Pros and Cons of Pace Groups with OTQ Pacer Rick Powell

At RunnersConnect, we get a lot of questions about using pace
groups in races.  While we teach about how you should run
your own race, there is something undeniably beneficial about
running with a group.  It's been proven that being a part of
a group with the same goal lowers your own perception of effort
which makes running hard feel easier.


 


And the idea of just blindly trusting a group and letting go of
the mental math that you have to do when you pace yourself, is
unbelievably tempting.


 


On the other hand, after months or even years of training, do you
really want to risk your race by following strangers? 


 


So to answer this question, we sought out Rick Powell. Rick paced
the last chance opportunity for women to qualify for the Olympic
Trials in Houston this past January.


 


Rick Powell is a 31 year old Texan, originally from South Africa,
a former marine and a current lawyer.  He has a personal
best of 2:29 in the marathon and had the task of bringing in the
group of women qualifying for the B standard under 2 hours and 45
minutes.


 


As you will hear in this interview, Rick is about as calm and
collected as can be, which in my opinion is EXACTLY what you want
in a pacer.  He talks not only about the specifics of pacing
this important race in Houston, where he helped 17 women cross
the line with an OTQ, but what pacing is like in general. 
We go over strategy, what to ask your pacer before the race, and
what pros and cons there are to pace groups.


 


If you've ever wondered about whether using a pace group can help
you or hinder you, you'll have a better idea at the end of this
episode.


 
Questions Rick is asked:

 


3:07 How did you end up pacing the 2:45 group of women at
Houston, which was the last opportunity to qualify for the
Olympic Trials?


5:17 What was it like on the day, and why don’t you like running
Houston?


7:01 How was your buildup and training different from racing for
yourself?


10:54 What pace strategy did you use in Houston?


12:38 What kind of questions did your pace group ask you before
or during the race?


15:56 Were you running at a pace where you could communicate
comfortably with them?


18:00 Is it acceptable to ask your pacer, “What’s your PR?”?


21:49 Should runners avoid pacers who are looking to
positive-split a race?


23:38 Should runners audit the pacer with their own watches?


26:21 What was your finishing time?


27:24 Does Houston use gun-time or chip-time?


28:52 What are the pros and cons of pace groups?


33:21 What advice would you give for people who want to be a
pacer?


35:39 Are you going to sign up again for this year?


37:28 What advice would you give yourself back when you started
running?


35:48 What is the best gift running has given you?


37:18 How can people connect with you?
Quotes by Rick:

 


“Taking the pressure off of me doing well and putting it on,
‘well, I have to help these women get there time and I have a job
to do.’ I didn’t have time to think how good or bad a day it
was.”


 


“You don’t want a pacer who’s like, ‘well… I’ve never actually
run that time before, but I’m gonna go for it.’”


 


“Important things to ask the pacer are: What is your plan? How
will I find you? Have you run this course before?”


 


“If you’ve not run the course before, I don’t trust you. I’m
sorry; I just don’t.”


 


“The pack CAN push the pacer, which is another thing to be
concerned about.”


 


“The more people you get together in the same mind set, the same
common goal, the easier it is. It’s that pack mentality where if
you’re all working together, you all will thrive.”


 


“Having a pacer or being in a pace group is a good indicator of
where you are. If you've talked to the pacer beforehand and you
know their strategy and their pacing and you know more or less
where they want to be at certain mile-markers, it’s a good
red-line marker.”


 


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Mentioned in this podcast: 

Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community


RunnersConnect Facebook page


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The Pacer Who Led Last-Chance OTQ Hopefuls at Houston


Houston Marathon






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