Pace Groups: Why They Seem Helpful But Can Spoil Your Marathons

Pace groups in marathons seem helpful. After all, some elite marathoners have pacers. But, there’s more to these groups than meets the eye.

I’ll start by defining what a pace group means in a marathon. I’ll continue by discussing pacing for elite marathoners. I’ll then show how pace groups can spoil your marathon, no matter whether you join one. And, I’ll conclude by giving you some suggestions vis-à-vis pace groups.

What is a pace group in a marathon?

A pace group for a marathon has a leader who should keep a steady pace throughout the race. The goal of the group, declared before the race begins, is to finish with a particular chip-time. Of course, not everyone in the group will finish with that chip-time. But, everyone should finish within plus or minus a few seconds or minutes. This depends on the size of the group and whether members cross the start and finish lines in the same order.

Registration for a pace group is often free and often occurs during a marathon’s expo. The group may ask prospective members to provide their name at the expo. The group may dispense an extra bib for members to wear so that they can identify one another.

A pace group’s leader often will carry a small flag that displays the chip-time goal. Most marathon organizers stagger their starts according to expected chip-times. This makes it easier to find a pace group’s leader in a marathon-start chute. For example, a five-hour pace group would assemble near the marathon’s 5:00 banner.

Some marathons have official sponsors of their pace groups, also called pace teams. For example, Chevron Houston Marathon has had a pace team sponsored by Skechers. As another example, Bank of America Chicago Marathon has had a pace team sponsored by Nike. Other marathons work through a pace-group organizer.

Some pace groups exist to help members to qualify for the Boston Marathon. For example, the New Jersey Marathon has “BQ” (Boston-Qualifier) pace groups.

Don’t elite marathoners use pace groups?

Elite marathoners don’t use pace groups. They may use their own personal pacers, also known as pacesetters or rabbits.

Rabbits have the role of freeing elite marathoners from concentrating on their pace. An elite marathoner may have more than one rabbit, with each one taking turns at the front. This is analogous to a cycling peloton. Or, an elite marathoner may have a rabbit who pushes him or her hard for most of the distance and then drops back at the end.
[Tweet “If a rabbit can stay with an elite marathoner to the end, then the rabbit is not a rabbit!”]
So, rabbits play a sacrificial role. They often are on a team from a particular country or with a particular sponsor.

But, some marathon organizers have decided that rabbits make their races less interesting. For example, the New York City, Boston, and Chicago marathons ban rabbits. Organizers say that rabbit bans make elite marathoners focus on strategy and tactics. This can make these marathons more interesting than those that allow rabbits.

How can joining a pace group spoil a marathon?

So:

[Tweet “If rabbits can help elite marathoners, can pace groups help non-elite runners?”]

Some marathoners swear by pace groups. It is clear, for example, that a pace group helps the group’s leader. He or she has huge pressure to stay on pace.

But, unless you already are a pace-group groupie, joining a pace group can spoil your marathon. Here are ten ways in which this can happen:

Spoiler #1: Consistency Hobgoblins

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds….” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote this about “little statesmen and philosophers and divines”. There is no problem in and of itself with being consistent in one’s running pace. Many pace-group leaders are masters at this. But, a problem can arise when you are not as consistent as your pace-group leader. Your pace could vary a lot, even though your average pace could match a pace group’s average pace. Suppose that you felt like running at a faster or slower pace than your group’s pace at some point in your marathon. Staying with your group would force you to slow down or speed up. Conforming your pace to the group would be discouraging, exhausting, or both.

Spoiler #2: Not My Average!

Suppose that you, like many pace-group leaders, have a very consistent pace. A pace group’s average pace still may be too fast or too slow for you. This can happen because there is not a pace group for every possible pace. Some marathons have pace groups with chip-time goals as much as thirty minutes apart. Suppose, though, that you can find a pace group with a goal that is within a couple of minutes of yours. A group chip-time goal a couple of minutes faster than yours could fatigue you. A group chip-time goal a couple of minutes slower than yours could dispirit you.

Spoiler #3: Break Time!

Suppose that your pace group breaks at each aid station for water or other refill. But, suppose that you carry enough hydration that you don’t need that many breaks. This would be demotivating. Or, suppose that your pace group does not break at as many aid stations as you need. This would be frustrating, as you would have to keep playing catch-up to your group after your breaks.

Spoiler #4: Run vs. Run:Walk

Suppose that you prefer to run all the time but a run:walk athlete leads your pace group. Or, suppose that you’re a run:walk athlete whereas your pace-group leader is a runner. Either way, you could experience a disconnectedness that would hurt your average pace.

Spoiler #5: Different Run:Walk Ratios

Suppose that you find a run:walk pace group that matches your average pace. But, suppose that your run:walk ratio differs from your pace group’s run:walk ratio. The different ratios could hurt your average pace. This happened to me in a marathon. I trained all season with the 5:1 ratio — running for five minutes and walking for one. I joined a pace group that matched my average pace. The group’s leader was a run:walk athlete, but his ratio was 6:1, with six minutes of running and one minute of walking. I managed for one hour to stay with the group and its 6:1 method. But, that first hour into the marathon exhausted me. I was not accustomed to that much running. Demoralized, I dropped away from the pace group and finished well behind the group. Granted, my chip-time goal may have been too ambitious, but the higher run:walk ratio hurt.

Spoiler #6: Different Durations in the Same Run:Walk Ratio

Suppose that you are a “5:1” marathoner with a race goal of six hours. Most run:walk athletes who refer to “5:1” mean five minutes of running followed by one minute of walking. There are many 5-minute:1-minute athletes who finish marathons in six hours. But, a 5-second:1-second athlete also would be a “5:1” marathoner who might finish in six hours. And, a 5-hour:1-hour marathoner would be a “5:1” athlete who could finish in six hours. Now, suppose that your average pace matches your pace group’s average pace. And, suppose that your run:walk ratio matches your pace group’s run:walk ratio. But, suppose that the running and walking durations differ between you and your group. Then trying to stay with your group could be exhausting. Or, it could be demotivating. For example, suppose that you trained all season to run for 50 seconds and walk for 10 seconds per cycle. But, suppose that your group runs for five minutes and walks for one minute per cycle. Then trying to stay with your group would be exhausting.

Spoiler #7: Different Running & Walking Paces in the Same Ratio

I wrote two books of run:walk pace tables. One book is for minutes/mile fans. The other book is for minutes/kilometer fans. Each run:walk table in either book focuses on a race distance and a run:walk ratio. Many combinations of running and walking paces give about the same chip-time. For example, each book has a 5:1-ratio page for the marathon distance. Suppose that you wanted to finish a marathon in five hours as a 5:1 athlete. As my “Minutes/Mile” book shows, there are many ways to do this. At one extreme, a 10:40/mile running pace and a 17:00/mile walking pace will work, yielding a 4:58:11. At another extreme, an 11:00/mile running pace and a 13:30/mile walking pace will work, yielding a 4:57:35. Suppose that you joined a 5-minute:1-minute pace group with your five-hour goal. If your pace-group were at one extreme and you were at the other, frustration could arise.

Spoiler #8: Welcome to the Borg

Training by yourself for a marathon does not prepare you for a pace group. When you are by yourself, you tend to notice everything — your footfall, your breathing, and so on. Training with someone else also does not prepare you for a pace group. When you train with another marathoner, you come to rely on your partner to help you to stay on track. Even training with a group does not prepare you for a pace group. Marathoners in a group tend to self-segregate by pace, so it’s like training with a partner. No, unless you can train all season with a pace group, racing with one is like joining the Borg from Star Trek. Yes, you can start new friendships, but this is available to all marathoners. What you have in common with fellow pace-group members is that you all follow the same directions. So, racing in a pace group can be mind-numbing, which can hurt your performance.

Spoiler #9: Not My Style!

PetSmart once had a TV commercial in which the dog owner had an odd name for his dog. “Give ’em a name they actually like.” was the commercial’s tagline. “All their favorite brand names are on sale…” followed the tagline. The commercial stuck in my mind because “Mr. Barky von Schnauzer” was the owner’s odd name for his dog. I remember the odd name whenever I hear a pace-group leader barking orders to a group for each run/walk switch. If you have not trained with someone like this, then your group leader’s barking can get annoying. Expand that into the duration of your marathon, and that’s a lot of annoyance. And, even if you have trained with a Mr. or Ms. Barky, his or her style may be different from that of your pace-group leader. This can grate on your nerves. You might respond by dropping behind your group. Or, you might sprint ahead of your group, only to burn out later in your marathon. Either way, the barking can hurt your marathon performance.

Spoiler #10: I Can’t Hear!

Suppose that your pace-group leader is not a Mr. Barky von Schnauzer. Instead, suppose that he or she is soft-spoken. Suppose that you have social anxiety or otherwise cannot stay with the front of the group. Suppose that your pace group is so large that you cannot hear a Mr. or Ms. Barky from the back of the group. And, suppose that your fellow members trained by themselves and not with a group. If they did not train with a group, then they may not know to pass the word to those behind them. In one way or another, you can miss your leader’s call-outs to switch between running and walking. I have experienced this in large pace-groups of which I have been a member and got stuck at the back. And, I have seen this in large pace-groups that have passed me. The marathoners at the back lag in their run/walk switching. The lag creates a disjointedness, which the back-of-the-group marathoners both experience and witness. This can be disheartening and spoil your marathon.

How can NOT being in a pace group spoil a marathon?

Even if you don’t join one of them for your marathon, pace groups can spoil your race. Here are three ways in which this can happen.

Outside-the-Group Spoiler #1: Swarm, or Clog

If you are in a marathon training program that teaches road courtesy, then you know to run no more than two abreast. This lets other runners and walkers go around you with ease. And, it is reassuring to drivers with whom you are sharing the road. In contrast, there are marathon training programs that teach nothing about road courtesy. You may have seen these training groups. Their voices may be too loud in residential neighborhoods. And, they may span the entire width of a road as they pass you. Plus, those who train on their own may not know about single-file or two-abreast running. What all this means for many pace groups is that many members may have no sense of road courtesy. As a result, you cannot expect a pace group to be single-file or two-abreast when you encounter the group. Instead, many pace groups can swarm you from behind. Or, they can clog the road so that non-member marathoners cannot get by without a lot of effort. The swarming can be exciting at first, but then it can demoralize you as the group zooms ahead of you. The clogging can cause you to waste a lot of energy.

Outside-the-Group Spoiler #2: Passed, and Passed Again!

When you notice a pace group passing you during a marathon, it can feel as if you are being lapped on a running track. If you tend to finish toward the official closings of marathons, then many pace groups may pass you. This can feel as if you are being lapped several times on a track. You may hold out hope after the first group passes you that the second group will not catch you. The second group that passes you will dash your initial hope. You may then tell yourself that you will try to stay ahead of the next pace group. If a third group passes you, then you now have two dashed hopes. If this pattern continues, then you have demoralization on steroids. This can assassinate your marathon performance.

Outside-the-Group Spoiler #3: Deceptive Impression

A pace group can give the impression that theirs is the only way to finish your marathon in a given duration. This is a deceptive impression. If you like to go faster at the start and slow down at the end, then zooming ahead of a pace group may worry you at the start. Or, if you like to go slower at the start and speed up at the end, then lagging behind the pace group at the start may worry you. Either worry can hurt your marathon performance.

So, what should I do?

Golfers have an expression: “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”

Many marathoners deserve a similar expression:
[Tweet “Pace groups can be a good marathon spoiled.”]
If you are still not convinced that pace groups can spoil your marathons, then do this:

1. Confirm with your marathon that it will have a pace group for your goal chip-time. If you are a run:walk athlete, then make sure that it matches your ratio, durations, and paces.
2. Find a pace group with these characteristics and with which you can train for four to six months.
3. Race in your marathon with the pace group identified in step 1.

Warning:
[Tweet “Pace-group training may weaken your ability to cope with pace changes in a race without a group.”]
If pace-group participation helps you, then more power to you!

Otherwise:

1. Don’t worry about whether your marathon will have a pace group.
2. Don’t train with a pace group.
3. Don’t race with a pace group; instead, focus on other runners when a pace group passes you in your marathon.

This will help to protect your willpower during your marathon.

For other ways to protect your willpower, check out Marathon Willpower.

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Image Credit: Pixabay