Athletics for many years is not inferior in its popularity. Choosing this sport, a person does not just get acquainted with the technique of running. His vocabulary is gradually replenished with special terms. One of them is a pacemaker. The word is of English origin and literally means "setting the pace." This is a runner who can be found in marathons for medium and long distances. Let's get acquainted in more detail with the role and basic rules for the participation of a pacemaker in competitions.
History
Professional run has been known for a long time. That is how many unofficially pacemakers exist. The definition appeared only in the 1980s. In modern sports, their participation in competitions is called the practice of artificial leadership. It causes a lot of discussion among experts and fans. And yet, most agree on one thing: the role of pace makers in running is important. This is especially true of mass competitions.
Previously, they were invited by the organizers of the marathons. And all the work depended on the personal responsibility of the athletes. Pacemakers are ordinary people who, for a number of reasons, could have left the race or not at all. For this, partners are also provided (or replacement). However, today this post has official status, and therefore is a conscious choice of athletes. For pacemakers, there are certain rules that they must follow.
Basic Rules
A pacemaker is an athlete who sets the right pace for a race. He goes the distance at one speed, but not to the end. For example, out of 800 meters, an athlete overcomes only 400 or 600 meters. Using a pacemaker in a competition is providing other runners with psychological help. "Artificial leaders" literally lead the rest of the participants, they are speed guidelines for them. Athletes no longer need to worry about rivals and running techniques. They adapt to the pacemakers and overcome the distance safely. In addition, the right speed reduces air resistance, and therefore prevents the rapid loss of strength of athletes.
The pacemakers can communicate with the participants of the competition, learn about their health, give advice before going through difficult sections of the route. After all, their main task is to support and help with technical issues of running. Closer to the finish runners are noticeably accelerated. And their leader and assistant is left behind. Despite this, in any race, the pacemaker is a full-fledged participant in the marathon. Therefore, he also receives a medal.
Who becomes a pacemaker?
Professionally you can run with different goals. Someone likes to participate in competitions and achieve certain results, someone overcomes distances in the framework of charity races. Others do not focus on victories and interests at all, they just like the process and practice of various running techniques. It is the latter type of athletes who becomes pacemakers. These are always well-trained runners with high physical performance. They feel their pace perfectly, if necessary they can “tighten up” or, conversely, reduce the speed.
Mass Competitions
As already mentioned, pacemakers are used for mass competitions. This is due to the large number of participants with different levels of training. In such marathons, several "artificial leaders" take part at once. They run at the same pace over the distance and finish at a specific time (for example, at 3.00, 3.30, 4.00). It is often indicated on athletes on T-shirts.
Pacemakers in mass competitions are guided, as a rule, by less experienced runners. They are combined in a group and attached to one leader. Athletes adapt to its pace and can correlate their speed with the future result.
In order to recognize the pacemaker in the marathon, he is provided with a special form with a bright vest and attention-grabbing signs (for example, balloons).
Moscow marathon
Since 2013, a major running competition has been held in Russia - the Moscow Marathon. Pacemakers in it were at first a rarity. They first appeared in 2014. Today, the situation has changed and three or more pace-setting players are participating in the competition. The day before the race, they receive special T-shirts and brochures with explanations and a plan of the running track. Immediately before the marathon, the senior pacemaker gives additional instructions to the athletes.
As an identifying attribute, a backpack with a colored flag is given to the pacemakers. It does not interfere with running at all. There is also a rule for invited participants - to run for a time longer than half an hour of a personal record. This ensures confidence that the pacemaker will go the distance. By the way, the Moscow marathon involves two types of tracks: 42 km 195 m (marathon distance) and 10 km (satellite race). The competition separately considers the results of athletes of men and women.
As for the pacemakers, in the early years of the Moscow marathon, these participants did not have personal numbers, and their names were not included in the minutes of the competition. That is, they were in every possible way separated from the total mass of runners. This caused some inconvenience. By now the problem has been resolved. Now the pacemakers participate on the same rights as the other athletes.
How to run at a steady pace?
Another important question is how pacemakers manage to maintain a steady pace of running. Each athlete decides this on his own. Some use a watch with GPS. However, as practice shows, they have an error in measuring distance. Other pacemakers focus on a regular stopwatch. There are also pacemakers who are comfortable making time stamps on kilometer columns. They are spaced apart. A certain ratio of indicators allows the leader to verify the correct pace of running.
Pacemakers Winning
Sometimes pacemakers do not leave the race and finish with winners. So it was in 1981 at the Bislett Games (Oslo, Norway). Tom Byers covered the distance of 1,500 kilometers and finished first. Unable to cope with his role, he broke away from the main group for 10 seconds. Closer to the finish line, the runners accelerated, but they failed to reach Byers. The second came to the finish line, Steve Ovett. The pacemaker overtook the athlete by only half a second.
In 1994, a marathon was held in Los Angeles. Then pacemaker Paul Pilkington was the first to finish. He managed to maintain a pace that was not available to the favorites of the competition.
Other values
There is another meaning to the word pacemaker. In medicine, this term suggests a special device for regulating the rhythmic work of the heart. In other words, it is a pacemaker. It supports the patient's heart rate. There are diagnostic (external) and implantable (internal) pacemakers. The first is used for carrying out load-functional tests.