My first ever pace bunny experience. For those that don’t know, a pace bunny at a race is someone that wears bunny ears with a time on them. That time is the exact time they are supposed to cross the finish line. Many people are trying to qualify for Boston which requires them to complete a “Boston Qualifier” in under a specific time determined by the runners age and sex. So, in my case at the Road 2 Hope, my ears said 4 hours. Meaning I have to evenly pace myself so I cross the finish line as close to 4 hours as I possibly can without going passed.
I started out with a group of about 30 runners. Most were looking to qualify for Boston. Others just wanted a PB of less than 4 hours. I got my group into a nice cadence of 5:40 per km. Some were trying to push the pack early as they felt fresh and strong. I spoke loudly to the entire group many times, “don’t push it guys, 42.2 km is a long way. Don’t let your excitement drive you. stick to the pace, we’ll get there”.
In the Road 2 Hope marathon there is a downhill of almost 7km @ the 22km mark. No rest. Relentless downhill pounding on the quads. As we approached the hill I spoke to the group. “don’t go to fast on the hill guys, It’s a long way down and the pounding will be relentless. Hold up, take it easy maintain the pace. Go to fast, and you risk loosing it around the 34-35km mark. Trust me. It happened to me last year.” About half the pack took of on the hill. Letting gravity propel them down the hill. Half stayed with me.Here’s the lesson. Of those that took off down the hill, none finished in under 3 hours that I noticed. Those that stayed, made it. I crossed the finish line in 3:59:56. Very pleased with my pacing. Another lesson. No matter how slow you run a marathon, it is still a marathon and it hurts.
Steve