Rules for marathon interlopers

Rules for marathon interlopers

Put our hospitality to the test, be our guest…

Here is an interesting question; what are the rules, the norms, the customs for when a faster runner stays back in the pack to pace a slower runner?  I don’t know if there is a rule book but I’ll give you my experience and 2 Pesitas.

The Prime Directive! Similar to the Hippocratic Oath I think the overriding rule should be ‘do no harm’.  This is important because if you are the stronger, faster or more experienced runner you do have the option of running your slower friend right into the ground.  (Sorry Shawn)  In my experience you can do this without meaning to.  10 seconds per mile too fast for them may seem like a lark to you. You may not even notice.

Don’t drag them out dancing and boozing the night before!  Don’t do things to sabotage their race. Do no harm.  Stay out of the way and add value where there is an opportunity and it is requested.

First rule:  Know your role and the expectations.  Everyone is responsible for their own race, but you need to get clear what your friend expects of you.  Is it a specific pacing strategy or target time?  Is it just companionship?

I would recommend a pre-nup.  Seriously, you need to some guidelines.  What are the expectations?  Are you expected to stay with your friend to the end?  Are you supposed to coach?  Or, does your friend want you to take off and stay out of their hair when things get tough?  What happens if it all goes wrong?  How badly to you want to fight for it?  How badly do you want to suffer?

We need to know so we can support your goals and do no harm.  I’m more than willing to run you into the med tent if that’s what you want.  I’m also willing to stay 50 feet ahead and out of reach when you’re suffering, it’s ok either way for me, but you got to let me know.

Second Rule: If you are tasked with pacing, this is an important trust and you need to take it seriously.  If this person is leaning on you to get them through the race to a specific finishing time, and you agree to it you need to take it seriously.  You need to have a strategy of how you are going to execute and how you are going to manage your friend to that time.

I personally find the distract-encourage-threaten workflow to work well.  You start off the first half of the race just being a friendly distraction and keeping your runner in their zone.  When the work starts you get serious and encouraging.  When the feces hits the fan in the late miles you turn into a crazy-ass drill sergeant and do/say whatever it takes to keep them moving.

Third Rule:  It’s not about you.  You can have fun but you are the guest in this arrangement so you need to hang your ego at the door.  You are there to help and enhance their race experience so you may need to subjugate some of your own wants and needs.  You need to be ok with that.

Fourth Rule:  They get to tell their own story.  We all love to write race reports, but if you are the ‘guest’ in this one, hold off and let the other person have their narrative.  Don’t throw mud ion their pool by reposting all the trouble they had or how awful they looked.  It is not your place to steal the positive or the negative from their narrative.  Wait. Let them tell their own story then you can tell yours.

Those are my thoughts.  What do you think?

Remember, this is an incredibly rewarding experience.  Your reward here is the service.  Your reward here is the being able to participate in someone’s success.  It’s an amazing thing to watch another human’s journey through the wonder that is a long race.

Consider the rules and I’ll see you out there.