NYRR, Wittenberg Continue to Lead the Way
Posted September 14th, 2007 at 9:03 AM by Scott Bush
Section: Marathons, Columns, SPOTLIGHT
For the past few years, every major marathon seems to include a handful of pacemakers to take out the race and push the fields to fast times. While fast times look impressive on paper, they don’t always make for the best races and the public is generally unaware of the records and impressive times for elite marathoners. With that in mind, Mary Wittenberg, the race director for the New York City Marathon, announced Friday that there will be no pacemakers at this year’s race.
“Our sport is full of great stars who thrive on competition and the purity of head-to-head racing,” Wittenberg said. “In the end, it is all about the thrill of racing and the pursuit of victory. Who cares what the clock says? We owe it to our best to put them front and center and let them race.”
This is great news for a variety of reasons. While hundreds of thousands run a marathon or two each year, few of those runners know more than a couple of the world’s best marathoners. Taking away pacemakers in the front of the pack allows TV commentators to focus on identifying athletes and build stories around them, creating more space for athletes to be showcased. No pacemaking also signifies a larger, more competitive field at the end of the race, instead of a strung out group, with no more than a handful of athletes in the lead pack.
The New York Road Runners build running environments in their city that are both creative and diverse, and with Wittenberg at the helm, NYRR consistently shows why New York City is the center of the second running boom. Dropping pacemakers from the elite race is a bold move. It suggests more head-to-head racing, but slower finish times. NYRR often gambles with ideas like this and continues to exude the creativity, confidence and ability to elevate their events and athletes that this sport so desperately needs.
Related Stories:
- NYC Half Marathon: Pack of 4 Continue to Lead Men Through Mile 5 in 22:53
- LIVE at the Boston Marathon: Pack of 10 women continue to lead after 10 miles
- Hall, Abdi, Ritz, Meb and Browne continue to look strong after 12 miles
- Chicago Marathon ‘07: Adere and Pirtea hit 20 miles; continue to dominate the women’s field
- Chicago Marathon ‘07: Pace slowing after 19 miles; Adere and Pirtea continue to lead
Tags: athletes, confidence, creativity, ING New York City Marathon, innovation, marathons, Mary Wittenberg, New York City, new york road runners, NYC Marathon, nyrr, pacemakers, pacemaking, pacesetters, racing, runners, running, running boom, TF, u.s. distance running revival
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The Final Sprint
I disagree with the article. There is nothing more disappointing to me than what we witnessed at the recent world championships in track. There, the men’s 1500 final, as an example, was won in the rather pedestrian time of 3:34.77 with 8 finishers within 1 second. This was simply a bunch of guys afraid to lose, hoping they could outkick the other runners. No one is willing to go out hard and challenge others to keep pace because the effort required to take the lead would almost certainly lead to a loss in the race. With pacers, the best rise to the top and you get a fast time. Admittedly, 8 runners finishing within 1 second is an exciting finish, but, to me, it is not racing. Ever watch Olympic velo (track racing)? Each rider tries to stay in back until a furious spring at the end using drafting techniques to beat the opponent. There is no determination of who is the best at the distance being raced, only who is the best at a furious sprint at the end. Same for track and road racing with no pacers. I want to know who is the best marathoner on a given day, not who is best at jogging along with the leaders and sprinting faster for the final 200 meters. Just my opinion.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:12 amThat is what happens when guys get too used to paced races and have to come to an unpaced race. If there were more unpaced races, that would never happen. If you asked those guys in the 5000 and 800 at World Champs: if they could run the race over would they do it differently? The resounding answer is yes. I know that because I have asked a few.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:30 amThe simple fact is that it takes 6% more energy to lead than to follow. Whenever a medal (or a big purse) is at stake, the experienced runner would be foolish to take the early lead. This type of race inevitably is going to result in a slower time. We, as track fans, have to learn to appreciate both types of races - paced and non-paced; otherwise, we will keep being disappointed whenever we watch the Olympics and the World Championships.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:19 pmAll the top marathons in the United States have rabbits. Boston, Chicago and NYC all had rabbits last year to make sure it was a fast time. While I appreciate fast performances, I also cherish races that aren’t paced. The marathon is too long of an event to have more than six or eight athletes at the end of it anyways. So why have rabbits to string it out even more? There will always be paced marathons and there should also be non-paced marathons. It simply creates a good mixture of racing styles.
September 14th, 2007 at 6:32 pmHey folks! I ran in the NYC marathon last year and, despite getting rejected this year by the cruel realities of the lottery system, am still pretty high on the NYRR and especially The Dame Mary Wittenberg. Come check out my blog, which talks all about the NYRR races and just running in NYC in preparation for this marathon or that!
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:30 amhttp://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com