Pacesetters: Understanding the role of athletics' silent workers

The last few years have seen a golden era of in which some of athletics’ long-standing records have fallen as the elite professionals achieve times that were previously unthinkable.

This new level of human performance has been propagated by technology with next-generation running shoes coming into the spotlight.

But while these high-tech footwear have dominated debate, the importance of pacesetters in setting the stage for star athletes to achieve world record marks has also been highlighted.

As the name suggests, pacesetters help world class athletes stay on track to achieve a desired goal. They internalize and execute specific instructions given by race organizer or athlete managers to help runners know the pace necessary to run to set a record.

At the Berlin Marathon last Sunday, Eliud Kipchoge shattered his own world record with a 2:01.09 run in a performance that shaved half a minute off his previous mark.

It further cemented his status as the world's greatest ever marathon runner and while there’s no doubting he is supremely gifted athlete, pacesetters have played a significant role in his legendary career.

At a specially organized event in Vienna where Kipchoge became the first human to run 26.2 miles in under two hours, a 41-strong team of pacesetters provided support for the two-time Olympic champion.

The pacesetters, many of themselves renowned athletes, guided him in rotating seven-man teams although an electric car also helped set the pace by shining green lasers onto the track.

Pacesetters are also used in competitions so that the actual competitors do not use excessive tactics to win. For instance, starting the race at high speed before slowing down so as to increase the mental pressure on other competitors.

Informally, pacesetters are referred to as rabbits because their job is to lead at the beginning of the race and drop out later as instructed by event organisers.

Martin Keino, son of the Kenyan great Kipchoge Keino, has paced for seven world record holders, among them Daniel Komen (two miles and 5,000m), Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele (outdoor and indoor 5,000m and 10,000m) and Haile Gebrselassie (5,000m and 10,000m).

He says he found the pacemaking or ‘rabbit’ role enjoyable, adding that he became one ‘by accident’.

“I didn’t choose to be a pacemaker. I wanted to achieve my dreams as a top 1500 metre runner,” he said, ‘but one of my colleagues, Daniel Komen, who we shared a manager with, wanted to break a world record and so the manager asked me if I’d help him with the pacemaking for his attempt at breaking the world record. I became a man in demand for the job. It was quite an accident.’’

Usually, rabbits rotate after running five kilometres at a time. Other times, they lead for at least the first half at high speed before eventually dropping off.

However, in extra-ordinary circumstances, pacesetters can complete the race themselves and outshine the runners.

An example is when former world marathon silver medalist Kenyan Simon Biwott crossed the finish line ahead of the runners he was pacing during the Berlin Marathon in 2000.

Not only did he steal the spotlight, but he also walked away with about Ksh2.7 million which was the prize money for the event together with pacemaker earnings.

Keino however explains that a career as a “rabbit” means you have to be a team player and be content with not being the star of the show as a pacemaker.

“Initially, you will of course want to claim that success, but given it’s someone else’s success, you are appreciated for your role. Even to this day, 25 years later, people still remember me for my role in pacemaking.”

The 50-year-old feels that it is impossible to break a world record for long-distance races without the help of pace setters.

”You have to have them if you want to run fast. There is rarely anyone who has that capacity to push the pace from the beginning and sustain it to the end,” he said.

According to Keino, a pacemaker's mental and emotional capacity is a critical aspect of the career because there is a lot of pressure to hit the projected targets.

“The pressure is all on the pacemaker. The athlete just needs to follow. They don’t have to think much about what is happening at the front. The pacemaker makes or breaks the race. If you slow down, your time is gone and everyone looks at you. Other times, the athlete may choose not to follow you.”

Strongly Indebted

Being a pacesetter is not an easy task, as it requires hardcore training and preparation since they are the drivers of the race. They need to improve their speed endurance to ensure they don’t drop out of the race before their mark.

Josephat Boit, who helped Eliud Kipchoge set his initial world record in 2018, explains the pressure that comes with failing to prepare adequately for his role. He says it may harm the athlete’s chances of achieving his target.

“If the pacesetter had not prepared adequately for the race, then it misleads the finishing athlete.”

He describes pacesetters who get tempted to go for the win as ‘greedy’ and usually end up being disqualified.

Renowned coach Joseph Cheromei, who has coached the likes of Mercy Keitany, says the only way pacesetters are kept on a leash is by making compromises on the financial reward promises.

“We agree on the plan. If you go against it, you get no pay. I ensure my athletes form a camaraderie with each other in order to avoid likely situations like those.”

Jimmy 'Simba' Beauttah, better known in the industry as Coach Simba, is one of the Godfathers of Kenyan running. He has coached athletes like Abel Kiprop, Moses Kiptanui & Daniel Komen, the man Keino helped break the 3000 steeplechase world record.

“Some of them voluntarily offer themselves for the tasks. Others start as professional athletes, but their recording goes down gradually, so they opt for pacemakers,” he says, “It is not a forced application. People agree to the task and prepare adequately.”

Daniel Komen currently holds the world record for the 3000 metres outdoors (7:20.67 set in 1996) and indoors (7:24.90 set in 1998). In addition, with his 7.58.61 world record in the 2-mile race set in 1997, he remains the only man in history to run back-to-back sub-four-minute miles, splitting circa 3:59.4 on both the first and second half of the race.

Komen feels strongly indebted to his pacemakers, like Keino, and says it would have been impossible to do it without them.

“When the pacemaker leaves the track, things may go haywire if you haven’t prepared yourself. Good thing, I’d prepare myself so that I would maintain the pace when the pacemakers left the track so I’d maintain the target pace. Pacemakers set the target pace and so when they leave the track, you either make or break your fortune,”

Komen adds that pacesetters have to be problem solvers. “Martin was a very steady and level-headed pacemaker. He’d always listen and if we made a mistake, he’d adapt and make amends flawlessly to maintain the plan,”

“The pacemaker has to be a proper team player. You have to develop an understanding in training. With Martin, I’d be very confident heading into a race,”

The 1998 3000-metre race world champion adds that pacemakers have to be disciplined. ”Discipline plays a big part. You have to listen to what the coach says. There are pacemakers who would go against the plan a lot of times which would mess things up, so discipline plays a very important part.”

As a crowd of admirers sings praises in awe, only an athlete knows that his success is attributed to the teamwork with a group of special runners, pushing him towards the finish line every second.

The only comfort for the ‘unsung heroes’ is the millions or hundreds of thousands added to their bank accounts for pacing.