Pace Team Pitfalls

Pace Team Pitfalls

Things to consider when you decide to follow the pace group…

I was at a marathon last week.  The pace group leader cruised through the aid station.  He quickly grabbed a cup and motored on.  His little flock of runners broke and scattered as they struggled to fill up bottles like a scared herd of impala set on by a Lion.  They hustled to catch up, lost and frightened without him.

Early in the race he had 40 – 50 runners clustered around him like a loosely-packed, leg-propelled dirigible.   When I saw him at the finish he only had 5 or so runners still with him.   What happened to the rest?

Pace Groups – a relatively new and thriving phenomenon…

Many racers, especially new racers, gravitate to the pace groups.   It seems like a great deal and a guaranteed path to success.   But is it?  What’s going on with all this ‘professional pace leader’ nonsense and how do you deal with it? Should you sign up?  Should you stay away? What do you need to know?

They are there, prominently featured, with the pace bands when you go to the Expo.   It seems like a great idea to sign up for a pace group.  Even the small marathons have them now and ½ marathons as well.  In the ever competitive world of races vying for runners it seems like a swell marketing vehicle – added value for the race.   Pacing has even spawned websites and businesses like www.marathonpacing.com.

New runners, unsure of themselves, line up behind the ‘pace bunnies’ holding signs or balloons aloft.  They are the pied pipers of your goal time.  It seems so simple right?  Just follow the guy (or lady) with the balloons.  You don’t need to worry about anything, just shut your mind off and abdicate your pacing strategy to a qualified (pun intended) professional.

But are they really qualified?  How did they get to be pacers?  What is their strategy?  Did they go to the pacing college?  Is there a pacing certification course?  Are they going to run their race or your race? You need to ask.

Executing well within your training and ability in a race is hard work.  You can go out too fast, or too slow.  You can lose hope.  It is comforting for nervous or new runner to put their fate into the hands of a professional, but there are risks.

Advantages:

What are the advantages of hanging out with the pace group?   The biggest advantage I see is that they provide comradeship and company, especially in the early part of the race.  Another advantage is that they will probably cross the finish line somewhere at or below the number on the sign they are holding – although that’s not guaranteed.

Most of these folks are vetted by the race organization.  They are bound to be pretty good runners and have experience.  If you’re lucky they will share that experience with you in a rolling Q&A form as you motor along.  At some point, the more proactive pacers will shout encouragement to their flocks and try to buoy the spirits of those who are flagging.   If you get the right pacer they can be your biggest cheerleader.

Cautions:

First, you don’t know this pacer’s strategy.  You know they have a target time, but you don’t know how they intend to get there.   Most will try to hold a steady pace throughout the race, but they are human and will speed up and slow down like anyone else.   My friend Sam ran as a pacer and religiously stuck to +- 5 seconds of his pace finishing only .9 seconds off his goal – he is probably the exception.

Gun time or chip time? The pacer I was near last week stayed for the most part within 10 seconds of the goal pace but varied as much as 30 seconds faster or slower for some splits.   He ended up running around a 3:58:30 chip time and pretty close to a 4:00:00 gun time.  Which begs an interesting question, are they pacing to chip time or clock time?  In a big race there could be many minutes between the two.

What about your qualifying standard? When you figure out whether your pace group leader is doing the math on chip or gun then you can ask them how close they are going to get to the qualifying standard.  In the race I was in last week, a small race, he would have been around 2:30 fast for the qualifying standard.   Understand that those folks shooting for a 4:00 standard actually only need to finish under 4:00:59.  Is your pacer going to dip into that extra minute?

What if their strategy is wrong for you? Steady splits is a great strategy, but what if your pacer has other plans?  I was in the Marine Corps Marathon last year at the ½ marathon point.  The 3:30 pace group pulled up beside me.  I looked at my watch and we were around 1:38.  I ran up to the guy and said, “Are you aware you are running a 3:15-3:18 marathon?”  He said, with some confidence, “Don’t worry, I have a plan!”

What was that plan I wonder?  Run all the 3:30 hopefuls into the ground? He may very well have finished at 3:30 but he had to give back 7-8 minutes to do it, and how many of his charges were able to hang on for the ride?

What if something happens? I have heard stories of pacers having bad days and walking off the course.  One story has the pacer being tripped and having to leave the race with an injury.  They are only human and anything can happen.  In some cases two pacers are provided, in case one fails!

The stalking factor… I don’t usually run with the pace group.  We didn’t have them when I started racing. I like to be responsible for my own race, even though I’m usually a terrible pacer.  I do however get impacted by these pace groups lurking about.  It is horribly demoralizing to have a pace group pass you late in the race when you’re crashing.  You can see people’s spirits sink.  On the other hand the passing of the pace group can make a tired runner angry enough to get moving again.

What should you do?

Feel free to run with a pace group if that’s what makes you comfortable but don’t abdicate responsibility for your race.  It is your race and you are responsible for it.  Have a strategy that you can execute regardless of the guy with the balloons.

Know what the pacing strategy is.  Are they running to gun or chip time?  Will they be stopping for aid stations?  Will they maintain constant pace regardless of hills?

Be ready to let them go or run ahead if they are not executing to your plans.

Use the pace group if you need to but run your own race.

And I will see you out there.  (I’ll be the guy heckling the pace group leader)

Chris Russell lives and trains in suburban Massachusetts with his family and Border collie Buddy.  Chris is the author of “The Mid-Packer’s Lament”, and “The Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy”, short stories on running, racing, and the human comedy of the mid-pack.  Chris writes the Runnerati Blog at www.runnerati.com.  Chris’ Podcast, RunRunLive is available on iTunes and at www.runrunlive.com. Chris also writes for CoolRunning.com (Active.com) and is a member of the Squannacook River Runners and the Goon Squad.

Email me at cyktrussell at Gmail dot com

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