I have been asked quite a bit in the past month what it is like to be a pace leader and how one can take on such an endeavor. Becoming a pace leader isn't very hard, as all one typically needs to do is inquire with the race management. Other venues include joining and applying to formal pace teams, some of which are specifically affiliated with individual events, or a brand. However becoming a pace leader, and being a successful pace leader are two very different things. In addition, being a pace group leader is entirely different than being a pacer, which I wrote about in a March 2014 post called The Art of Pacing.
I am by no means an expert on pace group leading, but I'd like to think my cumulative experience with all kinds of running gives me a good starting point to offer advice. Pace group leading is incredibly rewarding, sometimes challenging, and at other times very straightforward. Though I have fun when I run, I personally view each pace leading assignment as a job, and my ongoing pace results as my resume. In reality, a proven track record of success could lead to being a part of a sponsored team, so it's worth while to take your duties seriously. Plus, you have the hopes and goals of your fellow runners on your shoulders, and you owe it to them to give it your best effort. So how does one become a successful pacer? Well, here's a general list, and I hope it helps anyone aspiring to become a pace group leader, of any distance, or be better at what you do.
Apologies that this is long, but I think it hits most of the main topics and then some.
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Fitness Level
- Be able to run at least 20 minutes faster than your pace group time. In other words, if you are pacing a 3:35 group, you would hopefully be capable of running a 3:15 on race day. If you ran a 3:15 two years ago, and haven't run anything that suggests you are near that fitness now, it does not count. I've known former sub 2:40 marathoners who have blown up pace leading groups much slower than their PR's. You need to be at that current fitness level when you take on your pace leading assignment.
- Be in race shape, not pace shape. Some people think, oh I just need to be in enough shape to run my pace time. If you do this, your pace time will start to become more and more a max effort. The pace group you lead should feel fairly comfortable the entire time, and the effort level is easier the better shape you stay in. Bottom line, keep your fitness in that 20 minutes, or faster zone.
- Be fit enough for the course. For example, the Charlottesville Marathon is a very hilly course, and this past year it was very windy. Between the hills and wind, the course probably ran 5 minutes slower than a more typical flatter course. This means running a 3:45 in Charlottesville would have been a 3:40 effort elsewhere. If you factor in the fact we recorded 26.72 miles for the marathon, our actual 26.20 mile split was under a 3:40, and subtract 5 more minutes for wind and hills, now you are at an equivalent effort of 3:35. If you showed up in 3:30 marathon shape, despite it being 15 minutes faster than the supposed 3:45 pace, you would have ended up running within 5 minutes of a max effort. Hence, why it is important to understand the difficulty of your course. Not all pace times are the same effort at different races.
Why is it necessary to be significantly faster than your group?
- You will hopefully be talking with your runners, giving them advice, and cheering them on. It's tough to do that out of breath, or while very fatigued.
- You might be carrying hydration gear and nutrition, which adds weight and slows you down. In fact, I even encourage carrying your hydration and nutrition, especially if pacing alone, so you can maintain an even pace through water stops. If a pacer slows down for water, and your runners also stop, you can throw off the visual pacing cue that a pacer provides. It can be easier for your runners to catch up and know that once they are back with you, they are on pace, instead of both the runners and pacer trying to re-calibrate pacing.
- You might be carrying a pace sign. You might be surprised how much carrying a pace sign, especially a larger one, on a very windy day can zap your speed. Being in shape can help negate these effects.
- It helps your runners be confident in you, the pacer, to know you are under control and not on the verge of a blow up. A pacer who looks relaxed and at ease can seem more "reliable", and can also make surrounding runners feel relaxed. In contrast, a pace group leader that is panting and sounds exhausted is not always the best moral booster.
- You may have to catch up for various reasons, whether it be a bathroom break, to stretch, eat, or tie your shoes. Even a 2 minute bathroom break means you will have to sprint a half mile to catch your group. You don't want your runners being alone much more than a few minutes, if at all.
- In case you blow up. It happens. A pacer is so focused on their group that they don't drink enough or eat enough and boom, they are in the midst of a full on bonk at mile 19. If you are in very good shape, a bonk should not effect you the way it would someone else running at full effort.
Take Your Pace Leading Seriously
- Show up rested and in shape. Taper if you need to, but remember that people are counting on you. Some are trying to BQ, some to PR, win awards, or just finish. All are influenced by your performance, or lack thereof.
- Respect the distance. It doesn't matter if you've run 1,000 marathons. 26.2 miles is still 26.2 miles. A lot can happen, so never lose respect for the marathon.
I've Never Run a Marathon That Was Exactly 26.2 Miles
- A marathon is 26.2 miles......if you know and run the exact tangent lines that the course was measured with. In other words, you will always run more than 26.2 miles.
- Plan to run anywhere from 26.4 miles to 26.7, and make sure to adjust the pace accordingly. It still frustrates me that most marathon training plans don't account for this.
- Communicate to your runners the difference in pace. Sadly, people are told a 3:45 marathon is an 8:35 pace, a 3:30 is 8:00, and so on. Yes, but again only for an exact 26.2 miles. If you know a course is going to be 26.45 miles, it means you will be running 5 seconds per mile faster than what they are told. Our overall pace at the Charlottesville marathon was an 8:23, and we finished in 3:44:07. If you showed up thinking you were going to be running an 8:35 pace, you were in for a rude awakening.
Do you run consistent mile splits throughout the race?
- Yes and no.
- Yes, if it is a flat course, like Shamrock, where the first and second halves are about the same in terms of difficulty and geography. On these courses, each mile split should be no more than +/- 5 seconds of goal pace.
- Yes, if you know the mile markers are not significantly off and both halves are about the same distance.
- No, if the course is very hilly. You are guaranteed to drop your runners if you try to maintain your pace up a steep hill. Sometimes you need to budget some slower miles to account for big climbs, and faster miles for downhills. Trying to pace too mechanically can hurt your runners, and it's best to run the way they would run the course, which is slower uphill, faster downhill, and even on the flats.
- No, if the course is like Richmond, where the first half is a net downhill, and the second is a net uphill. In this case, it is okay to allow a positive split by several minutes.
Wear a GPS....AND a Watch.
- A gps is a great tool for tracking distance, pace, and splits. It will also let you know if a course is running long.
- I use an old Forerunner 305, and keep have several screen views stored specifically for pace leading. My primary screen of choice shows current pace, average pace, and distance. My secondary screen shows elapsed time, distance, and overage pace.
- I wear a watch so I can view mile splits between course mile markers, and not just the mile splits on my gps, which might be different.
- I wear a watch because my gps has died during a race, and there's nothing worse than trying to hold a steady pace with no data.
- I wear a watch because sometimes my gps loses signal and isn't always trustworthy for pace.
- Just remember that gps data is not infallible. You might run side by side with another runner an entire race and finish with a different distances and paces on your gps devices. Stick to the data on YOUR gps, as constantly trying to factor in what someone else is getting will throw you off.
Have Experience with Road Marathons.
- Your pacing job should not also be your first marathon, even if you are fast enough. I've seen several novice marathon pacers who missed their goals because they did not have the experience to account for things like a long course, or hills.
- If your pace leading is your first marathon, see if you can team up with a co-pacer.
- If you are a trail runner, keep in mind that running 26.2 miles at a consistent pace on pavement is very different than running various paces on undulating trails.
You set the pace, not your runners.
- I have seen pace leaders pace off the runners around them, but you need to be the one setting the pace. Picture yourself as a steady island floating along while the other runners are boats around you. You are meant to be the constant and the physical and mental fixed variable in the race.
- Show restraint. A pacer can not get caught up in the excitement of the crowds and music and lose track of the pace. Don't get too caught up in conversation, because your conversational pace may be much faster than someone else, and you may accidentally start going too fast, or even too slow without knowing it. Don't be tempted to follow your runners when they kick to the finish and stick to the goal pace.
Be Visible
- Most pace groups provide shirts and signs to carry, and some do not. It doesn't hurt to add a little flare to your sign, or attire to make you easier for your group to spot. This past spring I added orange duct tape and a Hawaiian Lei to several of my signs so I could be seen. At one race, I was surrounded by a half dozen guys that were probably all over 6'3", which meant I was not necessarily easy to see in the middle of them. Having a sign on a 3 foot stick enabled me to be visible among my tall fellow runners.
- Keep your pace sign visible. I've seen pacers who trim down the pace stick to make it shorter and easier to carry and then don't keep it raised high and visible through the run. In a crowd of people, you can't even see the sign. Be sure to use a longer stick and if needed reinforce it so it doesn't break if it;s very windy. I used a carbon fiber hiking pole at the Charlottesville Marathon because a typical dowel rod would have easily snapped in the 20-30+ mph wind gusts. A longer stick also means you don't have to keep your arm raised, which can put a lot of strain on your shoulders. Alternating arms also helps.
Do Your Homework
- Learn what you can about the event and logistics. Your runners will have a lot of questions for you, and you can give them some much needed assurance by having answers. Figure out where the water stops are located, if there are porta potties and gels, or any major hills and notoriously tough stretches. It even helps to find out any quirky details like if a certain mile is long/short, or what typical race day weather will be like.
Learn Race Specific Math and be Flexible
- This helps for projecting accurate finish times and knowing whether you may need to speed up at the end of a race, or have the luxury of slowing down a little. It's also nice to be able to share with your runners what their projected finish time will be if they hold the current pace.
- In regards to projecting finish times, don't over think it, but know ahead of time where you want to be. It doesn't hurt to have goal times for the 10k split, 10 mile, half, and so on. It all helps keep you on track. Pace charts are a great tool but don't always account for the specifics of a course.
- Example: If you are pacing a 3:30 group and running an 8:00 pace when you reach mile 25, it means you have roughly 9:36 to the finish. If you are at 3:20 elapsed time at mile 25, you are spot on. However, if you are at 3:18, or 3:22, you have a little last minute tweaking to do, and if it means speeding up, you could hurt your runners.
- Example: You're pacing a 4:00 group and you reach mile 20 in 3:00. You have 6.2 miles remaining, which should take roughly 56 minutes at current pace, but that would bring you to a finish of 3:56, which is too fast. You now have the "luxury" of slowing down to a 9:30 pace, which could allow some runners to catch up. However, as you are running, you see miles 24 and 25 run a little long at 1.07 and 1.05 miles. Now you have to adjust back to a 9:15.
- Being flexible means taking into account long/short miles and things like hills and wind. If you reach mile marker 5, and your gps says 5.08 miles, that's a good sign the course will run long. If you reach mile marker 10, and your gps reads 10.16, it reaffirms you need to run a slightly faster pace to hit goal. You can extrapolate and predict that if you are already 0.18 miles over at the half, you will finish with 26.56 miles. Sometimes you'll notice the distance balance out, where you were 0.22 miles over at mile 15, but only 0.17 over at mile 20. Again, be flexible and adjust the pace mile by mile if needed. Communicate with your runners if they ask why your pace keeps changing. They will most likely appreciate the fact that you are capable of micromanaging the pace a mile at a time to keep them on target.
Communicate and Listen
- Before the race, communicate with your runners. A marathon may be just another day at the office to you, but your runners might be fighting off the nerves and jitters of their first marathon, or a potential BQ. You will likely get asked a lot of questions on race morning, and leading up. Do your homework about the event and course, so you can answer. Communicate your pace strategy and water stop strategy. All of these things can help calm nerves and enhance your runners' marathon experience.
- During the race, communicate. Talk about notable course details and things like turns and mile splits. You can establish a lot of trust just by being consistent with your pacing, but also lose trust if you do a poor job. If a mile split seemed too fast or too slow explain why, whether it was wind, hills, etc. When I was pacing a 4:00 group, a couple runners thought we were going a little too fast, but I assured them it was the pace needed to account for the extra distance I was getting between mile markers. I said my goal was to get them to the half in just under 2 hours, and when we crossed the half in 1:59:53 I knew I had established the trust of my group.
- Know how much, or how little to talk. Small talk, introductions, and jokes in the early miles are a great way to break the tension and make the miles go by easily for your runners. However, excessive talking can be mentally distracting and tiring to some people. There are, however, instances where runners will request you to keep talking to take their mind off their fatigue and discomfort.
- Continue to reassure your runners. Later in a race, you might be running the exact same pace as earlier, but it will feel like a harder effort as your runners tire. They will ask if they are still on pace, and you need to assure them that you are. Say mile splits out loud, or say something like "Last 3 miles were all between 8:28 and 8:35 pace" or "5 miles left, we'll do it in 42:30, which will bring us in just over 3:44".
- Communicate with your co-pacer(s) if you have them. Talk about how to manage water stops, bathroom breaks and race/pace strategy. Try not to separate too far from each other as it will become confusing for your runners. If one pacer runs ahead, it will freak out runners who are, in fact, still well within their target pace. Stay as a team.
Stick to the Plan
- It doesn't matter if you've been running alone the final 8 miles of a race, stick to the plan, and maintain an even pace. You'd be surprised the number of runners whose only goal is to keep you in sight, or keep you from passing. If you speed up, assuming nobody is with you, you may completely discourage a runner a half mile behind you who can no longer see you.
- Don't slow down either, as it might be tempting to provide company to people you pass. You slowing down to be supportive of a struggling runner, barring medical emergency, might cost another runner their goal.
- More often than not, you will be the one catching and passing many runners, especially after mile 20. Encourage them to stick with you, but if they can't, you just have to move on.
Your Chip Time vs Your Runner's Chip Time
- Again, remind runners, especially ones trying to BQ, that your times may be different, even if you finish at the same time.
- This applies even more to runners you catch up to who started the race in corrals ahead of you. Their times might actually be 30 seconds to several minutes more than yours, based on when you started. In a larger race with 30,000+ runners, this time gap could be over 3 minutes.
- Example: If a runner's BQ is 3:40, but because they are much faster, they are lined up in the 3:05 corral, they may cross the starting mat 3 minutes ahead of you. If the runner has a bad day and your group catches up, the runner is now on 3:43 pace, not your 3:40 pace, and would thus have to speed up to BQ. Though this scenario is unlikely, it's not implausible, and you could potentially save a day from going from bad to worse.
Encourage Your Runners to Go Ahead
- This is especially true if you have runners who want to run Boston. Keep in mind, wanting to run Boston, and just wanting to qualify are very different. To qualify, you just need to run under the qualifying time, even if by 1 second. However, to gain entry into Boston, runners will likely need to run 1:15 under their qualifier, but I always say 2:00 just to be safe.
- Example: If I am pacing 3:45, and that is also a runner's BQ time, I remind them that my goal is to finish close to 3:45, not 3:43, which is what they will need. I try to remind runners trying to BQ around miles 10, 16, and 20 that they need to run ahead to bank the extra time. If you are still with the 3:45 pace group at mile 24, it is not likely you will run the last 2.2 miles at a 7:30 pace in order to get into Boston.
- Sometimes, however, runners only care about qualifying for Boston, and not running it. It's more a goal to say they did it, or to continue a streak of qualifying times. I still remind my runners that my goal is to get near my target time, which is based on MY chip time, and they need to be aware of any difference in our start times. My watch might read 3:44:55, but if you started ahead of me, we may cross the finish together and your chip time might be 3:45:06, and you missed a BQ. I actually had this happen at Richmond last year, but my runner simply did not have the energy to push ahead. It was a gamble for her to stick with the 3:45 pacers through the finish, and when her clock time showed over 3:46 (3:44:55 my chip time), none of us knew if she made her BQ. Thankfully, it turns out she BQ'ed by 3 seconds, but it was a big risk.
It's Okay to Finish Alone
- I have finished most of my pace leading assignments alone, and this is normal. It may initially feel awkward to run with people all day, only to come through that boisterous finish chute all by yourself. It's the name of the game. You may have a pack of 50-100 runners behind you the first 10 miles and it's an incredibly empowering feeling. However, it could be half that number by mile 16, and by mile 20 you may be down to 5-10 runners tops. At least 60-70% of your initial group will fall behind, while the rest will eventually kick and finish a few minutes ahead. Other times, you will absorb a few runners you catch up to, or finish with runners who just want to hang at your pace as long as they can.
Gauging Success
- A successful pacing job is finishing within 2 minutes of your target time without going over. There are exceptions, like when I had to stop for traffic two miles from the finish at one of my races, which cost me nearly a perfect pacing job. A very good pace job is getting within one minute of your target time.
- A successful pacing job includes not deviating more than 5-6 seconds per mile of your goal pace, assuming a flat course.
- A successful pacing job should also not see more than a 1-2 minute difference for each half, assuming a consistent course profile and half distances.
Lastly CELEBRATE!
- You may never know what your pace leading meant to someone. However, this past spring I got many thank you's from people who BQ'ed for the first time, thought they would never BQ again, ran their first marathon since giving birth to a child, or finishing their first marathon. While running a 5:00, or 3:05 marathon may be a piece of cake to us, for some it is the culmination of something far greater than we can wrap our heads around. Pace leading allows you to participate in the midst of other people's struggles and triumphs. Realize what a privilege it is to be part of that.
