I think it's a good one.  What do you think?

           

          I think the need to warm up for a marathon depends a bit on the target pace. Slower paces don't need any warm up. Faster paces ... well you probably do want to warm up a little, but whether it's best to do it in the first couple of miles or a gentle warm up before is debatable. FWIW in "Advanced Marathoning" Pfitz and Douglas advise two short easy runs with a bit of stretching before the start. Obviously the concern is that you're using up valuable glycogen stores. In big mass start marathons you sometimes have no choice... you simple can't run your intended pace because of the crush of people.

           

          Certainly the advice not to go too fast at the start is good, but whether that means that you should go significantly slower than target... I'm not sure.

           

          No doubt it's true that most people slow down, but it doesn't necessarily follow that it's the right tactic to plan your race that way. It may be that they slow down because they ran too fast at the start. The consensus seems to be that more or less even pacing is optimal, possibly a small positive split for non-elites, but only a little difference between the two halves. But their pacing strategy only has a small slow down really, so fits with that idea.

           

          Walking through the aid station is probably a good thing for slower runners, I'm not convinced it's the right thing for faster runners. But it is really important to fuel / drink properly - especially when it's hot, and if it ensures that people actually do drink it's a good thing. 

           

          Good luck! Which pace group are you planning to run with?

          LedLincoln


          not bad for mile 25

            Thanks PR for your input.  I'll be running with the 3:40 pacer.  That's what the calculators say I should be able to do, and my training has gone well.  On the other hand, I really don't have much of an idea how it's going to go.  If I still feel strong at mile 18, I may try to maintain the faster pace and go ahead of the pacer.  It could go the other way, though.

            Shoe


              Most pacers try to run even splits (unless the course somehow warrants something different)  -but certainly talk to them.  I was running near an idiotic pace team leader once at the half who was celebrating getting to the half in the two loop course with 15 minutes already "in the bank."   He said he found that the second half of a marathon is always much slower than the first half.  Hmm, wonder why that would be?  They're people and volunteers usually so it might behoove you to talk to your pacer ahead of time.  I've only paced a few marathons but my goal has always been to run even and cross the finish line at exactly my pace time, not before or after.