Coach Mark William, an expert and professional runner, has won over 180 races across a variety of distances in his running career giving his tips to become a successful pacer for Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 2022 pacers.
What is pacer in running?
A pacer when running is useful in more ways than one. Generally, a pacer is an experienced runner that runs at a set speed in a race, typically a long-distance event. This helps the runner finish at their desired time.
Said Mark, “A successful pacer is one who completed the race in a time around their designated pace time. For a marathon, it should be no more than two minutes faster, but NEVER slower, and completes it with consistent pacing.”
“For example, on a completely flat course, a four hour pacer for the marathon should complete each kilometer in around 5:41 mins and not have some kilometers where the pace is 5:20 mins and some where the pace drops to 6:10 mins. Of course, pacing on undulating or hilly courses is more challenging,” he added.
In order to be a pacer, Mark stresses that it is important to be an accomplished runner with plenty of racing under your belt.
He said, “Pacers should never be on their first or second marathon if they are pacing the distance. I would actually say that they should have completed at least 10 to 15 races at the distance that they are pacing before undertaking the role.”
How to get pacing right?
To get pacing right, Mark reiterated that runners should:
1. Prepare for the run like a race
Said Mark, “To pace, you need to train, recover, sleep, eat and hydrate like you are training for a race. Basically what you are doing is a long tempo with added responsibility. You need to train consistently at that pace.”
2. Know the course
Said Mark, “One of the most difficult parts of pacing is what to do on hilly or undulating courses. This is where knowing the course is essential in order to plan the paces. As a general rule of thumb, you should maintain the same effort level on hills as on the flat, based on rate of perceived exertion.”
“This does mean that you will slow down. If you are running 5:41 mins per km on the flat parts of the course and you have a hill where you slow down to 6 mins per km for one km, then you know that you have to catch up 19 seconds on the flat and adjust your pace accordingly,” continued Mark.
3. Decide whether to be a talker
Said Mark, “Some runners want consistent talk throughout the run and it may well be completely one way to allow the runner to disassociate themselves with the uncomfortable feeling or pain during the race. There will also be those runners who want complete silence and the pacer just to do their job. The best piece of advice that I can give to a pacer is to make the decision on the day when you have got a feel for the runners in your pack.”
4. Front running
Said Mark, “As the pacer, you are going to have to run at the front of your group the whole way. Get used to this in your training.”
With that in mind, Mark adds to spare a thought for the pacers on race day. He said, “I have paced a race once and found it one of the most difficult things that I have done in my running career – and I have over 550 races on my legs.”
Hopefully, the tips in this article have been of some use for you all.
“The role should never be underestimated and it’s such an important role on race day. If you are a pacer, then I wish you the best of luck.” Mark said.
