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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