The SmartPace Handbook By Coach Eladio Valdez III
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Table of Contents Section Welcome & Introduction Main Points Warm up Aid Stations Even Effort on Hills Walk Breaks – their purpose Options Gameplan for each Pace Time Range Dealing With Weather Tips Under 40 degrees, 40-55 degrees, 55-70 degrees 70-85 degrees 85+ degrees, wind, humidity, rain Common Pacer Mistakes and How to Correct Them Starting too fast, Drifting too far off pace Finishing too fast, Rushing through the aid stations Pushing too hard on the uphills, Talking about yourself too much Pacer Script Weeks before, Race Weekend, Race Morning The Race, Post Race Equipment – what to wear/not wear, Al’s Garmin Tips Tips from Pacers Al Mauro Cynthia Stapp SmartPace Team Selection Guide – general training guidelines Race Prediction Chart Frequently Asked Questions -Qualifications, How to get selected, Proper pace time range, Getting injured, Why 2 pacers vs. 1 pacer -Why not even pace, Why the slow start, How to make up for a crowded start, Why walk through aid stations -Why walk at all, Why slow down on the uphills, Won’t running fast downhill hurt, Why practice, Why does each pacer need a stick -Why not finish who I start with, Why finish so close to the pace time, Should I finish with people or on time, Dealing with a ‘groupie’ -Dealing with a pacer not doing their job
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Welcome Thank you for pacing for the Good Life Halfsy! This SmartPace Team handbook is your primary resource to get ready to pace on race day. The SmartPace Team handbook was written by Eladio Valdez III from his years of experience as a running coach and pace team trainer. The handbook is used by permission and is adapted slightly to be a bit more specific to the Good Life Halfsy and the half marathon distance. If you have any questions about the Good Life Halfsy Pace Team, please direct them to Good Life Halfsy Race Director, Jason Bakewell (rather than Eladio), jason@goodifehalfsy.com, 402.968.2755. Thanks and good luck!
Introduction from Coach Eladio After accumulating lots of feedback over the past several years, I decided to put together a training handbook for everyone who chooses to serve as a SmartPacer. In addition to laying out the guidelines, we’ll provide helpful tips from pacers, and make this a one-stop document for most, if not all, of your questions. Of course, each race will bring its unique challenges and that’s where the pacer emails will continue to serve their purpose. ALWAYS Remember what’s at stake - Other people’s dreams and goals. Look back at your training and how much importance you placed on race day, especially if it was a challenging time goal, after all the weeks and months of preparation. While not everyone we pace is aiming for a serious time, they all are, to some extent, hoping to get in the ballpark. Otherwise, they would not choose to run with us. SmartPace strategy will work for the majority of people in your group - this is a group pacing strategy for half marathons and marathons. We are after helping the majority of people in our group. The stronger runners won’t need us other than to help them start smart – they’ll take off at any point after a couple of miles to finish up to several minutes ahead. However, you can rest assured that you helped them run their best time. The weaker runners will work with us for as long as they can before they let us go to finish up to several minutes behind. However, you can rest assured that you helped them run a stronger race than they would have on their own. Our main target is the bulk of the runners suited to handle a time up to a couple of minutes faster or slower than the pace time. The decisions you make in the race such as how to handle the aid stations and hills along with starting out conservatively will influence most of them to finish on either side of the time. Even pace works better for shorter race distances like a 5K or 10K. For an individual who has chosen a realistic time goal given their training, particularly from tune up races/time trials along with factoring in the course terrain and weather conditions and who warms up beforehand with at least a 10-15 minute jog and times their warm up to finish no more than 5 minutes before they start racing, even pace will probably work better. However, it won’t be practical for the vast majority of people you pace to achieve an effective warm up (most won’t even try to do a warm up jog). Hence, the need to build a good enough warm up in the race. Why SmartPace? This is a very good question that must be answered fully in the hopes that you will have enough confidence and understanding to be able to adequately explain it and implement it. The SmartPace strategy is based on 3 facts: #1 – ALL Runners need to warm up for 10-20 minutes before they can become fully efficient #2 – ALL Runners will replenish more adequately if they slow down to a brisk walk through each aid station for the first 2/3 of the race, especially early on when they’ll be the most tempted to skimp #3 – ALL Runners will conserve more energy by running ‘even effort’ on hills Since pacers work with groups of people rather than individuals, our strategy is best suited for the average person in our group. It’s the most practical and pragmatic strategy to help the highest percentage of people experience a positive race. Or, as we like to say – ‘have a great time while running a great time!’ Let’s explore each point further.
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MAIN POINTS #1 – ALL Runners need to warm up for 10-20 minutes before they can become fully efficient The usual strategy that pacers employ is the Even Pace method (by the way, the strategy to start out fast to bank time for later is by far the surest way to hurt your runners!). This means that they try to run each mile in the same amount of time. While it’s a given that many will adjust the pace as needed (at least somewhat) over the varying terrain in a race, this strategy will still cause the average person to use up more energy by the time they reach the final miles and thus not finish as well as they could have. Whether or not they realize this is another matter. At first glance, it makes sense to average what you hope to do for each mile, starting with the first. It’s a simple equation that the vast majority of pace bands are predicated on and one in which most pacers follow. I have a question for everyone who believes in this strategy as the most effective way to pace. If ALL runners begin EVERY workout by easing into things with some version of a warm up jog, wouldn’t it make sense to make extra sure that we’re fully warmed up before settling into our race pace on the most important day – the day we’ve been gearing all of our runs for the past several weeks? Put another way, if you don’t start out at goal pace on any training run, why try it on race day? While not warmed up, the muscles do not extract oxygen and nutrients as well as when they are warmed up. To force them into a pace faster than warm up pace puts the body in a position to use up more energy for that pace than when the body is warmed up. This in turn creates more metabolic waste than normal that the body will then have to deal with. Being inefficient causes the body to produce more heat than normal which results in a higher sweat rate and thus reaching the point where dehydration negatively affects performance sooner. On days where it’s warmer than 50 degrees (which the majority of races are), this extra heat causes the body to siphon more blood flow away from the muscles towards the skin to cool off. The solution is right in front of us. We naturally do it all the time (those of us who warm up even more conservatively know firsthand how much better we feel and perform). Unless your goal race pace IS your warm up pace, you’ll need to ease into goal pace over the distance of 1-2 miles which will give the majority of people enough time to make the transition from starting out inefficiently to become efficient. Of course, as an individual, you could simply warm up before the race so that you’re efficient from the get go. In that case, you can use the even pace strategy more effectively. However, we are dealing with groups of people. And, it’s not practical to ask groups of people which collectively would potentially result in a good chunk of the race participants to warm up with a 10-20 minute jog before the race. Race directors prefer people to be in the starting area well in advance while the most effective warm up should be timed so that no more than 5 minutes elapses from when you stop jogging to when you start racing – something that only makes practical sense for elite runners to do from their position at the front of the race. This first aspect of SmartPace is a compromise. While it’s not the most ideal way to warm up and race, it’s the most practical solution for the average person in the group that you’ll be working with. Not only will you not be going out too fast (the most common mistake that runners make), you’ll literally help them feel like they’re warming up in the race as a slower pace will ‘feel’ easy with all the adrenaline flooding their bodies from all the excitement of the start. On top of that, you won’t waste energy weaving around folks while it’s crowded early. By starting about 1 minute per mile slower than average pace in a marathon and 30 seconds per mile slower than average pace in a half marathon and picking it up 30 and 15 seconds respectively in the 2 nd mile before getting down to average pace for the 3rd mile, you’ll help more people use up 1/13 of their energy for each of the 13 miles of a half marathon and 1/26 of their energy for each of the 26 miles of the marathon (starting slow spares more carbs and burns more fat for the rest of the race). Relative to the even pace strategy, I think we can help most people run at least 1-3 minutes faster in a half marathon and 3-6 minutes faster in a marathon (triple that time improvement for someone who starts out too fast). The kicker is this: we don’t know these people. We don’t know how prepared they are or how realistic their goal is. Starting out slower than average pace puts more of these people in the driver’s seat for a longer period of time. Feeding off the synergy of the group, your motivation, and gaining confidence will go a long way to help them make the most of their day! #2 – ALL Runners will replenish more adequately if they slow down to a brisk walk through each aid station for the first 2/3 of the race, especially early on when they’ll be the most tempted to skimp I sense from your actions and feedback that this part of the strategy is the most controversial for you to fully embrace. Again, let me remind you that we are in the business of helping the bulk of runners in our group – those who on their own have the ability to finish up to a few minutes ahead or behind our pace time.
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Since it’s well established that a very common mistake that runners make in a race is to rush through the early aid stations, having them briskly walk through the first few aid stations will ensure that more of them will drink enough. Let’s face it, on average, it’s harder to get in enough fluids while running (let alone racing) vs. while doing so walking. No amount of pinching the cup or using a straw will work as well since your increased breathing will make it harder to drink enough – for the average person. Most pacers who use the even pace strategy will slow to a brief jog through the aid stations and that looks good enough on paper. However, since they innocently caused their runners to lose more water through sweat from the get go, they will need even more fluids at the early aid stations. Instead, they have created a greater deficit which will end up slowing a greater percentage of their runners. Because the first few aid stations are the most crowded and because people tend not to be thirsty while still feeling ‘good’, they tend to impatiently grab what they can (usually 1 less cup) and consume what they can (while spilling too much on them instead of getting the fluids in them). To counter this, we will slow to a jog to grab our cups (yes, 2 cups – better to have more than enough than not enough since you can throw the excess on your head or throw it away) and briskly walk. This will allow us to calm our breathing, stop bouncing, and be able to drink more. The length of the walk is determined by how long you’ll be out there and how warm it is. Taking a brisk walk break provides a nice respite for our running muscles, much like a recovery jog/walk after a half mile repeat. The longer you’ll be out there, the more important these walk breaks become in keeping us fresh enough longer into the race. I’ll spell out my recommended walk break range along with adjusted running pace for each pace time range later on. For now, we can generalize that those running less than 2 hours in a half can aim for 10-30 second walk breaks, 2 to 2:30 = 20-40 seconds, and over 2:30 = 30-60 seconds. On cool days less than 50 degrees, you can hit the lower end while on warm days above 70 degrees, you should stick to the higher end as the walk breaks will allow the body to release excess heat even more effectively than while running – the walk breaks, in effect, cool you off. The tradeoff in having to run a little faster (which you can most easily get away with on the downhills) is worth it. Jeff Galloway, whose run/walk program has been utilized by thousands of people from 3 to 6 hour marathoners and 1:30 to 3 hour half marathoners over the past 30+ years, is convinced by the testimonials he’s gathered that incorporating walk breaks for at least the first 2/3 of the race is a huge factor towards helping people end up running a faster overall time since they’ll slow down less in the final miles. From personal experience and helping others as a pacer, I, too, am convinced that it’s a great investment to make towards conserving energy and releasing excess heat. The warmer it gets, the more runners you WILL end up helping to the extent you utilize the walk breaks, particularly in strategic areas like through the aid stations and on the uphills (run the first part, walk the middle to regroup for 30-90 seconds, and run the rest over the top). But, rhythmic walk breaks like 1 minute after each mile work well also – just be sure to avoid walking on downhills as this is the time to take advantage of gravity.
#3 – ALL Runners will conserve more energy by running ‘even effort’ on hills Although there isn’t much controversy here, I don’t think many of you truly get what I’m saying. I don’t blame you as it has taken me nearly 27 years of running to get it. I know that most runners in general don’t understand how much slower they need to go on uphills and how much faster they need to go on downhills to truly run ‘even effort’ on hills. They’re either not used to giving in so much on the uphill (it’s awful on the ego when you’re not working as hard as everyone around you and getting passed!) while they’re too scared to go fast enough on the downhills because they think they’ll get injured or bonk in the race. Running extra fast downhill does increase the pounding on your legs and you will feel more sore afterwards. It’s well worth practicing it for your goal pace runs on terrain that roughly matches your target race if you intend to effectively use it. Since this won’t be the case for nearly everyone in your pace group, the suggested mile splits for the terrain of specific mile in a race is actually a conservative version of ‘even effort’. However, I encourage you to consider a more aggressive version if you find that you group takes to it or split up with your co-pacer to have one of you follow the suggested splits while the other goes slower on the uphill and catches the 1st group on the downhill.
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In any case, research shows that it takes the average person running the normal way on hills (i.e. too hard) about 74 seconds to recover before resuming race pace which wipes out the short term success of pushing it on the uphill. Not only will the person who runs the uphill slower catch back up on the next downhill, they will have done so expending less energy. In many cases, they’ll pass them on the next downhill, and in ALL cases (all things being equal), they’ll finish ahead of them. On days where it gets above 60, overheating will become an issue when people innocently push a little too hard on the uphills. Overheating can occur at any point in the race in which the body produces more heat than it can get rid of. When this happens, the body forces you to slow until the excess heat is released. Thus, going slower on uphills becomes even more important to lower the risk of overheating on warm days. Incorporating walk breaks on days when it’s above 70 (typically at the Hospital Hill Run) may be necessary on uphills. Run until it becomes necessary for your group to walk to regroup, and then run conservatively the rest of the way. You’ll have to make it up as needed on the downhills to stay on pace. When I paced the first half of the 3:15 group at the KC Marathon in 2010, I did my best to convince my group that ‘even effort’ on KC’s hills would ultimately help them run a faster time. Those who trusted me ended up passing everyone who didn’t. Our more true even effort pace was 30 seconds per mile slower on the uphill to Liberty Memorial than the pace band, but it was 30 seconds per mile faster on the downhill into the Plaza than the pace band. The guys didn’t like it at first (who likes getting passed by lots of folks?), but quickly became fans as we passed gobs of folks on the downhills, all while remaining fairly relaxed. Since there wasn’t as much to recover from on the big uphills, we had more to give on the downhills. When Jadin Winberg and I paced the 1:45 group at Lincoln in 2011, the ladies trusted us more and our core group passed every guy that left us on the first hill up to mile 3 later in the race. They were the ones even imploring other runners to back off as needed to run even effort on the uphill to mile 9. Personally, I’ve experienced an improvement of at least 30-60 seconds in a couple of half marathons and 2-3 minutes in a marathon simply by slowing down on the ups and speeding up on the downs. The way to approach hills is as follows: Be the most conservative in going up and down hills within the first few miles as your group will still be warming up. After 2-3 miles, you can become ever more aggressive on the downhills to make up for any time lost while staying conservative on the uphills to continue keeping everyones’ breathing rate fairly constant. In the final miles, you can be the most aggressive on the downhills. Only if the race finishes uphill can you be more assertive on an uphill. Also, since you’ll likely still end up going a little too hard on the uphills even with the best intentions, wait until after the crest of the hill when momentum and/or gravity is back on your side and your group has caught its breath before picking up the pace on a downhill.
Walk Breaks Why Walk in a Race? 1) At the aid stations, it will help more people drink enough – it’s easier to drink when you’re not bouncing and breathing as hard compared to if you try to run and drink. Adequate replenishment is crucial to avoid or lessen the impact of slowing down in the latter miles. *At a minimum, I STRONGLY recommend that all pacers lead by example and exhort your group to briskly walk through the aid stations for at least 15 seconds for the first 10 miles (half marathon) or 20 miles (marathon). Then, you can run it in (including through the aid stations) if you want to. 2) It helps release built up heat. The warmer you get, the more energy is taken away from your running muscles to get rid of heat from more blood flowing to the skin to release it. By proactively releasing heat, you allow your body to focus more of its energy on running. 3) It gives your running muscles and joints a break from the pounding. Fatigue is a big reason why most people slow down in the last 1/3 of the race. It helps break the race into ‘1 mile repeats’ or however often you incorporate walk breaks. Does it work? Outside of one pacer who shared that he thought the ‘smart’ pace strategy without walk breaks was better than the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk method based on his race results, I have only heard, seen, and experienced how much planned walk breaks have helped people run stronger and faster races. Please note that we aren’t following the Galloway method. Ours is a modified version and the strategy will change depending on the pace and how long your group will be out there in addition to the terrain and race day weather.
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With my group, The Runner’s Edge, in 2001, we had 3 groups of 10 people in different groups use the run/walk method for both the Hospital Hill Run Half Marathon and the Grandma’s Marathon. We planned to walk a brisk minute after every mile or through the aid station in place of a mile for the first 10 miles of HHR and the first 20 miles of Grandma’s. We were collectively surprised by how fast we ended up running the Hospital Hill Run in powering up Broadway hill and passing people left and right – a few people achieved PR’s even though we practiced how we planned to run the first 10 miles of Grandma’s. At Grandma’s, people achieved PR’s despite warm & sunny weather. Of course, Jeff Galloway claims that he has helped thousands of runners achieve PR’s using walk breaks as common as 2 minutes after every 5 minutes of running. If it works so well, why don’t more runners try it? Simply put, old habits die hard and it’s rough on the runner’s psyche & ego. Walking is almost equivalent to quitting for most runners. Runners want to run and see walks as an unnecessary waste of time. They are afraid they’ll have to run much faster to compensate for the walk breaks, negating any benefits. While it’s true that you will have to pick up the pace to compensate, for most people, it won’t be more than 10 seconds, particularly if your walk breaks are done at a brisk pace – let’s face it, a brisk walk is not much slower than many folks’ running pace. Walk breaks should be seen as an investment rather than a hindrance. When it comes to overall race performance, I strongly believe that at least 95% of ALL runners will end up running a stronger race and going faster for both a half marathon and marathon with the inclusion of planned brisk walk breaks for the first 2/3 of the race. The longer one will be out there racing, the longer and more frequent their walk breaks should be.
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Modified Planned Walk Break options 1) Aid station breaks – make it a point to slow down a little to catch your breath as you approach an aid station and briskly walk at least 15 seconds after grabbing your cups to allow you to get more fluid in you rather than on you. Groups who are out there longer or whose pace is slower can easily get away with walk breaks of up to 1-2 minutes. The warmer it is above 60 degrees, the more important it will be to walk longer to also cool off and making extra sure people are rehydrating enough. 2) Hill breaks – A brisk walk break won’t be that much slower than running up a hill, but it will conserve lots of energy (burning fat vs. glycogen) and greatly diminish the heat produced from working muscles. This will become ever more critical the warmer it is above 60 degrees, especially if it’s sunny and humid, to lower the risk of overheating. If the body produces more heat than it can release, lots of energy is redirected from the running muscles forcing a person to slow down noticeably until that heat is released which can last for several minutes. Run the early part of the uphill until you can tell that your group will welcome a strategic walk break. Then, walk 30 seconds to 2 minutes to regroup. 3) Rhythmic breaks – Planning a minute walk break every mile gives everyone something to look forward to, especially when fatigue starts to set in. But, it doesn’t have to be limited to 1 minute – you can do as little as 30 seconds or as much as 2 minutes and as frequently as 3 minutes or just through the aid stations. The warmer it gets and the longer your group is out there, the more important these become. 4) Putting it all together – Aid stations and hills can take the place of the nearest mile or whatever rhythmic break has been set up. 5) Never walk on a downhill – The exception is through an aid station. Always take advantage of gravity helping you and this is where you can best compensate for the walk breaks. 6) The speed of the walk breaks are determined by your group – You can go for brisk, semi-relaxed, or relaxed breaks depending on what you think you’re group will respond best to. The slower the average running pace, the more options are available since you won’t have to compensate as much by going a little faster during the running portions. On average, you’ll need to run about 5-8 seconds faster per mile to compensate for every 30 seconds of walking. 7) Plan your walks in the first 2/3 so people in your group aren’t forced to do them out of necessity in the final 1/3. This is a compromise that many people like – you’ll use walk breaks to conserve enough energy to run it in. However, when you get to the final 1/3 (mile 10 of the half / mile 20 of the marathon), you can ask your group if they’re ready to run it in, but stick to the ‘planned’ walks if they have a change of heart.
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Suggested Planned Walk Break Game Plan for each Pace Time Range Ranges are provided to give you some leeway and to acknowledge that some form of planned walk break is better than nothing. You can choose the shorter end of the range on cool days while the longer end should be utilized on warm days to release excess heat. All pacers are expected to walk through aid stations for at least the first 2/3 of the race with optional or recommended breaks on uphills depending on the weather and terrain and recommended rhythmic breaks for those who will be out there the longest.
Pace Time
HALF MARATHON Rhythmic Breaks
Aid Station breaks 10 to 30 secs. First 10 miles 15 to 30 secs. Frist 10 miles 20 to 40 secs. First 10 miles
Hill breaks
2:30-2:50
30 to 60 seconds
Recommended for 30-60 seconds
2:55-3:20
45 to 90 seconds
60 to 90 seconds
1:25-1:45 1:45-2:00 2:05-2:25
Optional if above 80 degrees for 15-30 secs. Optional if above 75 degrees for 15-30 secs. Optional, or if above 70 degrees for 30-60 secs.
None None Optional, or if above 75 degrees – 30-60 seconds every mile Optional for 30-60 secs every mile or 20-40 secs every 4-5 min 60-90 secs every mile or 30-60 secs every 3-4 min
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Pace compensation Pick up pace by 4-6 seconds per 15 second brisk walk Pick up pace by 4-6 seconds per 20 second brisk walk Pick up pace by 5-7 seconds per 30 second brisk walk Pick up pace by 8-10 seconds per 60 second regular walk Pick up pace by 6-8 seconds per 60 second regular walk
Dealing with Weather No matter what we do, weather will make the biggest difference on everyones’ race performances. However, we can still maximize the effects of great weather and minimize the challenges of tough weather. Sub 40 degrees (deceptively good conditions) -As chilly as it might seem for your group, most people will end up running better than they thought. This is because those who don’t overdress will spend little energy cooling off which translates into more bloodflow to the running muscles – i.e. they’ll have more energy to work with. -Dress appropriately with tights, gloves, hat, arm warmers and/or long sleeve shirt underneath the pacer shirt with an optional throwaway top. Try to keep your pacer shirt visible. -Make sure to take the conservative pace seriously in the early miles as they’ll need more time to fully warm up. I’m fine if you start out a bit slower in the first mile, especially in the first half mile. -You can hit the aid stations on the shorter end of the suggested time range for your pace group as people won’t need to drink as much. Still, remind them to drink enough since they’ll still be losing fluids through sweat. -Since overheating won’t be an issue, you’ll be able to get by a little on the uphills if you unintentionally push a little harder than ‘even effort’. In any case, try your best to deal with hills intelligently. -Look for sunny areas and stay out of the shade as this will help more people reach the optimal race performance zone (not too cold or warm). Sunlight adds 10 degrees to the actual temperature which is measured in the shade. -If dealing with any headwind, have your group tuck in behind you (the closer they can get while running, the better) to conserve energy through less shivering and pushing against the wind resistance. Encourage people to take turns at the front before falling to the back of the group just like you see in the Tour de France. 40-55 degrees (ideal conditions) -For most people, these are considered ideal conditions, and most will end up running their best races. -Dress appropriately while keeping the pacer shirt visible. You may want gloves since your hands can still get chilly holding the pacer stick. -More than any other weather conditions, you’ll be able to get away with being a little sloppy (i.e. start out too fast, rush through the aid stations, push too much on the uphills) and still have most folks be happy with their races. In light of this, my response is that you could have helped them run an even stronger race by doing all the smart things properly so don’t use this as an excuse to not work as hard – take full advantage of ideal conditions since they won’t come around too often. 55-70 degrees (deceptively tough conditions) -Although many won’t realize it, to some extent, everyone will end up struggling a bit more and running a slower time (about 2-5 minutes in a half and 5-10 minutes in a marathon). This is where we start earning our stripes as pacers in minimizing the slow down effect. In these conditions, the body will start siphoning a certain amount of blood flow away from the running muscles to the skin to release built up heat and keep the vital organs cooled off. As a result, there is less to work with running-wise. -These conditions will be better dealt with in the fall after a summer’s worth of heat acclimation, but can be a noticeable hindrance in the spring without the opportunity to acclimate enough (acclimation allows the body to get rid of heat more efficiently sparing you more energy to run with – it takes at least 2 weeks of running in warm weather or running in extra layers). -Starting out at or slower than your pace will help lower the amount of sweat lost as will longer aid station walk breaks to replenish adequately to limit the amount of dehydration adversely affecting performance. -Getting closer to ‘even effort’ on the uphills by slowing down will lower the risk of overheating which increases as a person becomes more dehydrated. Overheating occurs when the body produces more heat (the greater the intensity, the more heat is produced) than can be released, and this is quite possible if someone pushes too hard on the uphills. When this happens, the body forces you to lower the intensity (i.e. slow down) until the excess heat can be released. The residual effects are greater fatigue and an overall slow down that cannot be easily corrected so prevention is the key. -To assist the body in cooling off, look for shaded areas to run (yes, it’s worth losing the tangent to run in shade) as they’ll be 10 degrees cooler than the sunny areas, encourage your runners to pour some water on their heads to get the evaporative cooling effect (much like the coolness you feel when getting out of a swimming pool), and welcome any breeze you can get by having your group spread out to get cooled in this manner. -Walk breaks start to become more important for getting rid of excess heat so take longer breaks through the aid stations and consider optional breaks on uphills along with rhythmic breaks every mile. The longer you’ll be out there, the more helpful the strategic uphill walk breaks and rhythmic walk breaks become. -A deceptively tough day will be if there’s high humidity and sunny. If this is the case, everyone will struggle a bit more since they won’t be able to benefit as much from evaporative cooling, and especially if they don’t adjust their goals (i.e.
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attempt a more conservative pace). Instead of evaporating, more water will just trickle down causing the body to work harder to cool off while experiencing greater water loss through increased sweating. Heat can still be released through walk breaks and less heat produced by going slower on uphills which means you’ll need to compensate with quicker downhills. At least suggest to folks at the pacer booth and start line to consider scooting back a pace group, especially if the temps are in the mid to upper 60’s. 70-85 degrees (tough conditions) -At the pacer booth and start line, we’ll proactively help people run a more positive race by recommending that they scale back their time goals by 5-15 minutes in the half and 10-30 minutes in the marathon if we experience these warm temps since that’s what most of them will end up running, especially first timers. If they don’t want to budge and you’ve determined by the pace team selection guide race prediction chart that their goal time is a best case scenario, let them know that they’ll likely end up going even slower if they don’t start out more conservatively. The compromise is that if they feel great at the 3 mile mark, they can pick it up to catch the next pace team. Even though they won’t want to hear it in the moment, nearly all of them will end up being grateful for your advice. Go ahead and make me out to be the ‘bad’ guy with these recommendations. -Since these warm temps will slow down everyone including the pacers, take this into consideration when asking to pace a certain time range for a race like the Hospital Hill Run. Just as the runners should scale back as needed, so should you. For my part, I will be more conservative in picking a pace team after watching a few pacers bite off more than they can chew every year at HHR. -It goes without saying that you will absolutely need to be the most conservative SmartPacer to limit the slowdown effect of warm temperatures, particularly if it’s sunny and humid with little wind. Take the longest walk breaks through the aid stations with serious consideration to incorporating walk breaks on uphills as well as rhythmic walk breaks to aid in getting rid of excess heat while producing less heat and replenishing more (those 2:20 and slower should at least do the strategic uphill walk breaks). A conservative warm up and going even slower on the ups (and faster on the downs to compensate) will help a lot. -Since a good percentage of your runners will not be able to hit their goal time, we’ll extend your goal time from + or – 1530 seconds to + or – 30-60 seconds and even + or -1 to 2 minutes for those with bigger gaps of spread out participants so you can help the most number of people. -Be on the lookout for anyone suffering from heat related issues or severe dehydration. At that moment, the sweeper pacer’s number one priority is to make sure they’re taken care of by aid stations or spectators while the lead pacer continues on. If they start to stumble or act disoriented, stop them from running immediately and seek help. If need be, have someone call 911. Just get them to the shade and have them stop to assist the body in righting itself. Be careful when encouraging someone who is walking to start running. Chances are that they have been forced to walk and are listening to their body. A simple pat on the back to check on how they’re doing followed by a “good job in listening to your body. Do what you can” if they’re tired but alert will suffice. 85+ degrees (extreme conditions) -Hopefully, the race director will cancel the race unless it’s cloudy and breezy with low humidity or raining. If not, pace times will become a very gray area with everyone running much slower (at least 10-20 minutes slower in the half and 2045 minutes slower in the marathon) and our ranges being extended to + or – 1 to 3 minutes, focusing on helping the most people we can while keeping an eye on those who need assistance. -We’ll need to be proactively firm in our resolve to persuade folks to scale back several pace groups (10-20 minutes in the half and 20-45 minutes in the marathon) at the pacer booth and starting line. -Lots of walking breaks to cool off, produce less heat, and replenish. Even then, it’ll be tough for everyone unless they’ve adjusted their time goals enough. Wind -When it’s cold, wind can be a bad thing, especially if it’s raining. However, the warmer above 55 degrees it gets, the more beneficial it can be to help cool things off like a giant fan. -A headwind will slow you down more than a tailwind will speed you up. This is because you exacerbate the head wind by running towards it (i.e. running 7MPH, or 8:40 pace, into a 20 MPH headwind creates a net 27MPH headwind) while you nullify some of the tailwind by running away from it (i.e. running 7MPH with a 20MPH tailwind creates a net 13MPH tailwind - yes, this means that faster runners are hindered more and helped less). Therefore, it becomes very important to realize that your group will slow down for a given effort. To minimize its adverse effects, you’ll need to get your group to run tightly packed together to take turns drafting behind you and your fellow co-pacer out front along with a few folks taking turns at the front in a ‘V” formation (with the narrow point being at the front) before dropping to the back after every 30-60 seconds.
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-If you get a diagonal or crosswind, you can still huddle together with the pacers taking the brunt of the wind along with others taking turns into the wind. -With a tailwind, take advantage of the ‘sailboat’ effect and spread out to so the wind pushes you from behind. -Depending on how warm it is and how strong the headwind is, you can take advantage of some of its cooling effect by running somewhat close together. Humidity -When determining the heat stress index, humidity is accorded a whopping 70% of the formula compared to 20% for air temperature (in the shade) and 10% for sunlight. This means that a 70 degree day with 90% humidity will slow runners down more than an 80 degree day with 70% humidity. -We’ll keep a closer eye on humidity and proactively educate folks to adjust as needed when it gets above 55 degrees since they’ll have a tougher time cooling off the higher the humidity and thus slow down due to more blood being siphoned away from the muscles along with greater dehydration and a higher risk of overheating. Rain -When it gets below 50 degrees, rain can make things uncomfortable, especially if it’s windy. To help you stay comfortable, an easy solution to still allow your pacer shirt to remain visible is to take a dry cleaners bag and turn it into a vest by cutting it at the waist along with making holes for your head and arms. Wear a hat with an optional headband to keep the rain out of your eyes and head warm. Use handwarmers inside gloves or mittens and consider waterproofing your hands with a cut out bag inside your mittens to make it easier to hold the pacer stick. People will still do better than they thought since there won’t be overheating to slow things down. -Rain becomes more of a beneficial thing the warmer it gets above 60 as it’ll help offset some of the slowdown factor from warm temps, even with the potential extra water weight accumulated in the shoes and clothes.
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Common Pacer Mistakes and How to Correct Them Starting off too fast – Surprisingly, this happens more frequently for the slower pace times, usually when someone is pacing for a time noticeably slower than what they’re used to. The beginning of a race is full of excitement for the pacer and race participant alike. The adrenaline and running a pace slower than your normal race pace makes it extra tempting to end up going out too fast. While it’s one thing to end up dealing with the personal consequences of doing so in an individual race, negatively affecting the race of everyone who trusted you to help provide them with the best chance for achieving their goal and having a positive race experience, is an entirely different matter. Let me make this very clear - you will negatively impact nearly everyone’s race (except for the strongest runners in your group) to the extent you end up starting out too fast. Sure, there will still be happy runners who achieve their goal times, but not as many of them and not as fast & strong as they could have run. With the ‘domino’ effect in place, a fast start will make the rest of the race harder for everyone no matter what you try to do to compensate for it – be it a slower 2nd mile, a longer walk break through the first aid station, etc. The reason you will not make it up is that once the extra energy from inefficient unwarmed up bodies is used up, you won’t be able to convince everyone to take in the extra glycogen, electrolytes, and fluid to replenish this loss on top of what they already plan to take (if anything). Besides this, they’ll have to deal with extra metabolic wastes that will affect their performance to a greater extent and cause them to slow down earlier. Simply put, this is the most serious mistake a pacer can make. SOLUTION - This is a serious mistake that can fortunately be prevented through good old fashioned practice. To the extent you feel like you may end up going out too fast, you’ll need to practice the first mile several times in advance. You can conveniently incorporate this into your running via your warm up, cool down, or any non-hard workout day like a recovery run. If you’re not training for anything, you can practice every run. It’s especially effective to practice the first mile of the race in the first mile of your workout. You can go to a track to lock into the rhythm while checking your 200 or 400 meter (1/4 mile) splits or just use your Garmin on your usual route. Look at the elevation profile for mile 1 of your race and try to match it with similar terrain on your route. Grabbing a few friends and having them follow you will make it more real as will practicing in a race like a 5K/10K or even a half marathon – this will provide the best apples to apples dress rehearsal since you’ll be dealing with real race energy. We have added the first ¼ mile and ½ mile split on the pacer pace bands to help you stay on track sooner than waiting until the first mile – if you reach .25 on the Garmin and are already ahead of pace according to the ¼ mile split, you will back off. If in doubt, starting out too slow will ALWAYS be better than starting out too fast so play it super safe and err on the side of being conservative. Drifting too far off pace – For a host of reasons such as dealing with inaccurate mile markers or a Garmin that malfunctions, sticking with a group rather than following your gameplan, helping some folks or a friend who has fallen off pace, dealing with hot weather or hills (or both), or simply not being able to hold a pace, many pacers experience this issue. I have a section on ‘Exceptions’ which address when it’s appropriate to drift off pace. However, all things being equal, a pacer’s goal is to finish just under their goal time (i.e. a 2 hour pacer should finish 15-30 seconds under 2 hours). In this manner, everyone who chose to start with and follow you will know they achieved their goal of dipping under the pace time if they finish ahead or with you. Drifting further off with each successive mile puts you in no man’s land in which you’ll now have to drastically change the pace to get back on track. If you’re more than a minute ahead or behind, you can be considered a ‘drifter’. If you’re too fast by over a minute, you’ve hindered the majority of folks in your group that had the potential to finish just under or over (+ or – 1-2 minutes) while slowing down your weaker runners even more who’ve probably fallen off the pace and may end up experiencing a more frustrating race than normal since they trusted you to get them over the hump. Only the stronger runners will enjoy the quicker pace. But, remember, our main objective is to help the ‘bell curve’ majority of runners in our group, not those who may not need our help other than a smart start. Slowing noticeably down may provide temporary relief for some of your runners, but the damage has been done – they’ve used up more energy up to that point than they otherwise would have. If you’re too slow by over a minute, you’re going to make it too hard on the majority of your runners to pick it up for those who want to dip under the pace time. Everyone will do much better with gradual adjustments while staying within an acceptable zone (i.e. not too fast or too slow) so be sure to get back on track slowly – over a span of a few to several miles rather than trying to make it up in 1-2 miles. While I don’t expect anyone to hit each mile split dead on, I do expect you to make adjustments to avoid drifting too far off. All things being equal, if you’ve been practicing even a little for the pace you intend to settle on, you shouldn’t be more than 15-20 seconds off for any single mile. The lap pace on the Garmin will help you correct things within each mile. If you end up a little too fast for a given mile, slow down a little the next mile and vice versa so that you’re able to stay within
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a workable range rather than getting further off the mark. Stay on task every mile and make adjustments (preferably small ones) as needed. SOLUTIONS -If you reach a mile marker that seems too short or long and you’re noticeably ahead or behind on your split, trust your Garmin. In nearly all cases, if it reads that you are, for example, 1/10 mile off, you probably are close to 1/10 mile off and can stick to the pacing plan. Sooner or later, the mile markers will get corrected. As frustrating as it may be, trust technology over human error, especially if both pacers get a similar reading and you both feel like the mile was off (the distance didn’t match the rhythm you had settled into). It is important to note that due to a Garmin Forerunner’s 99% accuracy, each mile will average out to a 1.01 reading. This means that you’ll get 5.05 for 5 miles, 10.1 for 10 miles, and so on, up to 13.24 (13.11 + .13) for a half marathon. To compensate, you can pick it up a little so that your lap pace reads 5 seconds faster than the pace on your pace band. -If your Garmin malfunctions or goes out, rely on the other pacer’s Garmin while still using the extra stopwatch you placed on your other wrist (start your watch right after starting your Garmin when you cross the start line). Be sure you’ve charged up your battery and allow enough time for your Garmin to get a signal (everyone should know how long it usually takes for their particular Garmin). -If you accidently get swept up in running with a core group that gets ever further ahead of the pacing plan, I know it’s human nature to want to stick with them. You’ve connected with them and want to help them all the way through. However, if you’ve left other people behind who were also in your group and are more than a minute ahead of pace, you have unintentionally become the de facto pacer for this particular group rather than for all race participants. Instead, encourage this group to finish ahead and let you know how they did after the race in the finish line area. Tell them they are doing great, but that you need to go back to help more people while serving as the marker for everyone in finishing closer to your time. This is a great problem to have – people ‘graduating’ to finish ahead! Hopefully, your co-pacer is running closer to the pace time and one of you can slip back to sweep up more people to also finish under the goal time. -If you find yourself spending time hanging way back (at least 1 minute behind pace) to help someone (particularly if it’s a friend), unless they are experiencing health issues (i.e. overheating, disorientation, extreme fatigue, etc.), encourage them to settle into a doable pace to salvage a good race, wish them luck, and tell them you’ll be waiting for them at the finish. Hopefully, you can sweep up people while catching back up to your co-pacer who is running closer to the pace time. Those who feel a strong connection to help this person are welcome to head back out to find this person on the course after completing the race and saying congrats to others they paced. -If you are dealing with hot weather and find that your group is falling back, one of you can stick to the plan to sweep up those who were ahead that have fallen back while the other can continue to serve as the ‘sweeper’ pacer to help some of your original group finish close to the pace time. I’ll announce an acceptable range for one of you to finish behind your pace time via pacer emails on a situational basis (typically 1-2 minutes) whenever we deal with hot weather. -If the pace feels very doable, but you are not capable of holding a pace, get lots of extra practice in ahead of time and make up for this weakness by being an even better cheerleader while clearly communicating to your co-pacer ahead of time how it’ll work best to work together (i.e. ask if they’re okay with being the primary pace setter). -If the pace felt too hard to keep up with, usually because of warm weather, duly note this and volunteer to scoot back 520 minutes for this race next time. Finishing too far under your pace time – Since our primary job is to serve as the marker for ALL participants while working with those who trust us to finish just under the goal time, a bad habit that some of you have gotten into is to finish more than 1 minute ahead of your pace time. I want our pacers to focus more on those who need us the most – i.e. those who struggle more to dip under the goal time rather than those who have more breathing room. You can wish the faster runners good luck and give them the satisfaction of ‘graduating’ ahead of you. While in the moment someone may feel like they’ll fall apart if you leave them, deep down they will end up being better off for it by finishing ahead on their own. We’re here to support, not enable folks. If you catch back up to them as part of your normal pacing duties, by all means, help them out. With practice and due diligence, I think it is reasonable to expect ALL pacers to finish 15-30 seconds under their goal time. Of course, there are some exceptions which will be addressed in that section of the handbook. But, this is one of our primary goals – to finish close to the time we had advertised to everyone.
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SOLUTION – If you find yourself getting too far ahead of the pace time, the sooner you nip it in the bud, the better off you’ll be. Walking or stopping in the final mile or close to the finish to get closer to your pace time looks very unprofessional, even if you turn around to cheer others runners. The better solution is to adjust when you starting drifting ahead by more than 15 seconds. Be enthusiastic towards those having a great day but encourage them to finish ahead while you stick with those who will need all the help they can get to finish just under the goal time. The 2 pacers should be positioned so that one is just under and the other just over the pace time (+ or – 15 to 30 seconds). Rushing through the aid stations – When it comes to your own race, do whatever you believe works for you (whether it actually works best is another matter). However, when it comes to pacing a group of people, most, if not all, will end up performing better if they are given a better chance to replenish adequately. Common sense dictates that it’s easier to get more fluids in you rather than on you if you slow down to a brisk walk to catch your breath and stop bouncing while trying to drink. The overlooked benefit is that the temporary break for your running muscles helps conserve energy, is a nice mental break, and it helps your body get rid of excess heat (this is why it’s normal for people to feel extra flush when they stop or walk – it’s the built up heat making its way out of the body), particularly on days above 60 degrees. Short changing this opportunity by being impatient will only end up hurting your runners in the long term more than any short term boost to the ego for ‘not walking’. While faster runners may think it won’t hurt them by being out there for a shorter amount of time, typically they’ll incur higher sweat rates for their greater intensity (on average, anyone will be able to go harder for 1 hour and 30 minutes in the half or 3 hours and 30 minutes in the full rather than 2 hours and 30 minutes in the half or 5 hours in the full), which means they may end up more depleted in the last 1/3 of the race. As an example, if Joe Smoke is shooting for a 1:30 half and sweats 50 ounces an hour (very easy to do while racing a half at that pace) but grabs a cup and doesn’t notice that he spills half of it on him while drinking through the 5 aid stations (taking in about 10-15 total ounces), he’ll end up losing over 3 pounds of fluids by mile 10. Compare this with Joe Cool who is shooting for a 2:15 half and sweats 40 ounces an hour but briskly walks to catch his breath while drinking 2 cups through the 5 aid stations (taking in about 40-50 total ounces). By mile 10, he’ll have lost just over 1 pound of fluids and be in a much better position to finish strong. Most people will sweat more than what they’ll replenish (the average person can absorb 20-30 ounces an hour) and that’s fine – as long as they are taking in as much as they healthfully can to cut their losses. SOLUTION – Being cautious vs. aggressive is our motto. All pacers from the fastest to the slowest needs to incorporate some amount of brisk walk breaks. Those out there longer can extend these breaks to better handle the extra time spent racing. Even on cool days, it is imperative to help your runners drink as much as they can in the early aid stations when it’s the most crowded and they are the most tempted to skip or skimp since they’re not thirsty. They’ll end up needing every drop later on. Since it takes about 20-30 minutes to utilize water taken in, you can start skimping in the last few miles of aid stations if you feel like your group needs all the help they can get to dip under the time goal. In a marathon, when your legs start to get tighter after walk breaks you can either shorten the walk breaks or simply downshift to a super slow jog for the duration of previous walk breaks you had taken in the final 6 miles. Pushing too hard on the uphills – This is a true case of habit (you’ve always done it and it seems like all runners do it) and ego (you don’t want to look bad by getting passed) trumping common sense and physiology. Traditionally, runners push on the uphills. Since it seems like everyone accepts this notion of breathing noticeably harder when climbing a hill, the temptation is great to get sucked into this mentality. Yes, despite the increased effort, everyone slows down…but not nearly enough. Individuals racing each other can pull away on an uphill to deal a psychological blow to their competitor, but racing is different than pacing. Beating someone becomes the objective over beating the clock. However, if one’s goal is to run as fast as they can, then their objective is to conserve as much energy as possible at each juncture of the race. And the ONLY way to achieve this on hills is to keep your breathing fairly similar on the uphills and downhills as it was on the flats. SOLUTION – This will take a lot of getting used to since you’ll probably be trying to break an entrenched habit. I strongly encourage everyone to practice ‘even effort’ for their given pace on hills that are similar to those of their target race. If you can do so in tune up races, even better. Practice to the extent that you feel like you need to. If you feel like your co-pacer isn’t slowing down enough on the uphill based on how your group appears to be doing, encourage folks to stick with you and promise them that they’ll catch back up after the hill ends, particularly if it’s followed by a downhill. Talking about yourself too much – Although it can be tempting for some of us to puff out our chest and want to brag about our running accomplishments, remember that this is about them, not you. Yes, you are a leader, but a servantleader nonetheless. Your reward will be in all the high fives and hugs you’ll get AFTER the race in helping them enjoy a positive race experience.
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SOLUTION - Find out as much as you can about them before the race as well as the early miles when they’ll have more energy to talk so you can tailor what you’ll say to keep them motivated and informed (and entertained for those of you who are gifted at this). Only briefly share about your background if asked. If you share things that they are interested in learning more about (such as a race you’ve done that some of them would like to do someday), that’s perfectly fine and may serve as a nice distraction. You are welcome to bring up personal race stories as they relate to helping out your group in that moment. Each situation will be different so gather information ahead of time to get a better idea on what might work well.
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The SmartPacer Script Weeks Before Reply to emails – Please respond when information is requested. Read all emails and reply as needed. Register – You are not exempt from registering for the race for whom you will serve as a pacer. Take care of this so we don’t have to follow up with you. Wait until you receive an email with the comp code. Practice your pace – Spend as much time as you need until you can confidently and routinely lock into the pace you’re expected to hold on race day. Focus most of your time on the first mile since it will have the greatest impact on the race. Be sure to practice with your Garmin and incorporate the walk breaks you plan to on race day to see how much you’ll need to compensate while running. Extra Credit for holding your pacer stick, particularly if it’s windy to see how it may affect your stride, run in your pacer shirt (wearing any possible extra clothes in case cool race day temps are expected), and run with your practice pace band. USE THIS TIME TO WORK OUT THE KINKS, especially if it’s a pace you’re not used to running. Contact your Co-Pacer – You’ll have access to your co-pacer’s email as part of a pacer directory. Discuss how you plan to pace together. Learn about each other’s preferences and strengths to decide how best to work as a team. Who will be up front? Who will be the ‘sweeper’? Who will mostly do the ‘cheerleading’ and who will mostly do the pacing? Race Weekend Work or stop by the Pacer Booth – This is a great opportunity to educate people on how we can help them as well as possibly meet folks who will run in your group. Those not scheduled to work the booth are encouraged to stick around 1530 minutes to help as needed. Pick up your Race Packet – Be sure to pick up your official race stuff and plan to wear your chip and race bib. Race Morning Stop by the pre-race pacer meeting location – Often, we’ll have leftover pace bands from the pacer booth that you can pick up to hand out before the race in the starting area. It’s also a convenient way to hook up with your co-pacer. Get to the start on time – In ALL cases, it’s better to be early than late to the starting area. Typically, you’ll be asked to line up 30 minutes before the start, but read your pacer email to make sure when you need to be there. In many cases, you will be able to help organize folks on where to line up simply by holding up your pacer sticks so get there before most people start showing up. Get to know your group – You have a golden opportunity to get to know the people who plan to run with you in the 30 minutes before the start. You can hand out complimentary pace bands as a way to break the ice and ask questions to determine what to share with them. Find out who’s doing their first one, who’s aiming for a PR, who’s run with a SmartPacer before, etc., and start trying to learn people’s names. Share your SmartPacing gameplan with them and try to convince them as needed to buy in ahead of time. As you walk/jog to the start line after the gun goes off, remind people one final time to start smart with a warm up and promise them that they’ll run their best race in this manner. The Race Start your Garmin & Watch as you cross the start line. Start Smart – Do whatever it takes to actually hold back as needed for the first mile. This is where the ‘art of pacing’ kicks in since it will be the most crowded and chaotic with lots of runners drunk on adrenaline. Waste as little energy as possible weaving and when in doubt, ALWAYS err on the side of being too slow vs. too fast. If you are going slower, it just means your group is getting even more of a proper warm up. You WILL have plenty of miles to make up this time so don’t panic. Stay calm and gradually make it up over the next few miles, particularly where you get a downhill or flat area. Use the ¼ mile and ½ mile split on your special pacer pace band to help you not start out too fast. With the crowds, work with your co-pacer to start intelligently as this is the most important thing to get right of the SmartPace strategy. Be the Most Conservative in the early miles – Since the early part of the race will have the greatest impact on your group’s collective race performance, you’ll need to be the most conservative. Be the most conservative on any uphills AND downhills in the first 3 miles when your group will be the most tempted to take them too hard, especially the uphills. Take the most time through the early aid stations when it’ll be the most crowded and your group will be the most tempted
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to rush through them. You can gradually scale back the amount of planned brisk walks break later on when it becomes less crowded and your group will be more motivated to replenish. Divide and Conquer - After the 1-2 miles, one pacer can slip to the back of the group while the other one leads up front. The one at the back can communicate with the lead pacer on how to make adjustments as needed (i.e. take a longer aid station walk break to allow more people to stay with the group and/or slow down a little more on the uphill) since they’ll be able to see how the group is reacting through the aid stations and on the hills. *To compensate for the extra distance in going back and forth which will throw off your Garmin, you’ll need to rely more on the elapsed time from both the Garmin and your stopwatch and adjust as needed for each mile marker. Provide Instruction - Depending on how confusing it may be if you have half marathoners & marathoners mixed until the split, use the time as needed to get to know your group and/or keep it a bit more formal by yelling instructions on how you’ll handle the next hill/aid station while locking into the rhythm of the pace. Settle In – Once your group is fully warmed up after mile 3, you can begin to settle into a doable ‘even effort’ on the ups and downs as well as a workable aid station routine and optional rhythmic walk breaks. Bodies thrive on homeostasis and minds appreciate routine and knowing what to expect. Finding the right balance and staying away from surprises is important. After the split with the other race distance, use this time to reacquaint yourself with those in your group since it’ll be very clear at this point who is running with you. The ‘sweeper’ pacer will likely need to start spending more time encouraging those who start to struggle at the back without falling too far back from the lead pacer (up to 100 yards). The final 1/3 – No matter what we do, all groups will splinter in the final miles with the stronger folks taking off, the middle folks hanging on, and the weaker ones falling off the pace. Since we’re mainly supposed to be there for everyone wanting to run a certain time, our role will be to remain with those sticking with us. The lead pacer can encourage those feeling good to take off and see how far in front they can ‘graduate’ ahead of the group while asking them to stick around at the finish to let them know how they did. The sweeper pacer can encourage those trailing off to keep plugging away and promise to be there for them at the finish. Meanwhile, you’ll both be holding your pace for those in between you and encourage them to stick with you. It’ll typically come down to each of your running with a handful of folks that’ll keep changing as some start to pick it up while you drop others and sweep up those in front of you. Stick to the overall pace plan while you help who you can to have the lead pacer finish no more than 15-30 seconds ahead of your goal time and the sweeper pacer finish no more than 15-30 seconds behind your goal time. Be sure to stop your Garmin & Stopwatch. Finish Line – Look for those in your group to see how they did. You’ll hopefully be getting lots of hugs and high 5’s! Stick around for those who fell off the pace until you’ve seen how your entire core group did. Post Race > Evaluate your Performance – Within 3-5 days after the race while the memories are fresh, take time to reflect on what you did well and what you can improve upon. If you’d like to share any helpful general or race specific tips with us that we can pass along to pacers, by all means, please do so.
Equipment Every Pacer should: -Wear a Garmin Forerunner or a similar device that keeps track of pace. This is our most important piece of equipment, period. A few of you have proven the innate ability to keep a pace, but if you mess up once, you’ll be required to wear a Garmin. I pride myself on being able to lock into any pace from 7 to 12 minutes a mile with just a stopwatch, but I still use a Garmin. -Wear a Stopwatch that backs up their Garmin. This is insurance in case your Forerunner malfunctions. Be sure to start your watch immediately after starting your Garmin when you cross the actual start line. -Wear a Pace Band. This shows your mile splits as well as accumulated time to keep you on track. Carry an extra pace band if it’s a particularly warm day or if you’ve ever had a pace band get too wet from sweat/water.
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-Carry a Pacer Stick. This alerts race participants from up to 200 yards away on your location to enhance your ability to serve as the designated pace time marker in the race. -Wear a Pacer Shirt. This is your uniform. If it’s on the cool side, by all means, wear a cap, headband, gloves, tights, compression arm/leg sleeves, and short or long sleeve undershirt as needed. When requesting a size, always choose the bigger option if you can go either way since shirts tend to be on the snug size. -Wear a race computer chip and race bib. The computer chip allows us to check on your splits and total time while the race bib conveys that you are an official race participant. NO Pacer should: -Wear headphones. No iPod or MP3 player is allowed. You are here to engage with others, not tune out folks. Al Mauro, our resident ‘techie’ pacer, offers the following Garmin Forerunner Tips I've found the most useful pieces of information are the current lap pace (to make sure I am keeping to the pace band pace) and current lap distance (for the obvious reason). On another screen (or for me, an extra watch entirely given some recent uncooperative behavior from my 405), I keep the total time, so I can check at each mile against the pace band to see how close I am overall. I also put the total distance on that screen or the first screen to keep from getting confused about the actual mile I am on. On the Garmin 405, if you have the total time on a smaller screen (ie with 3 screen elements), it will drop the seconds from view after the first hour to fit the entire time on. I purposefully do not use "Avg. Pace" or "Current Pace" as they can get pretty misleading. The pace band replaces the need to think about your overall avg pace (my wife watched this instead of lap pace once and started going way too fast to bring the avg. pace down). The current pace jumps so fast that I don't want to respond to it. The lap pace keeps your changes more gradual over the entire mile. Another thing I do to keep on track is to turn off the "Auto Lap" feature - since the Garmin is about 99% accurate, most every Garmin is quickly out of sync with the actual mile markers - about 1/4 mile by the end. I hit "Lap"at each mile (it gives me something to do). If you forget to "lap" it, you will still have your lap pace, it is just averaged over 2 miles instead one. Another Garmin warning for pacing is to know whether your Garmin usually measures a mile long or short (they are almost always short by about .01 mile). If you are going only by "Lap Pace", the Garmin "Lap Pace" will lead you to think you will hit a 9:00 mile, but since it is clocking the mile short, you will have to travel another 3-4 seconds to hit the actual mile, thus a real pace of about 9:04. Over the entire race, that could be 75-100 seconds difference. So, I usually run a bit faster than my pace shows, and I keep a close eye on the actual elapsed time vs. the pace band to make sure I don't lose time to GPS creep.
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Tips from Pacers Al Mauro and Cynthia Stapp, two of our most experienced pacers, share some valuable tips in this section. Al Mauro Here are some observations from pacing the Kansas City Marathon 4:00 group the last several years that hopefully can add to the entire group experience and continue to set our pacers apart from what any other race can offer. I don’t think we are as much “pace setters” as we are “runner advocates.” We are there to help them make as few mistakes as possible to increase their chance to get to mile 20 in good shape and then to be a coach/drill sergeant to help those who are left to overcome the fog and pain of the past few miles. Keeping to the clock is only one part of the full experience. With 2 pacers, you can trade off between the primary “pace setter” and the “coach” who is working the crowd. Here are few things Jim Still and I have done with our group to help our runners succeed. Let them know what is coming: Tell them what to expect from the course (the next mile and a half is going to be rolling…), your pace and the aid stations. We regularly update people on where the good short downhills will be so they know we will be speeding up, and we are pretty honest about the uphills and where there may be a bit of a break in the middle. We also repeat our aid station instructions every time we approach. This helps build the trust in your pacing plan. At the start line, we give a quick summary of what we plan do for pacing the first few miles and ask them to trust us on how slow it may seem. The work of the pacer changes as the miles pass: Miles 1-6: With the size of the crowds, there is little you can do other than keep from tripping. It is hard to get a real group spirit going until the half split thins the crowd. We play up the split off by getting a promise from our half friends to save food and beer for us. Once we are alone, we seem to tighten up as a group (I’m sure the same works for the half pacers as well). Miles 7-16: This is the time to get to know the group while people are still feeling good. The pacers split up and spend a lot of time roving back through the group to find out about the people running (first marathon? how was the training? etc.) . You can find out who really wants it. I tell these people that if they can keep with the group until 22, I will do everything I can to make sure they finish with us. For first timers, I will talk to them about honestly assessing how they are feeling at 13 and if they feel it is really hard, then think about making adjustments to make sure they finish feeling good. We let them know honestly that it is a bit of a slow climb to 75th street, but that every hill is winding the spring to give them a great ride back to the Plaza. It gives them something to look forward to. Miles 16-21. We start to prepare the group mentally for what is to come. Though still lighthearted, I do get a bit more serious. I like to share some war stories about overcoming tough times in races. I tell people that this is the point where it should start to feel like hard work, and that’s ok, but to trust their training. I also tell them how the last few miles is going to affect them and what they must keep in mind to overcome it. I tell them to start thinking of why they are here today and what they want to feel like afterwards. I ask them to get a mental image of their best long run. I talk about how the last 6 miles is much more mental than physical, and that if they trained properly, they have what it takes to finish, they just have to keep their mind focused on doing it. We also keep on talking about how the course at this point is their friend. This is a really good point for the 2nd pacer to go pretty far back and see who can rejoin the pack. Over the wall - Miles 21-23. This is where the “pacing” almost completely gives way to coaching. I come up with all sorts of ways to let people believe that if they have made it this far, there is no way they should fail, but they have to want it. This is where people are either going to break or make it. You can’t do anything about the ones who are physically spent, but if you have talked with folks enough, you can figure out who just needs some work. From here on in, I share a couple of stories of not just enduring a tough race, but when I called upon near animal-like depths when I thought I was cooked. The lesson I keep repeating is that no matter how tired you think you are, you have an untapped well of energy, but you have to dig deep to pull it out. They have to believe that despite their exhaustion, they can really make it. You also have to make them accept the absurd notion that everyone feels just as crappy as them – it is how you are supposed to feel. They may be strung out over a block, but I start running back and forth. The “bait” I hold out at this point is getting to the top of the Paseo at mile 23. Gut out 3 miles and then have a glide down the Paseo for 2 miles. From 20 on in, I break the
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race into distances they are familiar with: from 20, it is just a 10k race. At 21 it is a Monday recovery run. At 22, we only have the Trolly run, and 23 is just a friendly 5k – your kids could run a 5K! For the KC Marathon, this is really the toughest part of the race. The course sucks for 2 miles from the beginning of Gilham at mile 21, up to the traffic to Paseo and Linwood just past 23. I am very frank with the group that they just have to endure a rough patch. “Hope” is the key message at this point. Hold out until Mile 23 – just 2 miles until a great reward. The run up Gilham is a false flat, so I help people feel better by telling them that they are working up a hill they can’t see, so it is natural to be really tired here – it will actually be easier in Hyde Park where you can see the incline. This section is where the last big break of the pace group seems to happen and it is a last chance to give encouragement to some people who might fall off further. I tell them of previous pace groups where people just like them held within sight of the group and came back together on Paseo. One trick is to tell people to visualize a rubber band tied to the person in front of them – lasso them, pull up to them and then pick a new target. Or identify people in front that don’t deserve to be ahead of you – perhaps it is the bright shoes they have or the color of their shirt (WE MUST CATCH UP TO THIS PERSON!!!). If you know the course, you can hold out little dips in the road as momentary rewards. The End. As we head up Paseo towards Linwood, the hill still sucks so you hold out the promise of the downhill just past the stoplight. This is the point to tell those in good shape to have fun and go for it. It is key at this point to check your elapsed time against your pace band at each mile marker. If you are going to be running back and forth to different people, your GPS will not be a good measure of where you stand. It is here where I turn my focus to a fairly small group of people within a couple of blocks who are still running – some have been with us, and some are “pick ups”. I will start shuttling between almost everyone within sight and give the key message: If you are still running now you will make it, you need to keep focused and keep going. I get in almost everyone’s face and channel Eladio: How are you going to feel tonight, and for the next year, if you give up? How will you feel calling friends, or posting to FB and telling them – “I pulled out everything I had and ran like a hero when I thought I had nothing left.” Think of the grin on your face when you cross the line on time. Remember why you ran in the heat for 4 months. You cannot let your kids down. Since it is literally minute by minute, I tell people that they can do anything for 10 minutes – watch “Cats”, teeth cleaning, you name it. For some people who keep stopping to walk, sometimes it takes outright yelling and mock anger (WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING???? You did not run 25 miles to walk now!! You are still on pace, but every second counts – get moving NOW!!). At the 25 mile mark, I identified a runner who went across right on our pace time and then told all those behind that this person is the magic 4:00 rabbit they have to catch to finish under their time. From here on in, I have picked a couple of the nearest people to the back who are struggling the most and kicking their butts across the finish. *Please note – It’s important to note that Al is pacing the 4:00 group and this is the most popular time barrier for runners to break so view his final mile tips in this context and adjust what you might say to your group accordingly. Cynthia Stapp’s Script of Key Things to Say For Starters I’m here to make you run slow when you want to run fast and to make you run fast when you want to run slow. Listen to me, follow us, and we’ll cross the finish line in 5 hours and 40 minutes. We’re going to run the first ten miles with our heads, the second ten miles with our legs, and the last six miles with our hearts. The pace I set is a warm up pace for the first two miles, 30 seconds to a minute slower than our goal pace. Then we’ll pace depending on topography and weather conditions, always to finish in 5:40. We’ll let gravity help us on the downhills, drop your arms a bit and lengthen your stride. Going uphill, bend your knees and lower your center of gravity to help push your body up the hill. Early Miles If you’re having trouble keeping up, please feel free to drop back to a slower group and rejoin us at any time.
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If you’re having a hard time going this slow, you’re welcome to move out on your own and rejoin us at any time. The group doesn’t stop for bathroom breaks. If you need to go, please do and then take your time catching up with us. We’ll be here. You’ll probably see friends and family along the course, certainly wave and acknowledge them. However, don’t sprint ahead of the group, pumping your fists in the air. Every ounce of energy you expend now, you will no longer have at mile 23. Yes, you do look great, but you’ll look even better when you’re able to run the final yards to the finish line. Last 10 Miles Concentrate on finishing one mile at a time. Single digit countdown 17: only nine more miles to go. Remember back to an age that has a 9 in it. Nine years old, 19 years old, 29 years old…what were you doing? 18: only eight more miles to go. Think about your favorite vacation. Why was it your favorite? You were with family or friends. You went overseas or stayed home. You saw movies, plays and went to sporting events. You peeled wall paper off the living room and painted the whole room red. You went to the beach and laid in the sun for a full week. You went to the mountains and skied every day. Etc. 19: Only seven more miles to go. Think about all those 18, 20 and 22 mile runs you’ve put in. And how you know at the end of each one, you could go another four, six or eight miles, no sweat! Now’s the time to do it. You’ve trained for months and are in the best shape of your life. Push with your mind. 20: Only six miles to go. Focus on the reason you’re in the race. Is it your first? Your personal best? A dare? Why would you do this? For fun? Fitness? To honor a lost loved one? Think of all the people you’ve met just today and how they share your goal. WE can do this! 21: Only five miles to go. A nice number. Think about how special it truly is that you’re about to finish a marathon. It’s a distinction few can claim. As a matter of fact, only one tenth of one percent of the US population finishes a marathon every year. Only one percent of the US population ever finishes a marathon. Either way, you’re about to achieve something very special. 22: Only four miles to go: Focus on your personal support system, families, friends, children, parents, everyone who helped you train for this in one way or another. Give each one of them silent thanks for all their support. Imagine their faces and how proud they’ll be when you cross the finish line. 23: Only three miles to go: Focus on a personal hero, someone who has been through something so much harder than a marathon. Think about what they went through, how they handled it and use that strength to push you forward. Do it for them. 24: Only two miles to go: Think about the strength you have in your body, your mind and your heart. You want this. You’ve never wanted anything more. And you will finish this marathon, with a strong body, a strong mine and a strong heart. Only you can do this for yourself. 25: last mile! Every single step gets you closer to the finish line. The finish line: your goal for the last many months of training, and it’s just steps down the course. Every step is a victory. For some, every step is farther than they’ve ever run. For us all, every step is a source of pride in our strength, our families, our friends and our spirit.
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SmartPace Team Selection Guide A Sound Approach to Choosing the appropriate Pace Team We can do a lot better proactively by setting up runners for success in helping them settle on a realistic pace team to work with, particularly novice runners or veteran runners coming back from a long layoff or someone with a history of bad races. At the pacer booth and even at the start line, having at least the knowledge of what someone needs to be capable of to run in your group can assist folks in the long run. The most accurate way of helping them is to have them look at the race prediction chart on the next page. However, if they have not done a tune up race leading up to this race, some other general guidelines they should be capable of are as follows: 1) running their track workouts (typically 400’s and 800’s) at least 1 minute per mile faster than their goal pace 2) doing their long runs (at least 8 miles for a half and 16 miles for a marathon) no slower than 1 minute per mile slower than their goal pace (of course, people who have done tune up races that prove they’re ready to take on their goal pace can run up to 1-2 minutes per mile slower than race pace – we just need to be a bit more strict for those who haven’t proven it in a race) 3) being able to handle any goal pace runs of at least 1/3 of their race distance This prediction chart was calculated by Gerry Purdy in his book, Computerized Running Training Programs. I have rounded the numbers to make it easier to remember the corresponding times for your target race. For the average runner under average conditions, a 22 minute 5K would give them the necessary speed to do a 1:45 half marathon. Conversely, a 4:15 marathoner should be able to run a sub 2:00 half marathon. Of course, there will be a variety of outcomes on either side of this performance curve depending on the weather, course, distance specific training, mental preparation, and pacing strategies, to name a few. Everyone will have a niche distance that they will do better at. However, this chart is a moderate one compared to many out there that tend to be a little more aggressive so it’s accurate for most people. In any case, use it with discretion as a general guide. If in doubt on what pace team to suggest to a race participant, choose the conservative option. First timers will achieve a PR simply by finishing so they are excellent candidates to recommend a more conservative pace time to and set them up for that all important positive first time race experience. Caution everyone on days when the forecast calls for temps above 60 for the marathon and 70 for the half marathon as well as if it’s expected to be humid – a recommendation to scoot back a pace time or two is wise with the acknowledgement that they can always pick it up to try to catch the group in front of them after mile 3 if they’re feeling really good. Of course, hilly races will slow everyone to some extent. It’s better to start conservatively with the option to pick it up rather than starting aggressively and be forced to slow down quite a bit more later. In helping people choose a more appropriate pace team given their ability, it will prove to be a win-win situation as more people will actually get to run and work together from start to finish with the guidance of our pacers. This is the most important step towards a positive and successful race experience! To have a realistic shot at running for the following half marathon and marathon pace teams, a person should be able to run the listed times for the corresponding race distances in the same row.
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*HALF MARATHON Teams* Time Pace 1:25 6:30 1:30 6:50 1:35 7:15 1:40 7:40 1:45 8:00 1:50 8:25 1:55 8:50 2:00 9:10 2:05 9:30 2:10 9:55 2:15 10:20 2:20 10:40 2:25 11:05 2:30 11:30 2:35 11:50 2:40 12:10 2:45 12:35 2:50 13:00 2:55 13:20 3:00 13:45 3:10 14:30 3:20 15:10 3:30 16:10
5K Time 18:10 19:10 20:15 21:15 22:15 23:30 24:15 25:30 26:15 27:30 28:15 29:30 30:30 31:30 32:30 33:30 34:30 35:15 36:30 37:15 39:45 42:00 44:10
10K Pace 5:50 6:10 6:30 6:50 7:10 7:30 7:50 8:10 8:30 8:50 9:10 9:30 9:50 10:05 10:25 10:45 11:05 11:20 11:40 12:00 12:45 13:30 14:15
Time 38:15 40:20 43:00 45:00 47:00 49:40 51:25 54:00 55:50 58:15 1:00:15 1:02:50 1:05 1:07:15 1:09:45 1:11:45 1:13:50 1:15:15 1:17:30 1:19:50 1:24:15 1:29:00 1:33:50
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Pace 6:10 6:30 6:55 7:10 7:30 8:00 8:15 8:40 9:00 9:20 9:40 10:05 10:25 10:45 11:10 11:30 11:50 12:05 12:30 12:50 13:35 14:20 15:10
Marathon Time 3:00 3:10 3:23 3:33:30 3:44 3:55:30 4:06 4:17:20 4:28 4:39:15 4:50 5:02 5:13 5:24 5:35 5:45 5:55 6:07 6:20 6:32 7:00 7:25 7:49
Pace 6:50 7:15 7:45 8:10 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:50 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:30 11:55 12:20 12:45 13:10 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 16:55 17:55
Frequently Asked Questions What are the qualifications to become a pacer? Have a desire to help others achieve their dreams & goals. Understand how important race day can be for people and act accordingly. Take your job seriously. Be willing to learn and apply all you can to be a highly effective SmartPacer. You need to have been a runner for at least 3 years with at least 3 races under your belt for the distance you want to pace including having done at least 1 race for the race you want to pace for (you can still request to pace for a race you have never done before, but priority will be given to those who have). You should currently be capable of running at least 10 minutes faster for the time you want to pace in the half marathon. What can I do to improve my chances of getting the pace time I request? As much as possible, I want to make this a true meritocracy but balance this out with finding the best 2 person team for each pace time. Things under your control that you can do are organized in the following categories: *Crucial – Take your job seriously, run your first mile at or slower than you should, walk through aid stations, run hills at ‘even effort, avoid drifting by more than 30-60 seconds, finish 15-30 seconds under your goal time. *Important – Show up for the pacer meetings, volunteer for the pacer booth, respond to my requests in a timely manner (i.e. fill out your pacer profile, tell me your preferred pace times, etc.), practice hitting your mile splits, especially the first mile, study this handbook, receive positive feedback from the people you help via comments sent to the race director and comments posted on the smartpacing.com website or survey. Why can’t I pace for a time closer to my race pace? Because you are not here to race. You are here to pace, and pacing involves lots of energy and focus. So much so that the actual pace should feel more like a training run. In fact, those who choose a pace close to their everyday pace will find it much easier to do a great job as a pacer. For most people, this comes out to 1-2 minutes per mile slower than their half marathon race pace (15-30 minutes slower than what they could race) or marathon race pace (30-60 minutes slower than what they could race). Based on the feedback received from both pacers and race participants, this tends to be the optimal pace time range to shoot for given your CURRENT ability on the race course you intend to pace for (i.e. everyone should scale back 5-10 minutes for the Hospital Hill Run compared to other races). Why do we need 2 pacers vs. 1 pacer? For insurance, 2 pacers means that if 1 pacer cannot complete the race for any reason, the other one can finish the job. 2 pacers means that 1 pacer can more completely focus on locking into the pace while the other one can act as a cheerleader to keep the group motivated. 2 pacers means one can lead at the front while the other one can hang back to work with folks who may need more help. 2 pacers can compliment each other’s strengths & weaknesses (i.e. one is typically better at holding a pace while the other is better at motivating/entertaining/instructing people). 2 pacers allows us to pair up a novice with a veteran pacer where needed. In short, 2 pacers can help more people experience a positive race than 1 pacer for a given pace time. What do I do if I get injured before the race I’m scheduled to pace? Injuries do happen and is one of the reasons I will always recruit backups for each race. If you are even remotely concerned that your injury may adversely affect your performance as a pacer, give me a heads up and keep me updated on your progress so I can formulate a backup plan as needed. The more proactive you are about this, the better. In the past, some creative solutions have been the injured pacer recruiting someone to fill in for them while keeping me in the loop (normally this occurs when I don’t have an adequate backup), dropping down from the marathon to the half and finding someone to switch with, pacing half the marathon instead of trying to go the entire distance. Why can’t our pacers run even pace just like other pacers do? Based on our survey results from over 1,200 people which includes feedback from such tough races like Hospital Hill and not-so-easy races like the Kansas City Half Marathon/Marathon, 9 out of 10 people came in ahead of their time goal or just missed it but were happy with their race. It’s hard to argue with results like this! While at first glance, it’s logical to accept the even pace strategy, it isn’t the strategy that is the physiologically most effective. If it doesn’t make sense why anyone would start any of their training runs at race pace, why on earth would someone want to do this on the most important day of training – race day? Since it’s not practical to have all the pacers get their groups to do a 15-20 minute warm up jog and time it so they finish within 3-5 minutes of when they’ll actually start racing, the next best thing to do is to have them semi-warmup in the race. We warm up because their bodies require this 1 st step to be taken. Instead of doing what’s popular, we are more interested in doing what’s right in terms of basing our strategy on physiology and results. What’s the big deal about starting out faster than SmartPace like everyone else does? Shouldn’t we take advantage of the early miles when people are feeling good? Exactly. People feel good because they’ve hopefully
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tapered and are loaded up on adrenaline and it’s early in the race when they have the most energy. By ‘taking advantage’ of this, you will ALWAYS set up folks for a tougher than hoped for race. Everything that they feel at the beginning of a race should be forever viewed as a false reading tainted by their ego (feeling a bit too full of themselves), their dreams (feeling overconfident that they can hold this pace since it feels ‘easy’), and their adrenaline (the hormone responsible for this short lived ‘high’ that they don’t have much experience in dealing with to this extent and the cause of all these temptations). YOU MUST NOT TRUST YOUR FEELINGS IN THE BEGINNING. INSTEAD, TELL THEM THAT HOLDING WAY BACK IS THE CORRECT RESPONSE. The goal is not to just feel good at mile 1. A much more worthy and hard fought goal is to continue to feel strong enough throughout the entire race. They don’t give medals or prizes to your standing or pace at mile 1 – they wait until the race has been completed. Those who exercise the most caution early on will be rewarded later on. Delayed gratification vs. instant gratification. Starting out too fast is the most serious mistake a pacer can make since you won’t be able to take back the damage that’s been done. Even by slowing back down, your folks won’t be able to replenish the extra energy used up from an inefficient body. They are the most vulnerable and at their worst as a runner/racer early on and should be treated as such. After a few miles, they’ll be at their best and more grounded (i.e. the adrenaline will be long gone) so they’ll be able to now trust how they feel and act accordingly. If the race is so crowded that our group is forced to go extra slow, do I make it up the time as soon as I can or spread it out over several miles? The body prefers subtle change so make up the lost time over several miles after mile 3 when the group is fully warmed up. Strategic areas to make it up with the least negative consequences are on downhills, but anyplace other than uphills will work as well. Why do I need to walk through the aid stations when most people run through them? At first glance, slowing your pace enough through the aid stations to grab a cup or two seems like a very reasonable solution. After all, that’s what you see the elites do on TV. On closer inspection, let’s examine the facts. The elites you see on TV are out there for just over 2 hours and clocking speeds that are a far greater discrepancy from any brisk walks they might employ. Plus, they grab bottles with a straw containing their special concoction compared to our flimsy cups. Any cups you may see them grabbing at regular aid stations are considered extra which is why they’re willing to settle for a swig. For the most part, the people we work with are out there twice as long in the marathon making it more critical to adequately replenish what they’ll lose over the longer haul at each aid station and running twice as slow which means the brief, brisk walk break won’t slow them down as much as it’ll give them a greater chance to get more fluids in them rather than all over them from trying to drink while running. Being less conditioned than elite athletes, the walk break will provide a brief respite from the mounting fatigue from running (much like breaks in a track workout help you regroup for the next repeat). On top of that, the walk breaks will help release excess heat on any day where it gets above 55 degrees. In short, you will help more people replenish enough and thus end up running a stronger race WITH the brief & brisk walk breaks through the aid stations. Outside of brief walk breaks through the aid stations, I don’t need to mess with any other walk breaks, correct? It’s clear to me, that to some extent, runners will view the word ‘walk’ as a four letter cussword and associate it with quitting. If someone has a goal to run the entire distance, that’s one thing. However, if someone has a goal to run their strongest race, planned brisk walk breaks should be part of that equation. A strategic walk break outside of the aid station walk breaks will always produce greater gains than ‘losses’, especially for those who will be out there longer than 2:30 in a half and 4 hours in a marathon. The break from the growing fatigue in the running muscles (while still moving forward at a brisk pace), the burning of fat while sparing carbs will conserve more energy, and the release of excess heat will allow more blood flow back to the running muscles giving you more to work with. Strategic walk breaks on uphills (run the first part and back off to a walk when your group starts to labor), particularly when it starts to warm up, will ALWAYS end up helping your group cut their losses by slowing down less in the final miles. Rhythmic walk breaks after every 5-10 minutes or mile will help your group recharge their batteries to keep going longer. Planned brief, brisk walk breaks enhances our SmartPace strategy to help more people run a stronger race. Why do I need to slow down on the uphills when most people don’t? While it’s good in training to work hard on the uphills to gain strength, it’s not energy efficient to do so in a race when the goal is to maximize all the hard work you’ve put into preparing for this day. Research clearly shows that the forced slowdown over the top of a hill causes those to lose all benefits from working harder up the hill. It also implies that the extra energy used up and extra heat built up will need to be dealt with the rest of the race (i.e. you will have less energy to work with more blood siphoned away from the running muscles toward the skin to release the extra heat causing you to slow down until this is completed). Pushing hard up a hill in a race only makes sense if the finish line is in sight or you want to take a chance in breaking a fellow competitor mentally.
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Otherwise, you will ALWAYS end up helping your folks run a stronger overall race by running ‘even effort’ on the hills. Make up the time lost on the uphills on the downhill. If you run the uphill intelligently, you’ll find that you’ll have lots more energy than normal to be able to pick up the pace accordingly on the downhill. Meanwhile, you will have conserved more energy and produced less heat which gives you more to work with the rest of the way. This is the most common bad habit that will need to be broken by pacers. Running hills at ‘even effort’ should be practiced until you become more comfortable with it and can use this strategy more effectively in the race you pace for. Won’t running harder on downhills get people injured? No doubt, the increased pounding from running faster than normal on downhills will at least cause more soreness afterwards. If we ever pace for a race with significant downhills or a net downhill, we’ll definitely educate people to train accordingly through the race e-blasts and website. However, the alternative is much worse – pushing uphills leads to too much energy used up and too much excess heat produced. While there will be a greater risk in terms of soreness or a possible injury, the pros of running ‘even effort’ on hills definitely outweigh the cons. Why do I need to practice my pace ahead of time? Practice makes perfect. Pacing is a learned skill. Yes, some folks pick it up quicker than others, but if the best athletes in the world spend hours practicing their craft, none of you is above practicing. It should be easy to incorporate the necessary practice into your training, either as a recovery run, part of your long or semi-long run, or as the warm up of your speed/goal pace/hill workouts. Practice the 1st mile the most since it will affect your group the most (think ‘domino effect’). The more practice you can get in, the better you will be on race day. Why does each pacer need a stick? It’s part of your uniform and more clearly identifies you as a pacer. In the past, we’ve tried it with one pacer, but found it works better with 2 pacers. With a lead pacer at the front carrying a stick and a sweeper pacer at the back, you can divide and conquer more effectively as those in the back will trust that the sweeper pacer is a legit as the lead pacer since they both will have a pacer stick. Why can’t I just finish with the people I started with? While it’s quite understandable to develop a bond with those you’ve been working with, your main goal is to be available for ALL people while serving as the marker for a certain pace time. If the group you’ve been working with starts to pull away, turn this into a good thing by encouraging them to ‘graduate’ ahead of you and finish strong. Ask them to stick around at the finish line to let you know how they did – deep down they’ll feel a greater sense of accomplishment if they’re able to finish on their own. If the group you’ve been working with starts to drop off, you can have the sweeper pacer stick with them for as long as they can all the while encouraging and exhorting them to keep going. To the extent that there isn’t anyone around you (such as in smaller races and/or in the front or back pace times) with gaps, you can keep working with your group or wherever you can help the most people. However, if there are lots of folks around, you can turn your focus on helping those closer to your pace time. The more people that are around you, the more the groups of people you’ll be able to noticeably help (i.e. your core group) will change throughout the race – from those you help start smart to those you catch up to later on. Why should I be so concerned about coming so close to my pace time? What’s the big deal about finishing 1-2 minutes ahead vs. 15-30 seconds? While it is true that all pace times are to some extent arbitrary (i.e. how is 3:48 much different than 3:50), you should take some pride in delivering on the stated goal of running your pace time. It’s up to everyone around you to finish on either side of that marker. In relation to the other pace times, it’s important to spread you out evenly. People’s math skills deteriorate as the race progresses so the more uneven you become in relation to your pace times, the more confused (and stressed out) you cause them to be when they become less sure of the time they’ll finish. Things flow more smoothly when everyone does their job. This is particularly true for the time barriers like 2 hours for the half and 4 or 5 hours for the marathon as well as all Boston Marathon qualifying times with 10 minute increments being the secondary time barriers (such as 1:40, 1:50, 2:10, 2:20 for the half or 3:30, 3:40, 4:30, 4:40 for the marathon). We had a pacer recently miss qualifying for Boston by 13 seconds. He thinks that if the pacer had done her job and been right in front of him instead of nowhere in sight, he would have been able to make up the time in the final miles to qualify, and I completely agree with him. Unless there is a large gap of people in front and behind you, no one will fault you for finishing as close as possible to your pace time – you’ll be amazed by how many people will pick it up to finish in front of the pacers all the way up to just before the finish line. To the extent there is a gap relative to your pace time, then by all means, split up to help as many people as you can in the final miles. What’s more important, finishing within 15-30 seconds of our pace time or finishing with people? They’re equally important. If you can do both, that’s ideal. To the extent that you have people all around you (i.e. the more company you have and the more crowded it is), the closer you should come to hitting just under your time and the closer both pacers can be to finishing together (however, I’m fine with dividing and conquering with one pacer finishing 15-30 seconds ahead,
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particularly if they’ve bonded with a core group as long as the other finishes 0-15 seconds ahead of the pace time to act as the final marker for the time ‘barrier’.) Conversely, to the extent that you have gaps in between folks, you can relax the finish time standards as needed. For example, if you have a group finishing 30 seconds under the pace time and another group finishing 1 minute after the pace time with only a handful of individuals (running by themselves and all spread out) between them, then you can have a pacer working with each group, particularly if they contain remnants of their core group. No pacer should finish alone with no one in sight ahead and behind. With gaps in between race participants, strike a balance between finishing close to your pace time and helping the most people. How do I deal with a ‘groupie’? A groupie is anyone who runs right next to you and takes up too much of your time by trying to talk to you. This will create an awkward situation, but you can send a message by asking other people’s questions or saying ‘excuse me’ and yelling out instructions (for an upcoming hill or aid station) or telling them you need to focus more on holding your pace (whether or not it’s true). If you stop giving them attention, they’ll get the hint. However, if they don’t, be direct with them in the nicest way possible and make me out to the ‘bad cop’ by saying that I won’t like it if they spend to much energy on one person vs. the entire group – remind them that you’re there for everyone and thank them for understanding. How do I deal with a pacer who’s not doing their job correctly? With a pool of 200 pacers established over 30 races the past several years and new ones being added each race, there are certainly people who need to step up their game. Always put the needs of the race participants first and keep the other pacer in line, either by trying to pull them aside to correct them or yelling out the correct instructions for your group. The best thing to do is to communicate with your pacer ahead of time to find out about their experience and gameplan. I’ll do my part in trying to assemble the best team while providing a heads up to both pacers when a novice is paired up with a veteran.
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