Pacemaker
A pacemaker (also Zugläufer, brake rotor , or pacemaker, sometimes the English expression is Pacemaker used) is in the middle and long distance running generally a participant who is used to provide whatever its own competitive success for a certain race pace.
Pacemakers, often jokingly called rabbits , are often hired by race organizers to lead the race for a while and keep the pace high so that stronger runners can orientate themselves on them and keep a certain time in the first phase of the race. This is often the prerequisite for achieving world records or other best times . According to rule 144 of the IAAF , pacemakers must be present in the race from the start, and athletes who have been lapped are not allowed to act as train runners. The pacemaker usually drops out of the race after an agreed time if it is no longer of use to the athlete or athletes it is supposed to help set a record. The organizer financially compensates for the separate service.
Without the use of train runners, running tactics can lead to a relatively slow victory time, which is often the case at World Championships or Olympic Games .
In major road races there are often several groups of pacemakers who run at as constant a pace as possible, depending on how carefully or ambitious the elite runners want to shape their tactics. It can also happen that the pacemaker does not get out, but rather walk through it. A prominent example is Sammy Korir , who set the pace for Paul Tergat's world record in the Berlin Marathon in 2003 and in the end came just one second behind him at the finish.
In popular sports , too, there are so-called “brake and pull runners” who run at a constant, slow pace for themselves and thus make it easier for other runners to achieve a certain time goal. Initially practiced at the Steinfurt Marathon , this service is now offered by most of the larger marathons - usually every 15 minutes for target times between three and five hours.
Web links
- Rabbits, pacemakers, pacemakers - article by Herbert Steffny , January 22, 2007 (updated until 2009).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Graz Marathon - Reaching Your Goal with the Pacemaker ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )