What to Do If You Can’t Continue Pacing

Introduction#

Even the most seasoned pacers can have a bad day – whether from bad food, a niggling injury, menstrual discomfort, a headache or something else entirely. Unforeseen circumstances can affect your ability to perform on race day.

While we hope this never happens to you, being prepared is crucial. By following these guidelines you ensure:

• Smooth race execution: prompt communication with the other pacers and runners minimises disruption and helps everyone adjust.
• Minimal impact on runners: openly communicating that you must stop allows the other pacers to take full control, so that runners can still achieve their goals.
• A positive experience for everyone: staying professional and helpful preserves a positive atmosphere for you, your runners, other runners on the course, the organisers and the sponsors.

Steps to take#

1. Inform your team: let your pacer team know as soon as you suspect you will not be able to continue. The earlier, the better.
2. Step away from the team: wish all runners good luck, give some high-fives and move to the side of the road.
3. Remove pacer references: to avoid confusing runners on the course, take down your flag and remove or cover your pacer singlet (a spare T-shirt can be carried in the backpack).
4. Save your activity data: save the activity and submit the FIT file to the messenger group as usual – this data is still needed for analysis.

If you were the team leader, the deputy leader takes over immediately (see the team leader).

What to do after you have left the team#

After leaving the pacer team you have two options:

• Continue running: if you have completed at least 70% of the distance, you may finish the race – but remove your pacer singlet and flag first, to avoid confusing other runners and being photographed as a pacer.
• Stop completely: if stopping is necessary, relax, take your time and make your way to the finish area however you like. Celebrate your effort later with a well-deserved cold beer with your team.