What Does a Pacer Do in Running? We find out this and more from six Garmin Run Singapore pacers a week ahead of the inaugural race in Singapore
From marathons to half-marathons and 10km races, pacers are often easily identifiable by their bright coloured shirts and balloons or signs indicating their target finish time, making it easy for runners to stay with them through the run course in a sea of runners.
But just how easy or difficult is it to be a pacer, and what is a pacer's role in a given running event? Pacers often play a crucial role in marathons and running events by helping runners achieve their desired finish times.
And for new runners who are participating in their first running event, or runners who are looking to are achieve a particular goal time but may not be as confident in doing so alone, pacers can be a god send. Some benefits of having a pacer include better motivation, with pacers providing the encouragement needed to push through tough stretches of the race; better accountability as knowing that a pacer is leading often helps runners stick to their race plan - hence the importance of good, responsible pacers who do not run faster or slower than they should is paramount; and generally providing guidance, support, and motivation to help runners achieve their personal goals.
Making its debut in Singapore for the first time, Garmin Run Singapore organised a Garmin Run Club Training Camp for two and a half months, with training sessions open to all participants who signed up for the Garmin Singapore Run 21.1km or 10km races.
This week, we turn the spotlight on six of this year's Garmin Run Singapore pacers to ask them what their experience has been like pacing others, making sacrifices to their social life and adjustments to their own training schedules to be a part of something special.
Sharing that "community" is what stands out the most for him through his maiden pacing experience Delon Ho, 32, a freelance photographer who is pacing the 21.1km 2 hr 30 min group shared: "I never expected myself to be pacing, or to be leading others running." "This reminds me of myself one to two years back - if I were to join maybe I would have probably joined as a runner. It's really inspiring to see people of different fitness levels and goals in mind join us for weekly runs and through strangers we've become friends. Very heartwarming to see the community coming together."
His sentiments were enchoed by fellow pacers Sarah and Eunice.
Said Sarah Swee, a 36 year-old Operations Manager, who usually runs with Happy Pace Club and will be leading the 70 minute group for the 10km race category: "I think pacing is not just about the running, but also the social interaction and skills that come with it."
"That was something that was a bit of a challenge for me when I said yes to this program. I really challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone and get to know and meet new people." "It has been interesting, challenging and a very rewarding experience. Seeing the whole community come together is something I really appreciate and didn't expect from this. I do recommend others to apply for this pacing programme in the future."
Eunice Tan, 24, a marketing executive who is leading the 60 minute group for the 10km chimed in: "I've met many new people and heard about the cool things they do outside of running, their fitness goals, why they're running, what they've learnt from running themselves. It just changes my perspective of the running community in Singapore."
Meanwhile Christine Fu, 37, Director Customer Relations who usually runs with Puma Nitro Run Club, expressed that she feels inspired and motivated by the commitment Garmin Training Camp participants have shown in the weeks leading up to this year's race.
"For me it's really seeing all the runners showing up. People from all walks of life coming together being committed to the runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays," said Fu, who will be one of the pacers for the 21.1km half marathon 2 hour 15 minute group.
"Showing up rain or shine, that's really motivating for me to see people wanting to become a better version of themselves."
When asked about how pacing others differs from training for their own competitions, competitive runners Luah Jun Yang and Raymond Sng offered varying perspectives. "This training camp has helped us to look beyond ourselves, it's a different concept when it comes to helping others achieve their goals. When we are pacing, we have to adhere to certain goals that participants have set for themselves - and checking on them to see if they are okay etc. Just to ensure that they are progressively training in order to hit their goals," said Jun Yang, 25, a university student from NUS who will be pacing 10km participants for the 50min group.
"This pacer training program has allowed us to train to control our effort levels to a much better degree because we know that we have to think about the training program in its entirety instead of it being a disjoint or a segmented training session," said Raymond, a 26 year-old software engineer leading the 21.1km half-marathon 1 hour 45 minute group.
When asked what has been the most fulfilling moments of being a pacer, Raymond added. "One of the best things about being a pacer is that we can live life vicariously through our participants some of them haven't been running but really don't know what they can achieve."
"But through the many sessions of trainings they go from being a couch potato to a really fit participant and you can see the genuine joy in their eyes." #GarminSG #GarminRunAsiaSeries2024 #FromZeroToHero #BeatYesterday
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