Pacemakers in athletics events

[Lady Whistledown]

Why do they do it? Surely if you're good enough to run three quarters of a distance race at a fast pace, you might as well train a bit harder and actually compete?

I know they get paid for it, but do they have to sign a waiver promising they won't get to the last couple of laps and think "bollocks to this, I'm sticking it out and having a go at gold"?

Just seems a bit of an undignified existence for a professional runner, that's all.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Why do they do it? Surely if you're good enough to run three quarters of a distance race at a fast pace, you might as well train a bit harder and actually compete?

I know they get paid for it, but do they have to sign a waiver promising they won't get to the last couple of laps and think "bollocks to this, I'm sticking it out and having a go at gold"?

Just seems a bit of an undignified existence for a professional runner, that's all.

I thought you meant they were letting people with heat conditions into the Diamond league for a sec. - yes, slightly odd, but a pretty good living for your average Kenyan I would have thought. Presumably the ones that can step it up, are the actual competitors. I've always found it a bit artificial though.

 

[severnside gull]

I seem to have a very hazy recall in a few of the early "big" marathons, pacemakers were used and actually did rather well (not sure if they won or not) much to the chagrin of the organisers. Even if it turned out out to be apochryphal I rather like the idea of the establishment shirts having to pay the winners' money to someone who was supposed to have moved over to make way for a celebrity

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Seems like a bit of an outdated idea. Couldn't they just chase a Big Mac on a rail a la greyhounds and rabbits?

 

[chimneys]

Why do they do it? Surely if you're good enough to run three quarters of a distance race at a fast pace, you might as well train a bit harder and actually compete?

I know they get paid for it, but do they have to sign a waiver promising they won't get to the last couple of laps and think "bollocks to this, I'm sticking it out and having a go at gold"?

Just seems a bit of an undignified existence for a professional runner, that's all.

The pacemakers are clearly very good at shorter distances but dont have that extra talent that the elite have. Its fairly easy to maintain a pace for so long, but come the last bit of the race, they cant last the pace. Therefore at least they get to earn a living, and as far as the Africans are concerned, I think do look at long distance running as a team event.

Effectively the same in cycling as far as the Domestiques are concerned.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

But if they're good at shorter distances, why don't they compete at shorter distances then?

On a vaguely related note, it's utterly RIDICULOUS the pace that top distance runners go at. Watching Mo Farah in Daegu, it occurred to me that he runs laps in the 10,000m faster than I'd do if I did a 400m or probably a 100m in fact...mind you, I am to sprinting what Nick Griffin is to community relations...but still!

 

[skipper734]

It's all about the money in these events. Jenny Meadows has now got to run in a mixed event!!!

 

[Seagulls over Lewes]

I know they get paid for it, but do they have to sign a waiver promising they won't get to the last couple of laps and think "bollocks to this, I'm sticking it out and having a go at gold"?

Sometimes.

 

[sully]

On a vaguely related note, it's utterly RIDICULOUS the pace that top distance runners go at. Watching Mo Farah in Daegu, it occurred to me that he runs laps in the 10,000m faster than I'd do if I did a 400m or probably a 100m in fact...mind you, I am to sprinting what Nick Griffin is to community relations...but still!

Even in my local running club, the faster runners are ridiculously quick. Last week on our training run, one guy ran up and down one of the hills three times while I was plodding up it!


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[TheBlueAndWhiteStrips]

But if they're good at shorter distances, why don't they compete at shorter distances then?

On a vaguely related note, it's utterly RIDICULOUS the pace that top distance runners go at. Watching Mo Farah in Daegu, it occurred to me that he runs laps in the 10,000m faster than I'd do if I did a 400m or probably a 100m in fact...mind you, I am to sprinting what Nick Griffin is to community relations...but still!

It makes me tired just thinking that after running 9600m at around 67seconds a lap he still managed to up it and run a 52 second last lap

 

[Sheebo]

This is also one thing that i've never understood. Is a pacemaker an actual competitor then as they have all the klobber and in that video the pacemaker won and they gave the win to him?!

Also do the pacemakers normally pull out once they're knackered 3/4s of the race gone?

 

[8ace]

They are just they're to make sure they go a good gallop, so it's a truly run race and doesn't become a tactical affair.

 

[skipper734]

Strange. I have a pacemaker but I still can't run any faster. Here is a picture of mine.

 

[John Bumlick]

Seems like a bit of an outdated idea. Couldn't they just chase a Big Mac on a rail a la greyhounds and rabbits?

have you seen many long distance runners recently? more likely to run faster if the big mac is chasing them.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Sometimes.

Ha ha, that is brilliant

 

[teaboy]

As others have said it's all about the money. Athletics is not particularly lucrative, even if you're world class. If you're not quite world class then you'll earn more by running for others than for yourself. It's a very short career. It's sort of similar to domestiques in cycling, but certainly isn't easy money!!

The film is like breakaways in cycling that don't get chased down - you let the 'unknown' racers go safe in the knowledge that if you get things right you'll be able to catch them before the end. Sometimes it doesn't work out as planned!

 

[Sussex Nomad]

Sometimes.

I knew there was a case of that during the Coe/Ovett years, was trying to scramble it through my brain til I got to this post.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Why do they do it? Surely if you're good enough to run three quarters of a distance race at a fast pace, you might as well train a bit harder and actually compete?

I know they get paid for it, but do they have to sign a waiver promising they won't get to the last couple of laps and think "bollocks to this, I'm sticking it out and having a go at gold"?

Just seems a bit of an undignified existence for a professional runner, that's all.

I know that Haile Gebrselassie's pace maker also runs Major marathons as a normal runner. I think he has won a few as well.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

It's not only long distance races. When Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4 minute mile in 1954 he had two of them - Chris Brasher and Christopher Chataway.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

But if they're good at shorter distances, why don't they compete at shorter distances then?

But they wouldn't be though. A pacemaker for a 10,000 or 5,000 race runs fast for that type of distance - put him/her in a 1500 race and they'd be left behind.